Starfield Dominates September 2023 U.S. Game Sales, Despite Inclusion in Game Pass
Starfield managed to prevent Mortal Kombat 1 from becoming the best-selling game in September 2023 in the United States, according to new statistics from Circana.
It may not be surprising that Bethesda's new title is popular, but the sales numbers are still impressive considering Starfield debuted on the first day on Xbox Game Pass. Obviously, this means that many people playing Starfield on Game Pass are not counted in these sales numbers.
Starfield made its debut on PC and Xbox Series X/S in September. 6, Mortal Kombat 1 followed on September 19 for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC and Nintendo Switch (although this version was not as successful). After Starfield and Mortal Kombat 1, EA Sports FC 24 is in third place for September, with Madden NFL 24 (the August catch) at #4 and Payday 3 at #5. See the full table below.
Going a little deeper into Mortal Kombat 1's numbers, the dollar market is "on par" with Mortal Kombat 11's April 2019 numbers, according to Circana. It is the best-selling game of September 2023 in the United States on PlayStation, second on Xbox and PC and third on Nintendo Switch. Unsurprisingly, the top spot for Xbox and PC went to Starfield, with PC being the main market for Bethesda's brand.
Circana also reports that Starfield is the seventh best-selling game of 2023 so far, followed by Mortal Kombat 1 at No. 8. Hogwarts Legacy is currently the best-selling game of 2023 so far, followed by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Elsewhere in Circana news, the PlayStation 5 continues to dominate the group in dollar sales, with the Xbox Series X/S coming in second. Circana's Mat Piscatella reports that US consumers spent a total of $4.5 billion on video games in September 2023, up 10% from a year ago.
