While half of the top 10 list in the US were new releases for the month, the other half was made up of older games, like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, MLB: The Show 26, Crimson Desert, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and Mario Kart World.

When taking the whole year into account, Resident Evil Requiem continues to take the top spot for game sales in the US. It is followed by Crimson Desert in second place and MLB: The Show 26 in third place. Despite being a relatively new release, 007 First Light has managed to do incredibly well by taking the fourth spot for the entire year so far, followed by Forza Horizon 6 in fifth. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is the only new release to have broken through the top 10 sales for the year, coming in at 7th place.

007 First Light ended up getting quite a few accolades for its performance in May 2026, being the best-selling PlayStation game for the month, as well as the highest “full game dollar sales” of any James Bond game in history.

All in all, Piscatella has reported that total video game spending in the US for May 2026 hit $4.2 billion, which marks a 3 percent increase over May 2025. By the time the month was over, the year-to-date spending was 4 percent higher than last year, coming in at $23 billion.

Interestingly, Piscatella has noted that consoles served as the primary platform for game spending in May 2026 in the US, with total spending having gone up by 25 percent compared to last year. When taking year-to-date figures, console content spending is 13 percent higher. PC and subscriptions haven’t fallen behind either, coming in at 15 percent and 11 percent year-on-year increases, respectively.

Piscatella has also revealed details about console hardware sales in the US for May 2026, noting that both PlayStation and Xbox haven’t been doing too well. While it was the first May faced by PlayStation since 2000, Piscatella has confirmed that May 2026 was the worst May for Xbox since Microsoft launched the division. While there are likely many reasons for console sales falling in this regard, Piscatella also brought up the fact that price hikes have led to consoles simply getting too expensive. Xbox, for example, saw a 22 percent increase in average hardware price since 2025. PlayStation, on the other hand, saw an increase of 33 percent year-on-year.

“Xbox is currently tracking a distant third in hardware sales among the major manufacturers. But they are getting more revenue from each unit sold, enough to make dollar sales grow in May despite the unit drop,” said Piscatella. “If that fits the definition of ‘working’ or not, I don’t know.”

May 2026 U.S. Projected Top 10 Best-Selling Games Ranked on Physical & Full Game Digital Dollar Sales (Excludes Mobile and Digital Add-On Content)

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.576Z

YTD 2026 U.S. Projected Top 10 Best-Selling Games Ranked on Physical & Full Game Digital Dollar Sales (Excludes Mobile and Digital Add-On Content)

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.577Z

Content – Console drove content spending growth in May. Total spending on console content increased by 25% compared to a year ago and is now 13% higher year-to-date. PC content (+15% versus a year ago) and subscription spending (+11%) also grew in May.

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.585Z

Content – 007 First Light was May’s leader in full game dollar sales, debuting as the 4th best-seller of 2026 year-to-date. It also led all titles in full game dollar sales on PlayStation platforms in the month.

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.586Z

So, whilst Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight harbours an open-world checklist of sorts – the kind to keep you ticking over between meaningful story beats – it’s also bringing something deceptively simple that many modern blockbusters overlook: joyful, chaotic, family friendly play.

TT Games’ Lego franchise has always harnessed the child-like imagination a mass of unsorted Lego bricks imposes; the skittering cascade of plastic clicks as your hand wades through a loose pile, eruditely distilled into gleeful gameplay. If there’s one area the series risks over-playing, it’s nostalgia, which might have given TT a headache during development as Legacy of the Dark Knight spans influence from every Batman era – from Adam West’s campy 1960s turn, through Tim Burton’s high-fantasy to Matt Reeves’ contemporary gothic-noir.

Yet, Lego Batman avoids overly-romanticising the past, instead spinning The Dark Knight’s many archetypes into a singular, self-contained experience that is then fleshed out by the series’ trademark irreverence and fondness for unexpected cross-cultural references. So, whilst you might have expected the menacing cartoonishness of Jack Nicholson’s Joker, there won’t be many who foresaw an American Psycho gag in a Lego game.

The game treats nostalgia like a pile of bricks. It’s not recreating the past, but recombining it.

But, that’s not to say Lego Batman allows nostalgia’s pitfalls to dilute its ambition. Whilst it appears structurally simple – like the loose bricks analogy we keep returning to – this isn’t a narrow, level-based romp but a fully realised take on Gotham City, complete with open-ended exploration, multi-layered mission design, and a surprising degree of mechanical variety. Combat, for starters, borrows liberally from the rhythmic flow and reactive weight of Batman’s Arkham series, while stealth, gadget use, and character switching introduce a measure of flexibility that goes beyond simple button-mashing.

On paper, it’s easy to write this off as “just another Lego game”. Indeed, many already did before its flood of positive critical reception. What we know now is this isn’t a familiar formula applied to a globally-recognised license, but a curated distillation of what makes Batman work in the first place, dismantled and reassembled into something broad, well-considered, yet still playfully messy. The crucial thing to understand here is Lego Batman’s playfulness doesn’t oppose its ambition, but expresses it in a way that’s universally appealing.

Contrast this to the many big-budget games that are, for better or worse, structured around retention. Is there anyone else, for instance, who agrees that Marathon would draw more players if the extraction shooter also included a one-and-done single player campaign? Whilst an entirely different experience, of course, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight still offers something radical: it’s a game that simply asks to be played before moving on. You can stray through Gotham at your own pace, unlock extra characters, or collect optional WayneTech. There’s no obligation to keep up with anything beyond your own curiosity.

You’re loading the game up because you’re interested, then you’re doubling back for collectibles, and replaying missions with new abilities because it feels satisfying to do so. It’s a loop reminiscent of how most big-budget games used to be; complete experiences rather than eternal attention hoarders. You pick it up, shape your experience, then move on without the sense that something is occurring in your absence.

And then we have Lego Batman’s ability to portray The World’s Greatest Detective in a language shared by all ages. See, movie-going Batman is often exclusively dark, traumatic, and intense, whereas Legacy of the Dark Knight reintroduces theatrical absurdity. Even the most elegiac scenarios, like Bruce’s brutal Himalayan training at the hands of Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Shadows in Batman Begins is treated lightheartedly by TT Games. Adults will recognise the source material, while kids see colours, explosions, and chaotic stimuli. Both are valid experiences. The juvenile mindset enjoys smashing that pile of loose bricks, scattering them across the floor, while grown-ups envision building houses, bridges, and maybe even grander structures like citadels and cathedrals.

This is where the Lego series is uniquely placed to reach a wide audience without dumbing down the experience. Yes, younger players might be discovering Batman for the first time, the older generation might have grown up with Lego, casuals might want easy-to-learn systems, while completionists will be exploring every hidden collectible. Add to this Lego Batman’s suite of accessibility presets – from vision, motion, and motor function modifiers, to difficulty sliders, event skipping, and, perhaps the most crucial for any parents playing with their kids, the option to retain studs after defeat – then the possibilities become the sheer opposite of shallow. Accessibility, here, is how the game truly functions as a communal experience.

There is, however, mechanical nostalgia that younger players might not pick up on. Lego Batman’s combat echoes Rocksteady’s Arkham series precisely, not just to invoke its fluidity, punch, and potential, but as another finely-tuned, rose-tinted drip feed. Furthermore, it connects the game to a lineage of strong, single-player games while reassuring experienced players that there’s still plenty of meat to chew on. The idea Lego Batman suggests is that publishers shouldn’t underestimate the gravitas of single-player, as broadly speaking, superhero licenses, shared experiences, and big IP adaptations – IO Interactive’s upcoming 007 origin story notwithstanding – generally focus toward online ecosystems. Legacy of the Dark Knight’s reception shows that, instead, there’s appetite for generous, content-rich, self-contained single-player narratives.

There’s also something specifically important about how the game approaches shared play, where the borders created by separate screens, spaces, or even entire countries are eroded, turning Gotham into a city that can be navigated, disrupted, and laughed through side by side.

As anyone who’s completed one of a growing number of same-screen co-operative games will tell you, playing Split Fiction or Overcooked together on the couch changes a game’s rhythm. Progress becomes conversational, improvised, sometimes casually argumentative. It’s human interaction through digital collaboration, and it’s something which the Lego series has been a torchbearer for generations.

In a way, it mirrors the physical act of building freeform with Lego itself. Pieces are passed back and forth, ideas overlap, and structures take shape through collaborative input. Lego Batman’s digital experience captures the same tactile possibility, where on-screen movement, exploration, and combat becomes the allegorical product of two players working in sync.

Now, it’s tempting to label this as mere iteration. Another pass, it seems, at a roadworn formula. But Legacy of the Dark Knight shows that the Lego formula isn’t an issue. Like a box of bricks, its value lies in how it’s used. With a stronger identity, better systemic cohesion, and a clear understanding of what makes Batman compelling – areas that, admittedly, the Lego series has struggled with over the years – then the loose bricks feel newly purposeful.

And maybe this is the wider lesson licensed games can take away, that they don’t need to chase scale to find an audience. If they understand the fantasy running through its core – the gadgets, the villains, the vast showroom of Batmobiles, in Batman’s case – then the rest can be built around it. Lego Batman, then, succeeds precisely because it doesn’t reinvent his enigma, but reassembles the composite parts intently, brick-by-brick.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Pre-orders are live now on the Nintendo eShop, with the Standard Edition costing $69.99 and the Deluxe Edition retailing for $89.99. As with other platforms, purchasing the latter entitles you to three days of early access and various DLC packs, including the Mayhem Collection.

Speaking of which, it launches on the same day, offering a new story mission starring The Joker and Harley Quinn where they escape from Arkham Asylum. You also get to rampage through Gotham City in Mayhem Mode. There’s also the Sinister Pack, and based on datamining, it may see players controlling several Task Force X characters.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is currently available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. You can check out our review here – we gave it a nine out of ten, praising the combat, visuals, and open world. Whether it fills the gap left by Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham series will vary from person to person, but it’s an incredible tribute to the Caped Crusader.

This LEGO Batman 4: Legacy of The Dark Knight is all about the best weapon upgrades you should unlock first for each character.

Batman

Brute Claw

6 WayneTech Chips

Get this upgrade in order to grab and destabilize bigger opponents with the Batclaw.

Focus Bat Swarm

12 WayneTech Chips

Summons a bat swarm to both distract and damage enemies, best used on crowds.

Robin

Bungee Cable

4 WayneTech Chips

Allows for rapid strikes in succession using cables with bungee-like properties.

Focus Slammer

12 WayneTech Chips

Uses a cable to generate a devastating area-of-effect strike, good for crowd control.

Nightwing

Focus Circuit

12 WayneTech Chips

A chain lightning-like attack that emanates from a thrown electrified Birdarang.

Overcharge

6 WayneTech Chips

An area-of-effect electric attack on the target, when thrown at maximum charge.

Batgirl

Focus Hack

12 WayneTech Chips

This upgrade lets Batgirl completely bypass security.

Weapon Hack

7 WayneTech Chips

Hackarangs can now sabotage the weapons of targets.

Catwoman

Distract

5 WayneTech Chips

Divert the attention of enemies with this upgrade that summons kittens.

Focus Cat Attack

12 WayneTech Chips

A crowd control upgrade similar to the Bat Swarm, this upgrade summons a horde of cats to sic upon enemies.

Jim Gordon

Focus Shot

12 WayneTech Chips

A ricochet round that targets enemy after enemy in quick succession with bonus damage.

Splitter

6 WayneTech Chips

Splits Rebound Bolts into two on impact for double targeting.

Talia

Focus Frenzy

12 WayneTech Chips

A teleportation attack that chains across multiple enemies.

Stun Smoke

4 WayneTech Chips

Improves stealth attacks by deploying a smoke bomb when appearing behind a target.

Those are some of the best weapon upgrades to focus on with each of the seven characters in LEGO Batman 4: Legacy of The Dark Knight.

That’s all because it’s a title that feels very close to Rocksteady’s Arkham franchise, which continues to remain a benchmark for Batman games, all while injecting some humor into Gotham’s usually dreary streets. The stealth, Free Flow combat, and sheer amount of references are all there and are very welcome. The open world, with its activities and secrets, has also proven fun to sink dozens of hours into.

If you’ve been on the fence about this one, the trailer below is probably going to nudge you towards a decision one way or another. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, with the Nintendo Switch 2 version coming at some point. Of course, TT Games also has additional content, including The Joker and Harley Quinn as playable characters in the new Mayhem Mode.

This guide for LEGO Batman 4: Legacy of The Dark Knight is all about amassing lots of Studs quickly and with as little effort as possible.

Get The Stud Cache

In the Extras tab of the Options menu, scroll down to The LEGO Group Online Survey. This will launch the official LEGO online website with a short survey to complete.

Once done, snag the redemption code and return to the Main Menu to select ‘Redeem Code’. Drop the code in and immediately unlock the Stud Cache and a brightly-colored bonus Bouncy Castle to place in the Bat Cave.

Get The Stud Upgrades

Hyper Combo

Maximize the level of the Stud combo multiplier to 3x first, and then 4x eventually.

Speedy Stud Combo

Maximize the build-up speed of the Stud combo meter.

Stud Combo Duration

Maximize the duration of the Stud combo meter.

Stud Magnet

While exploring, this upgrade will let you vacuum up Studs from farther away.

Stealthy Studs

This upgrade grants you bonus opportunities to collect Studs, specifically when performing stealth takedowns which then boosts to the Stud combo meter.

Grind The Rollercoaster

Simply riding the rollercoaster at the Amusement Mile on North Island’s East End, without any interaction whatsoever can net you a minimum of 10K in Studs for a ride that is just over half a minute long. With all upgrades the Studs you collect per run can run as high as 19K once the maximum multiplier kicks in by the start of your second run.

Be sure to keep that multiplier running at maximum between runs using any available breakables as you scramble to get back on the ride.

Those are all the best tips for farming Studs fast in LEGO Batman 4: Legacy of The Dark Knight.

This guide for LEGO Batman 4: Legacy of The Dark Knight is a complete listing of all 33 Vehicles in their base forms. Bear in mind that each of the 23 Red Powerbricks have a skin customization effect, adding even more variation to these Vehicles. Additionally, real-world LEGO sets of The Batman Batmobile, the Batman & Robin Batmobile, and the Batman V Superman Batmobile have a scannable QR code that will unlock gold-skinned variants of those vehicles in-game.

Batman Vehicles

Robin Vehicles

Nightwing Vehicles

Batgirl Vehicles

Catwoman Vehicles

Jim Gordon Vehicles

Talia Vehicles

Those are all 33 Vehicles to be unlocked across seven characters in LEGO Batman 4: Legacy of The Dark Knight.

Seemingly included in the Mayhem Collection out this September are Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Javelin, Katana, Killer Croc, King Shark, Lester (The Electrocutioner?), Mongal, Polka Dot Man, Rick Flag, A.R.G.U.S, and Cops. These additions would bring many of the characters depicted in the two Suicide Squad movies over the last decade (and many from the comics).

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight went into its May 22nd release date with a lot of momentum, having amassed a million wishlists just on Steam alone. This is potentially due to early positive coverage, with many first impressions praising it. In our own review, we gave it a 9 out of 10 thanks to a plethora of factors like a fun story that pays homage to several Batman works, and solid stealth and combat mechanics. In fact, we thought that its simplistic gameplay mechanics didn’t really hurt the overall experience much.

While primarily developed by TT Games, the credits for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight showcase just how much of the title was a team effort. Among the people listed as having had a hand in making the game are Warner Bros. Games Montreal of on Batman: Arkham Origins and Gotham Knights fame and even Batman: Arkham series creator Rocksteady Studios.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight offers a fresh LEGO-styled take on the superhero. Rather than focusing on linear levels like other LEGO games, however, it features an open world. The narrative also spans several eras of Batman’s storied career, starting with a young Bruce Wayne who trains with the League of Shadows. Along the way, players get to meet several allies, including Jim Gordon, Catwoman, Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl, as well as a variety of foes, including The Penguin, Mr Freeze, Poison Ivy, Bane, and The Joker, among many others.

On the gameplay side of things, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight features a combat system involving combo-heavy beatdowns, as well as a variety of stealth techniques that will help players take on the many dangers presented by Gotham City. There are also plenty of options for traversing the world, from grappling and gliding to vehicles. Players can visit iconic locations like Ace Chemicals, Wayne Tower, and Arkham Asylum. The open world offers plenty of room for exploration thanks to its plethora of collectibles.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with the Nintendo Switch 2 version out later.

This guide for LEGO Batman 4: Legacy of The Dark Knight is a complete listing of all 112 suits and costumes in their base forms. Bear in mind that each of the 23 Red Powerbricks have a skin customization effect, adding even more variation to these outfits.

Batman Suits And Costumes

Robin Suits And Costumes

Batgirl Suits And Costumes

Catwoman Suits And Costumes

Jim Gordon Suits And Costumes

Talia Suits And Costumes

Those are all 112 Suits and Costumes to be unlocked across seven characters in LEGO Batman 4: Legacy of The Dark Knight.

This LEGO Batman 4: Legacy of The Dark Knight is a complete listing of all 23 Red Power Bricks with their locations or purchase price.

All Red Power Bricks

Those are all 23 Red Power Bricks to be unlocked by either finding or purchasing them in LEGO Batman 4: Legacy of The Dark Knight.