This PlayStation game was the best-seller of May 2024 in the US thanks to its PC version, per Circana

Ghost of Tsushima launched on Windows PC in May 2024, which drove it to become the best-selling game of the month in the U.S.

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What you need to know

What you need to know

PlayStation and Sucker Punch Productions' 2020 samurai adventure was at the top of last month’s charts.

That’s according to Circana executive director and advisor Mat Piscatella, whoshareddetails on Monday regarding the best-selling games and hardware of May 2024. Per Piscatella,Ghost of Tsushimawas the best-selling game of the month, driven largely by the arrival of the game’s Windows PC version.

Ghost of Tsushima was followed by Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023), and Helldivers 2. Meanwhile,April 2024’s best-seller, Stellar Blade, fell to tenth place for May. Xbox titlesFallout 4, Minecraft, and Sea of Thieves all helped round out the list of best-sellers for the month.

Over in hardware, the PlayStation 5 was again the best-selling console for the month. The Nintendo Switch took second place in individual units sold, while Xbox Series X|S consoles were second in dollar sales. Overall spending for the month reached $4 billion, a 6% drop year-over-year from a month that included the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

You can see the best-selling games of the month (and the year so far) below. As always, some companies don’t share digital data, including Nintendo and Take-Two Interactive, while others like Larian Studios don’t shareanydata at all.

May 2024 Circana: Here are the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S.

May 2024 Circana: Here are the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S.

  1. Ghost of Tsushima

  2. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door*

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  1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)

  2. Helldivers 2

  3. MLB The Show 24**

  4. Sea of Thieves

  5. Minecraft

  6. Elden Ring

  7. Hogwarts Legacy

  8. Stellar Blade

  9. Fallout 4

  10. EA Sports FC 24

  11. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

  12. Homeworld 3

  13. Mario Kart 8*

  14. Madden NFL 24

  15. Rise of the Ronin

  16. F1 24

  17. Mortal Kombat 1

  18. Dragon’s Dogma 2

Denotes no digital sales dataDenotes no digital sales data on Xbox or Nintendo SwitchDenotes no digital sales data for March through May

May 2024 Circana: Here are the best-selling games of the year so far

  1. Helldivers 2

  2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)

  3. Dragon’s Dogma 2

  4. MLB The Show 24**

  5. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

  6. Tekken 8

  7. Madden NFL 24

  8. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

  9. Hogwarts Legacy

  10. Persona 3 Reload

  11. NBA 2K24***

  12. EA Sports FC 24

  13. Sea of Thieves

  14. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

  15. Minecraft

  16. Stellar Blade

  17. Rise of the Ronin

  18. Elden Ring

  19. Grand Theft Auto V***

  20. Skull and Bones

Analysis: Some strong legacy titles, but little else

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It’s great to see older games performing this well. Whether that’s through expanding to additional platforms — such as Ghost of Tsushima coming to PC and Sea of Thieves coming to PlayStation 5 — or through renewed interest via media synergy, like theexplosion in Fallout’s popularity since the launch of the acclaimed Prime Video show.

For newer games though, this wasn’t a fantastic month. This year needs a couple of big blockbusters to really shake things up and drive sales, because right now, the doldrums have set in, especially with Piscatellanotingthat May 2024’s best-seller had the lowest sales for a May in the U.S. sinceMay 2013.

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.