The US video game market generated an estimated $4.495 billion in consumer spending during June 2026, marking a 21% year-on-year decline, according to Circana’s latest monthly industry report. The research firm said the sharp fall was largely driven by comparisons with June 2025, when the Nintendo Switch 2 recorded the biggest console launch month in US history.
Despite the weaker June performance, total consumer spending for the first six months of 2026 reached $27.492 billion, down just 1% compared with the same period last year.
Hardware saw the steepest decline during the month, with spending falling 62% year-on-year to $383 million. Content spending reached $3.880 billion, down 12%, while accessories generated $232 million, a 21% decline.
Circana noted that June 2025 was an exceptionally difficult comparison, as the launch of Nintendo Switch 2 produced record-breaking results. The console sold 1.6 million units during its launch month, delivering the highest June hardware and accessories spending ever recorded in the US.
Even so, Nintendo Switch 2 remained the best-selling console in both unit and dollar sales during June 2026 and across the year to date. PlayStation 5 ranked second in both categories. Spending on Switch 2 hardware declined 79% from its launch month, while PlayStation 5 hardware spending fell 19% year-on-year.
Xbox Series delivered one of the month’s strongest performances. According to Circana Executive Director and Video Game Industry Advisor Mat Piscatella, Xbox Series recorded its best US sales month of 2026 so far, with unit sales increasing 86% compared with June 2025. Piscatella noted that the gains were helped by an easier year-over-year comparison following Microsoft’s May 2025 price increase and the impact of the Switch 2 launch.
Content spending remained comparatively resilient despite the overall market decline. Consumer spending totalled $3.880 billion during June, while year-to-date content spending remained essentially flat at $24.314 billion. Subscription services were the only major content category to post annual growth, increasing 7%, while both mobile and console content spending declined.
UFC 6 debuted as June’s best-selling game in the US and also finished as the top-selling title on PlayStation platforms. Meccha Chameleon entered the chart at No. 2, followed by 007 First Light in third. Star Fox debuted at No. 4 and became the best-selling game on Nintendo platforms, ahead of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and Mario Kart World. Minecraft climbed to ninth after placing 13th in the previous month.
For the year to date through July 4, Resident Evil: Requiem remained the best-selling game in the US, ahead of Crimson Desert and 007 First Light. MLB: The Show 26 slipped to fourth, while NBA 2K26 entered the top 10 after previously sitting outside it.
On the mobile side, Sensor Tower reported that the top 10 highest-grossing games remained unchanged from May. Monopoly GO! continued to lead consumer spending, followed by Royal Match and Candy Crush Saga. Game of Thrones: Dragon Fire also launched globally during June and quickly entered the top five strategy games by US downloads.
Accessory spending declined to $232 million, down 21% year-on-year. Gamepad spending fell 31%, driven largely by a 76% drop in Nintendo controller sales compared with the Switch 2 launch month a year earlier.
While June delivered the largest monthly decline of 2026, Circana’s figures suggest the US games market has remained relatively stable across the first half of the year, with overall consumer spending trailing 2025 by only 1% despite facing comparisons against one of the industry’s biggest hardware launches.
