Amid news that Activision and the Call of Duty series are being acquired by Microsoft, the NPD Group has released its sales report for December 2021 and the full year, revealing that Call of Duty: Vanguard and Black Ops Cold War were the top two best-selling games of the year.
Vanguard was December’s best-selling game of December and the full year, and the series has now been the best-selling game franchise for dollar sales for 13 years in a row.
Halo Infinite was December’s second best-selling game overall and the top-seller on Xbox. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl was No. 3 overall for December and No. 1 on Nintendo platforms for December and the full year. The Pokemon series had a banner year in 2021, with physical software reaching the highest annual total since the year 2000.
Another standout was Resident Evil Village, which ended 2021 as the eighth best-selling game. The Resident Evil franchise reached new heights in terms of dollar sales in the US during 2021.
For hardware, the Switch was December’s best-selling console in terms of units, while the Switch and PS5 “effectively tied” for dollar sales, the NPD said. For the full year, however, the Switch was the best-seller in terms of unit and dollar sales. For December specifically, total spending on hardware fell 3% to $1.3 billion. For the full year, however, spending jumped 14% to $6.1 billion.
In total, spending across games, hardware, and accessories for December 2021 reached $7.5 billion, down 1% year-over-year. For the entire year, spending hit $60.4 billion, up 8% and a new all-time US record.
Check out the sales charts below to see more of the best-selling games of December 2021 and the full year. Looking oiutside of the US, here is a rundown of the best-selling games and consoles of 2021 in the UK.
December 2021 Top 20 Best-Selling Games
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Halo Infinite
- Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl*
- Madden NFL 22
- Battlefield 2042
- Mario Kart 8*
- Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Mario Party Superstars*
- NBA 2K22*
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
- FIFA 22
- Super Smash. Bros. Ultimate*
- Minecraft
- Far Cry 6
- Just Dance 2022
- Forza Horizon 5
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Super Mario 3D World*
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
2021 Overall Top 20 Best-Selling Games
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Madden NFL 22
- Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl*
- Battlefield 2042
- Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Mario Kart 8*
- Resident Evil Village
- MLB The Show 21^
- Super Mario 3D World*
- Far Cry 6
- FIFA 22
- Minecraft
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
- NBA 2K22*
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Back 4 Blood
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Forza Horizon 5
*Digital sales not included
^Xbox digital sales not included
December 2021 Top 10 Games On Nintendo
No digital sales included
- Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl
- Mario Kart 8
- Mario Party Superstars
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Super Smash Bros Ultimate
- Just Dance 2022
- Super Mario 3D World
- Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- New Super Mario Bros.
- Minecraft
December 2021 Top 10 Games On PlayStation
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Madden NFL 22
- Battlefield 2042
- NBA 2K22*
- Ghost of Tsushima
- FIFA 22
- Far Cry 6
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Guardians of the Galaxy
*Digital sales not included
December 2021 Top 10 Games On Xbox
- Halo Infinite
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Madden NFL 22
- Battlefield 2042
- Forza Horizon 5
- Far Cry 6
- NBA 2K22*
- FIFA 22
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
*Digital sales not included
2021 Top 10 Games On Nintendo
- Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl
- Mario Kart 8
- Super Mario 3D World
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Super Smash Bros Ultimate
- Monster Hunter: Rise
- Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Mario Party Superstars
- Pokemon Sword/Shield
- Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
*Digital sales not included
2021 Top 10 Games On PlayStation
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Madden NFL 22
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- MLB The Show 21
- Battlefield 2042
- FIFA 22
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Resident Evil Village
- Far Cry 6
2021 Top 10 Games On Xbox
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Madden NFL 22
- Battlefield 2042
- Far Cry 6
- Forza Horizon 5
- Halo Infinite
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- FIFA 22
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Source: Gamespot
