Despite the game not receiving any nominations at The Game Awards, Hogwarts Legacy became one of the best-selling games of 2023. The game sold more than 22 million copies last year, surpassing industry giants like Call of Duty.
In the UK, it took first place as the best-selling physics game in the region last year. As expected, the results in the US are not much different. Last year, Hogwarts Legacy was also the best-selling game.
This report was provided by Matt Piscatella, who works for Circana and publishes monthly data on the top-selling games in the United States.
Hogwarts Legacy was the best-selling game in the region last year, both digitally and physically. Whether it’s on PlayStation, Steam or Xbox, the Harry Potter adaptation has single-handedly taken the top spot.
Since 2008, this position has been dominated by Call of Duty and Rockstar games. Thus, Avalanche Software’s release became the first game to break this streak, pushing Modern Warfare 3 to second position.
Other major releases, such as Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, finished the year in 4th place. Elsewhere, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is in 5th place, but digital sales are not counted in Zelda’s case.
Interestingly, Hogwarts Legacy was also PlayStation’s biggest game of 2023. While Spider-Man 2 set a new record at launch, it came out much later in the year and became the second best-selling game on PlayStation.
For years, fans have dreamed of immersing themselves in the magical world of Harry Potter through an interactive gaming environment. Hogwarts Legacy filled that void and it was destined to be a success. However, no one expected the game to become so big last year. In fact, this success was so unprecedented that Warner Bros. was surprised by the results.
After such success, Warner Bros has a new interest in the gaming industry. A sequel to Hogwarts Legacy appears to have already begun development, with the studio confirming plans to expand the IP with new games in the future.
