Elden Ring released in February 2022 and quickly went on to become the developer FromSoftware’s best-selling game to date. Before its release, Elden Ring already had a huge dedicated following from FromSoftware’s previous Dark Souls series, to which Elden Ring is a kind of spiritual successor. But the games marketing campaign coupled with it being a new IP, meant many new players took Elden Ring as a chance to jump into FromSoftware’s infamously difficult, and yet rewarding brand of games.
After its release, Elden Ring garnered nearly universally positive reviews from critics and fans alike. This positive word of mouth quickly spread about the game which only caused its sales to increase, although Elden Ring had already become the best-selling game of 2022 on the day after its release.
Releasing early in 2022 means there is less competition for title of best-selling game of the year to that point, but with big-name titles like Starfield delayed until 2023, Elden Ring may just be able to hold onto its top spot. Recent figures published by NPD, a market research company, would support the idea that Elden Ring has a decent chance of retaining its top spot, as the game has claimed the title of best-selling game for the month of May after dropping to 2nd place in April. Elden Ring was beaten out in April was LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga which released on April 5.
The months following a game’s release will usually see a steep drop-off in sales, as everyone that was waiting for the game has purchased it, and everyone that was on the fence about it has made up their mind about buying it. Elden Ring retaking the best-selling game title for the month shows the longevity the game has and the positive word of mouth that is still being spread about the game.
Elden Ring’s sales are impressive for FromSoftware, which is a studio that usually garners more cult appeal due to its focus on difficulty. But Elden Ring’s sales figures are also incredibly impressive for an ostensibly single player fantasy RPG. Usually this genre doesn't sell as well as Elden Ring has, apart from a few exceptional outliers like the incredibly successful Skyrim, which according to NPD’s report has also re-entered the top 20 best-selling games for the month for the first time since 2017.
Multiplayer focused games like Call of Duty are usually the best-selling games in any given year, and with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 set to release in October, this may be the case once again in 2022. However, Elden Ring’s continued longevity may see it holding onto the position for much longer than anyone could have predicted.
Elden Ring is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
