The PlayStation Blog likes to share a monthly roundup of the best-selling titles on the PS Store, and now it has gathered all of that information together for a post detailing the overall best-selling games on the digital storefront for 2021. The lists are broken down into specific regions (US/Canada and Europe), but no matter which one you look at in terms of PS5 titles, it's the same result across the board: sports games reign supreme. NBA 2K22 was the best-selling PS5 game on the PS Store across the US and Canada, while FIFA 22 holds that accolade for Europe.
Both regions have the same game in second place, though: Call of Duty: Vanguard. In third for Europe is, funnily enough, FIFA 21, while it's Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales for the US and Canada. One surprise inclusion is Among Us, which sits sixth in Europe. That's a very impressive result considering the game only launched in December.
| Position | US/Canada | Europe |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NBA 2K22 | FIFA 22 |
| 2 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Call of Duty: Vanguard |
| 3 | Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales | FIFA 21 |
| 4 | Madden NFL 22 | Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales |
| 5 | Battlefield 2042 | Battlefield 2042 |
| 6 | Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | Among Us |
| 7 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War | Kena: Bridge of Spirits |
| 8 | MLB The Show 21 | Far Cry 6 |
| 9 | Resident Evil Village | It Takes Two |
| 10 | Far Cry 6 | Assassin's Creed Valhalla |
Onto PS4 games and we're sure you'll be delighted to learn Grand Theft Auto V was the best-selling last-gen title on the PS Store for 2021 across the US and Canada. In Europe, meanwhile, it's FIFA 22 once again. Across both territories, though, it's the same usual big hitters: Call of Duty, sports games, and Minecraft.
| Position | US/Canada | Europe |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto V | FIFA 22 |
| 2 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War | Grand Theft Auto V |
| 3 | Minecraft | Minecraft |
| 4 | NBA 2K22 | FIFA 21 |
| 5 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War |
The blog post also documents the best-selling PSVR games of 2021, and the top three are exactly the same across both regions. Beat Saber sold the most amount of digital copies last year on the PS Store, with Job Simulator and Superhot VR in second and third respectively. Finally, Fortnite was the most downloaded free-to-play game of 2021, with Rocket League and Call of Duty: Warzone not far behind it. You can check out a full list of the results through the link.
[source blog.playstation.com]
Comments 27
I don't care for sports games but it's nice to see some other titles doing as good as they did. Combined with the retail charts, makes me wonder how big the total numbers are for Miles Morales.
Casuals dominate the market, that's why most aaa games are hot garbage right now. ❤️ Let's play the same recycled games every year.
Bought 3 of the Europe list and want to return one of them (Battlefield)
Lol, europe be like, i’m gonna buy the same game twice in a year, but with different number (fifa) 😁
We see the UK charts every week for physical sales, and to see it replicated for digital is depressing; to see FIFA Casino dominate is sad....on the surface. But I think it more down to the huge popularity of football and the lack of competition because EA has destroyed the competition. Football games will always be the most popular genre in Europe. Its bigger than any other type of game because football in most of Europe is indoctrinated into society. It's amazing to think there aren't more publishers prepared to enter the market. (though there are 2 new games on the horizon which will try to compete using a GaaS platform)
There used to be loads of different football games to chose from but since EA bought the rights to clubs and kits the lure of authenticity has forced publishers to abandon competing with EA. And that in turn has allowed EA to become the barstewards they are now turning football into psychological mind-games.
@Amusei What does "casuals" even mean here?
Insomniac Games got 2 games in the top ten NA and one game in Europe's top ten. They are carrying Playstation 5 without a doubt.
Also seeing Kena and It Takes Two in the top ten is really neat.
@bozz I think it means, "if you don't play the games I find interesting or popular, you're a filthy casual". Just another form of gatekeeping. Who cares what people play, doesnt affect me.
@bozz People that exclusively play fifa/cod/gta,... Not hating, just saying how it is.
@Amusei I guess I just don't get the implicit disdain for casual gaming. I play those games, but I also play the major time sinks like HZD, GoW, RDR2, FF7, etc. but I don't consider myself as playing then anything more than casually, I guess I'm not even sure how to play then as anything more unless you mean professionally. I'm probably just being pedantic here.
Just checked online and if I purchased every copy of GTA5 for ps4 from my 3 closest CEX (UK) stores, I'd come home with 71 copies.
Edit: just realised this is a digital sales article 🤦♂️
@lolwhatno I guess I missed the memo when that definition was decided. Ah well.
@lolwhatno I've been on the internet long enough to know that when such a label is used it's used looking down upon the person(s) it's assigned to. I just don't think that's fair but whatever, it is what it is.
@lolwhatno @bozz And if you can sneak in some video game play time while you're supposed to be working, it's called "business casual".
@hobbes242 reading this at work, and it got a good laugh from me. Well done mate.
@lolwhatno no it's a Chocobo😜
@bozz I don't care what people play, if anyone has fun playing those games, it's all good. It's just frustrating how much the gaming market has changed with the likes of microtransactions and unfinished games being the new standard, like cyberpunk, bf 2042, fallout 76,... Because people keep supporting those practices. This is what I meant with "casuals". They buy the same recycled trash every year so nothing will ever change. Anyways I'm just ranting, have a good one ❤️
Sad to see recycled, annually released games that have just a couple of improvements from the past year's installment to be selling much more than titles that are new stories/experiences with different gameplay...
@Amusei I know it's disappointing but all we can do is support the games we enjoy and hope that developers still make them. All my friends consoles are FIFA/COD machines and that is fine.
@weR1youR2Podcast If I can manage to make someone laugh in this hellscape of a society we're all living in, I consider it a good day. Cheers. Now get back to work!
This is why we aren't getting GTA 6 anytime soon. If I was R*, releasing it now would be foolish when my 9 year old game can still be in the top 5 best selling games for the year in 2021
Miles Morales is a beast. 2020 game that’s outselling new Madden and Battlefield this year? Impressive.
Can't believe Rift Apart did not make the top 10 for the EU. Great to see Kena and It Takes Two up there. Very sad to see Battlefield 2042 up there though it was inevitable.
@PhhhCough well, if they stopped buying those annual games everytime, and they made better games or just one game for the whole gen, I might play with them. So it kind does affect me.
I think single player gamers are the ones that have standards.
This is why I don't like to call myself a gamer. I'm just someone who plays video games, I don't think I fit the current mold.
Oh my goodness… really disappointed in both markets. For different reasons.
Lol and here I am owning literally none of those, and interest in maybe acquiring only 3 (R&C, Kena, VIllage). Maybe it’s cause I’m Australian? 😸
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