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

Following up Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is Capcom’s Pragmata at the number 2 spot. Third place is taken up by Crimson Desert, followed by MLB: The Show 26 in fourth place. Rounding up the top 5 is the indie pirate-themed survival crafting game Windrose. The only other new releases in the top 10 listing are Saros at ninth place, and the PS5 release of Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG Starfield.

When it comes to the entire year so far, the period from January 4th to May 2nd has seen Resident Evil Requiem taking up the top spot in terms of sales in the US. Interestingly, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream was the only recent release to make its way into the rankings at ninth place. The rest of the list is taken up by titles you’d expect, like Crimson Desert in second place, MLB The Show 26 in third place, Pokémon Pokopia in fourth place, and WWE 2K26 in fifth place.

April saw hardware sales rise, with spending going up by 34 percent year-on-year. Interestingly, much of this spending is attributed to the Nintendo Switch 2, since the original Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 have all seen year-on-year spending declines of 69 percent, 43 percent, and 30 percent, respectively.

This has made the Nintendo Switch 2 the best-selling hardware platform in terms of both number of units sold, as well as dollars of revenue generated for both the month of April itself, as well as the entire year so far. The PS5 is in second place.

Interestingly, when taking US lifetime sales into account, the PS5 is tracking 2 percent ahead of the PS4 in the same 66-month time frame. Similarly, the Nintendo Switch 2 has already taken a lead over the original Switch in the pace of its hardware sales, overtaking the 2017 console by 11 percent for the same 11-month period since their respective launches.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream topping sales charts shouldn’t really come as a surprise since the title has been a hit across social media platforms thanks to its absurdist comedy and emphasis on player freedom. The title was released on the Nintendo Switch on April 16th, and since then, has seen quite a bit of critical and commercial acclaim. Leading up to its release, Nintendo had also released a free demo for it, giving players a taste of its core gameplay that largely revolves around managing a quiet island town and its crazy denizens.

The other new title to have topped the charts this month—Pragmata—was released on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on April 17th, and since then, has been praised for its unique combat gameplay that melds shooting, dodging, and puzzle solving.

April 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) 2026-05-20T13:00:19.106Z

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) 2026-05-20T13:00:19.107Z

Hardware – April hardware spending increased by 34% when compared to a year ago, to $261M. Spending on Nintendo Switch 2 hardware offset declines seen across Switch (-69% versus April 2025), Xbox Series (-43%) and PlayStation 5 (-30%).

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-05-20T13:00:19.108Z

If you haven’t been looking out for this one, it allows you to bring your family and friends along, transforming them into adorable Mii characters who you can then place on your island and watch them navigate the complexities that such a lifestyle brings. You have a lot of customization options at your disposal that let you create the perfect character, and a lot to do for them once you let them loose on the island.

The demo, dubbed the Welcome Version, is a great way to get started if this one sounds like a fun way to unwind after a long day. And yes, your progress is going to carry over to the final game when it releases on April 16.

The demo’s release was accompanied by a new overview trailer that dives deeper into the gameplay. You can check it out below if you’re wondering if this one’s up your alley, which is quite likely if you happen to be an Animal Crossing fan.

It could start innocently enough, like a Mii suggesting more greenery to the island, but from there, it’s easy to go on a spending spree in the new Quik Build for decorations. Want to expand the island and make it absolutely massive? How about rearranging its shape into several smaller islands, or even a Mii’s face? Those who aren’t interested in such aggressive terraforming can opt to move houses and shops.

Of course, the creation tools go even further with Palette House, which lets you design house exteriors, latte art, and even pets for your residents. Speaking of which, Miis can now live together in the same house. Up to eight people can live in the same building and have group interactions. You can also bestow Little Quirks to Miis, from phrases to habits like tossing and turning while sleeping to wiping away sweat.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launches on April 16th for Nintendo Switch, and could very well be a refuge for Animal Crossing: New Horizons fans. Head here for even more details.

Creating one Mii isn’t enough, however. Once you’ve fashioned a whole community with unique personalities, the island will grow and develop. You can also directly pick up and drop Miis, triggering different reactions, such as approaching and becoming friends with others.

Miis can have their own ideas, such as who should be friends and what they should discuss. In-game time follows the real world, and even if you’re not playing, the Miis will be busy, leading their lives. Among other new features, there are shops like Fresh Kingdom for food, Foto-Tomo for taking pictures with Miis, New Station for all the island’s happenings, and more.

You can even purchase several different room types for your Mii with T and C Reno. It includes everything from a mini-library to a witch’s coven. That only scratches the surface of what Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has to offer – stay tuned for more details shortly.

As the third entry in the series, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is about managing an island of Miis. They’ll socialize, arrange get-togethers and maybe even fight, to your amusement (or dismay, if you wanted everyone to get along). You’re once again free to customize Miis as you see fit with new options available.

While many facets of its predecessor remain, including spying on the dreams of your Miis, Living the Dream now offers more direct ways to steer their interactions. We’ll likely learn the full extent of this during the Direct, but it could make for some more nuanced chaos.

Of course, with Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launching this year, Nintendo may also announce a release date. Unlike so many other first-party titles, it’s coming to Nintendo Switch, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see a Switch 2 Edition or upgrade. As always, stay tuned for more details when the Direct airs.

Of course, the gameplay is pretty much what you’d expect from the franchise, with various Miis going about their business, dancing, arguing and more (complete with the same text-to-speech software). Each has a unique personality and different problems to resolve. The “dream” state also returns and includes instances where characters could encounter giant versions of others for comedic effect.

It’s bizarre, but considering the previous game is one of the best-selling titles on the Nintendo 3DS with almost 6.8 million sales, a sequel seemed a given at some point. Maybe not this late into the Nintendo Switch’s lifecycle, but I digress. Stay tuned for more updates on Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream in the coming year.