10 Best-Selling Games Of March 2018 In The US Revealed

The NPD Group has released its latest report, this one covering March 2018 in the US. As always, this accounts for new, physical sales of video games, along with a selection of digital sales; in other words, it's not a complete picture of the US video game industry. Nonetheless, it does provide us with some insight, including strong starts for the month's biggest releases, Far Cry 5 and Sea of Thieves.

Ubisoft's new open-world shooter unsurprisingly came out as the month's top-selling game, but its performance was strong enough to make it the best-selling game of the year so far. NPD notes it set a new record for launch month sales for the Far Cry franchise; the amount spent on the game almost doubled the previous record holder, Far Cry 3.

Sea of Thieves came in as the No. 2 game for the month, which is arguably a surprise--it was the first big game to launch day and date through Xbox Game Pass, which is not accounted for in NPD's numbers. Despite that, it sold well enough to become the eighth best-selling game of the year so far. Going back to 1995, when the NPD began tracking, it was also the best-selling launch month for any game developed by Rare.

MLB 18: The Show also got off to a nice start, coming in as the No. 3 game and setting a new series record for launch month sales. The same was also true for Kirby Star Allies, the No. 4 game in March.

The remainder of the top sellers--which extends out to a top 20--is largely comprised of the usual suspects. Grand Theft Auto V's incredible roll continues (it was No. 5), while Monster Hunter World (No. 10) is still pushing units, though it's now the second best-selling game of 2018, thanks to Far Cry 5.

Software sales across PC, console, and handheld were down 10% year-over-year to $613 million, but so far this year, sales are actually up 8% thanks to Switch (which didn't launch until March of 2017).

Hardware sales saw a more significant drop, dipping 32% to $331 million, though last year represented a tough comparison with the Switch's release. Year-to-date, hardware sales are up 13% thanks to Xbox One growth. PS4 was the best-selling console overall during the month and for the year so far.

Read on for the full software top sellers lists, which, bear in mind, don't all include digital sales data.

NPD's Best-Selling Games Of March 2018 In The US (March 4 - April 7)

1. Far Cry 5
2. Sea Of Thieves
3. MLB 18: The Show
4. Kirby Star Allies*
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. Call of Duty: WWII
7. Mario Kart 8*
8. Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
9. NBA 2K18
10. Monster Hunter: World
11. Super Mario Odyssey*
12. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
13. Playerunknown's Battlegrounds**
14. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
15. A Way Out**
16. Assassin's Creed: Origins
17. Dragon Ball: Fighterz
18. FIFA 18**
19. Splatoon 2*
20. UFC 3

* no digital sales included

**no PC digital sales included