Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Dominates in May Propels Switch Back to the Top of the Charts

The former NPD Group (now named “Circana”) has released its full North American sales data for May, and as you might expect, it was all about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom this past month. Link’s latest not only topped the software charts, but the popularity of the game boosted Switch back to the top of the hardware charts. Players spent $4.1 billion on games, additional content, and hardware in May, a 12 percent year-on-year increase, which was pretty much all fueled by Zelda. This was the biggest May for physical game sales since 2014 and the biggest May for hardware sales since 2008. It should be mentioned that the PS5 also continued to sell very well in May, it was just overtaken by Switch and the Tears of the Kingdom juggernaut.

On the software front, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was obviously #1 with a bullet, and in fact, it was the only new game in the top 20. Hogwarts Legacy rose up the ranks again to #2, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor held strong at #3. Interestingly, Zelda: Breath of the Wild also hopped back into the top 20 at #13, as apparently some people just can’t spend enough time in Hyrule.

Here are May’s top 20 games according to Circana:

1 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

2 - Hogwarts Legacy

3 - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

4 - Dead Island 2

5 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

6 - MLB The Show 23

7 - FIFA 23

8 - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

9 - Resident Evil 4

10 - Far Cry 6

11 - Elden Ring

12 - Minecraft

13 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

14 - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

15 - Madden NFL 23

16 - God of War Ragnarok

17 - New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

18 - Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

19 - Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

20 - Super Mario 3D World

And here are the top games of 2023 to date:

1 - Hogwarts Legacy

2 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

3 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

4 - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

5 - Resident Evil 4

6 - MLB the Show 23

7 - Dead Island 2

8 - FIFA 23

9 - Dead Space

10 - Madden NFL 23

What are your thoughts on the May NPD/Circana charts? Any big surprises or things you’re happy to see?

Written by Nathan Birch