Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Already 2023's Second Best-Selling Video Game
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom released on Nintendo Switch last month, and the game has proven wildly successful. As revealed by Circana's Mat Piscatella, Tears of the Kingdom is now America's second best-selling game of 2023, behind just Hogwarts Legacy. It's important to note that Nintendo does not release sales data for digital games, so this only accounts for physical copies of Tears of the Kingdom! The game's success also led to increased sales of the Nintendo Switch console, which was the number one selling video game system in the month of May.
The Tweet from Piscatella can be found embedded below.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the best-selling game of May 2023, instantly becoming the #2 best-selling title of 2023 year-to-date, despite only physical sales from Nintendo being included in the best-selling titles charts.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) June 27, 2023
Interestingly enough, the success of Tears of the Kingdom has also led to increased sales for the previous Zelda game. According to Piscatella, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the 13th best-selling game in the month of May. That's a big jump up from the month before, when the game was ranked 28th. It seems that the overall popularity of Tears of the Kingdom may have convinced newcomers to try the series. According to sales figures released by Nintendo in early May, Breath of the Wild had sold 29.81 million copies, making it the fourth best-selling game on Switch. Given how well the game continues to sell, it will be interesting to see Nintendo's updated sales figures when they release!
While Tears of the Kingdom remains behind Hogwarts Legacy in America (for now), the latest Zelda game is ahead in the UK. According to information released by GamesIndustry.biz last month, Tears of the Kingdom actually managed to overtake physical sales of Hogwarts Legacy in its debut weekend. Fans had been waiting several years for Tears of the Kingdom's release, and they clearly came out in droves to buy the game in the month of May. We'll have to wait and see if that commercial success lasts throughout the year, and if Zelda remains on top as other highly-anticipated games are released!
Did you purchase Tears of the Kingdom last month? Are you surprised how well the game is selling? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!