Starfield Was September 2023's Best-Selling Game In US, Despite Debuting On Game Pass

The first new series in decades from Bethesda Game Studios topped the US sales charts last month, according to Circana. Starfield debuted as the top-selling video game and is already the seventh best-selling title so far in 2023. Keep in mind this successful launch--with over 10 million players already--occurred even with the spacefaring RPG releasing day and date on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as well.

Right behind Starfield was the multiplatform Mortal Kombat 1, which saw similar overall dollar sales to 2019's Mortal Kombat 11 release. What's intriguing about the fighting game is how it's the third-best-selling game on Nintendo Switch in September. Mortal Kombat 1 was heavily criticized for seemingly looking rough on Nintendo's console, and all is not well after the title's first big patch for the platform.

Coming in third was the newly named EA Sports FC 24 (previously known as the FIFA franchise). Circana noted the soccer game saw notable growth over last year's entry, something EA previously confirmed by stating EA Sports FC 24 started better than FIFA 23.

On the hardware side of things, PS5 continued its dominance throughout this year, leading in September for unit and dollar sales. Xbox Series X|S followed in second place, and it saw single-digit percentage growth compared to the same time in 2022.

Overall, US gamers spent a whopping $4.5 billion on video games, consoles, and accessories last month. That comes to 10% growth versus September 2022--even though hardware spending experienced an 8% decline.

September 2023 Top 10 Games In The US

August 27, 2023 through September 30, 2023

1. Starfield
2. Mortal Kombat 1
3. EA Sports FC 24
4. Madden NFL 24
5. Payday 3
6. NBA 2K 24*
7. The Crew: Motorfest
8. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
9. Hogwarts Legacy
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

2023 Year To Date Ending September 2023 Top 10 Games In The US

1. Hogwarts Legacy
2. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom*
3. Madden NFL 24
4. Diablo IV
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
7. Starfield
8. Mortal Kombat 1
9. Resident Evil 4 (2023)
10. MLB: The Show 23^

*Digital sales not included

^Xbox and Switch digital sales not included