Top 10 Best-Selling Games In May 2019 Revealed; Nintendo Switch Outsells PS4 And Xbox One In US

The NPD Group has released its monthly report for May 2019, revealing which games and consoles sold the best in the United States during the month. Nintendo Switch continued its strong performance, while a number of recent releases dominated the top four software slots.

Beginning with game sales--which include digital sales for some but not all games--NetherRealm's Mortal Kombat 11 was the best-selling game in the US for the month, repeating its top performance from April when it was released. Mortal Kombat 11 now becomes the best-selling game of 2019 so far. Its second month was a strong one, as the NPD said month-two sales nearly doubled comparable sales of any other Mortal Kombat game in history for its second month.

The No. 2 overall best-selling game of May 2019 in the US was PlayStation 4 exclusive Days Gone. Two other new releases, Total War: Three Kingdoms and Rage 2 (only physical sales included), were the next entries on the list. Also notable for May was that Minecraft re-appeared in the top 10 list, coming in at No. 9. And, incredibly, Grand Theft Auto V continues to sell well, occupying the No. 5 spot (beating a much more recent Rockstar game, Red Dead Redemption II, at No. 7).

Overall, game sales in the United States reached $262 million in May, which is down 13 percent year-over-year. It was a particularly tough month, as May 2019 sales were the lowest for a May month since May 2013 when total game sales reached $222 million. In terms of new releases specifically, May 2019 is the lowest for a May month since May 1998, the NPD added.

On a year-to-date basis, however, total game sales have now reached $2.2 billion, which is up 2 percent year-over-year. Sales of Nintendo Switch games are growing, but the uptick in Switch software sales was offset by lower sales on every other platform that the NPD tracks.

Moving to hardware, the Nintendo Switch was the best-seller of May 2019. It's also the No. 1 best-performing console of 2019 across unit sales and dollar revenue.

For May 2019 specifically, spending on all video game consoles dropped 20 percent to $149 million year-over-year. The Switch grew, but all other systems dropped. Looking at year-to-date, total hardware spending is now $1.1 billion, which is down 17 percent.

Looking at the full picture--covering games, hardware, and accessories--total US video game spending reached $641 million, which is down 11 percent. Year-to-date sales are also down, falling 3 percent to $4.7 billion.

May 2019 Best-Selling Games

All Platforms May 2019

1. Mortal Kombat 11
2. Days Gone
3. Total War: Three Kingdoms
4. Rage 2*
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
7. Red Dead Redemption II
8. MLB The Show 19
9. Minecraft#
10. NBA 2K19

All Platforms Year-To-Date 2019

1. Mortal Kombat 11
2. Kingdom Hearts III
3. The Division 2^
4. Anthem^
5. Resident Evil 2
6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
7. Red Dead Redemption II
8. Days Gone
9. MLB The Show 19
10. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

All Platforms 12 Months Ended May 2019

1. Red Dead Redemption 2
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4^
3. NBA 2K19
4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
5. Madden NFL 19^
6. Spider-Man
7. Assassin's Creed Odyssey
8. Mortal Kombat 11
9. FIFA 19^
10. Kingdom Hearts III

May 2019 Xbox One

1. Mortal Kombat 11
2. Rage 2*
3. Red Dead Redemption II
4. The Division 2
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. NBA 2K19
7. Minecraft
8. Forza Horizon 4
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
10. Rainbow Six Siege

May 2019 PS4

1. Mortal Kombat 11
2. Days Gone
3. MLB The Show 19
4. Rage 2*
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. Spider-Man
7. Red Dead Redemption 2
8. Call of Duty: Black O ps 4
9. NBA 2K19
10. The Division 2

May 2019 Nintendo Switch

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
2. Mario Kart 8*
3. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
5. Mortal Kombat 11
6. Yoshi's Crafted World*
7. Super Mario Party*
8. Super Mario Odyssey*
9. Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu*
10. Pokemon: Let's Go Eevee*

May 2019 3DS

1. Pokemon: Ultra Sun*
2. Pokemon: Ultra Moon*
3. Detective Pikachu*
4. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D*
5. Super Mario Maker*
6. Mario Kart 7*
7. Super Smash Bros.*
8. Kirby's Epic Yarn*
9. Luigi's Mansion*
10. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey*

* Digital sales not included

^ PC digital sales not included

# Minecraft digital sales on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One included