Marvel’s Wolverine topped the US video game sales charts in September 2026, helping Sony record strong results as PlayStation 5 hardware spending climbed, according to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella. However, overall spending across video game content, hardware, and accessories declined 1% year over year to $4.76 billion.
Circana’s September 2026 market report also showed that year-to-date US video game spending fell 3% to $41.04 billion through October 3, 2026. The figures cover video game content, hardware, and accessories, excluding mobile games from the reported software rankings.
Marvel’s Wolverine Leads September Game Sales
Published by Sony, Marvel’s Wolverine debuted at number one on September’s best-selling games chart, based on physical and full-game digital dollar sales. The game also became the 11th best-selling title of 2026 so far.
Piscatella reported that Marvel’s Wolverine recorded the highest launch-month full-game dollar sales for a Sony-published game since Helldivers II debuted in February 2024.
NBA 2K27 finished September in second place, followed by EA Sports FC 27 in third. Nintendo’s Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave ranked fourth, while The Blood of Dawnwalker debuted in fifth.
Other new releases in September’s top ten included Wardogs, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Halloween: The Game, and Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. Madden NFL 27 completed the monthly top ten in tenth place.
NBA 2K27 Leads 2026 Year-to-Date Sales
NBA 2K27 also claimed the top position in the year-to-date US sales rankings, overtaking Resident Evil: Requiem, which fell to second place. 007 First Light ranked third, followed by MLB: The Show 26 and Crimson Desert in fourth and fifth, respectively.
The remaining positions in the year-to-date top ten went to Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Forza Horizon 6, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, and Pokemon: Pokopia.
PS5 Leads Hardware Sales
US video game hardware spending rose 12% year over year to $362 million in September. Despite the monthly increase, year-to-date hardware spending remained down 9%, reaching $2.91 billion.
The PlayStation 5 led September’s hardware market in both unit sales and dollar sales. The report’s headline figures also indicate a 43% increase in PS5 hardware spending.
