2021 was a good year to be a company in the game industry. Many of the best-selling games in 2021 were also the best-selling games in 2020.
2021 was huge for the Pokémon games. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were the third best selling games in December and the fourth best selling full year in the United States, according to The NPD Group.
Including New Pokémon Snap, in 2021, the franchise sold the most physical copies since 2000 when Pokémon Gold and Silver first appeared in the United States. Digital sales aren’t included, but it’s still a bizarre milestone.
The other best-selling games from 2021 look familiar. Seven of the top 20 games were also in the top 20 the year before, and three of them (Mortal Kombat 11, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Mario Kart 8) were even in the top 20 of 2019.
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War
Madden NFL 22
Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl
Battlefield 2042
Marvel’s 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
The month of December also had little variation:
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Halo: Infinite
Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl
Madden NFL 22
Battlefield 2042
Mario Kart 8
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Mario Party Superstars
NBA 2K22
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
In 2021, games were spent 8% more than in 2020, a new all-time high of $60.4 billion. Hardware was spent up to 14% more in 2021 at $6.1 billion. The Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console of 2021 in numbers.
