May 2022 NPD: The Nintendo Switch again leads the pack as the best-seller

Nintendo Switch Oled Model In Dock
Nintendo Switch Oled Model In Dock (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / iMore)

What you need to know

  • The May 2022 NPD results are now available.
  • The Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console of the month, in dollar sales and in units sold.
  • Elden Ring was again the best-selling game of the month.

The latest NPD report is here, spelling out how video games and consoles have been selling across the U.S. in the last month.

For the month of May 2022, NPD analyst Mat Piscatella shared that the Nintendo Switch was again the best-selling console in dollar sales and in individual units sold. The Xbox Series X|S consoles were second place in both units sold and dollar sales, putting the PS5 in third place for both metrics.

As for games, FromSoftware's Elden Ring jumped back up to take the number one spot, while the number one in the April 2022 NPD results, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, only fell one place. Nintendo Switch Sports moved up, making it at the number three position. Amusingly, the 2011 game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim managed to climb back into the top 20 at the final spot.

Here's a full look at the best-selling games of the month. Remember, NPD tracks dollar sales and not units, while Nintendo and Take-Two Interactive do not provide digital sales data.

May 2022 NPD: Here are the top 20 games sold in the U.S.

  1. Elden Ring
  2. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
  3. Nintendo Switch Sports*
  4. Evil Dead: The Game
  5. MLB The Show 22**
  6. Kirby and the Forgotten Land*
  7. Call of Duty: Vanguard
  8. Mario Kart 8*
  9. Gran Turismo 7
  10. Pokémon Legends Arceus*
  11. Minecraft
  12. Horizon Forbidden West
  13. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
  14. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
  15. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
  16. FIFA 22
  17. Mario Party Superstars*
  18. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl*
  19. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
  20. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  • *Digital sales not included
  • **Xbox and Switch digital sales not included

Now, we can take a look at the best-selling games of the year so far.

2022 NPD: Here are the top 20 games sold in the U.S. so far

  1. Elden Ring
  2. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
  3. Pokémon Legends Arceus*
  4. Horizon Forbidden West
  5. MLB The Show 22**
  6. Call of Duty: Vanguard
  7. Gran Turismo 7
  8. Kirby and the Forgotten Land*
  9. Mario Kart 8*
  10. Madden NFL 22
  11. FIFA 22
  12. Minecraft
  13. Nintendo Switch Sports*
  14. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
  15. Monster Hunter Rise
  16. Dying Light 2 Stay Human*
  17. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
  18. Mario Party Superstars*
  19. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
  20. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

That's everything the month of May 2022's NPD results!

Samuel Tolbert
Contributor

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance gaming writer who started working for iMore and its sister sites Windows Central and Android Central in July 2019. He handles news, previews, reviews, and exclusive original reporting, and has also been featured on TechRadar.

With a background studying engineering before he shifted his focus to gaming journalism, he's skilled at identifying technical advantages and disadvantages provided by different hardware. If he’s not writing something, he’s off playing video games, spending time with his pets, exercising, or reading. He's also fond of trying to draw things with his iPad.