NBA 2K26 and the Switch 2 boost video game expenditures in August 2025 | US Monthly Charts
In August 2025, NBA 2K26 emerged as the top-selling premium video game, securing the fifth position on the yearly best-sellers list. It dominated the sales charts for both PlayStation and Xbox platforms during the month.
The latest releases making their mark included Mafia: The Old Country, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Gears of War: Reloaded, and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, which occupied the third, fourth, sixth, and nineteenth spots, respectively.
Circana analysts forecast a noteworthy 11% rise in U.S. spending on video game systems, content, and accessories for August 2025, reaching $4.7 billion. This growth is partly driven by robust Nintendo Switch 2 sales and increased mobile gaming expenditure.
Overall sales so far this year have slightly increased by 1% compared to 2024, with hardware seeing a substantial 20% rise and a 6% fall in accessory sales, culminating in a total of $37.3 billion. Capcom's Monster Hunter: Wilds remains the top-selling game of 2025 so far.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is currently outselling the previously leading PlayStation 4, with 2.4 million units sold in its first three months—5% more than the PS4's 2.2 million and 77% higher than the original Switch. Monthly hardware spending grew 32% year-over-year, totaling $312 million.
On the mobile gaming front, Monopoly Go! continues to lead in consumer spending for August, followed by Royal Match, Last War: Survival, and Candy Crush Saga.
According to Sensor Tower's Sam Aune, the U.S. mobile chart has entered a new era. New players like Kingshot and Royal Kingdom are breaking into the top ranks, while enduring hits like Gardenscapes and Homescapes have dropped to the top twenty. Titles such as Clash Royale and Free Fire have seen renewed popularity, with Free Fire surpassing Call of Duty: Mobile for the first time since 2022.
"Monopoly Go! is still leading in the U.S., but the gap isn't as wide as seen in early 2024. Despite skepticism about limited growth in the mature mobile gaming market, there are still avenues for expansion," Aune noted.
Here's the list of the top 20 best-selling games from August 3 to August 30, provided by Circana:
| Rank | Last month rank | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NEW | NBA 2K26 |
| 2 | NEW | Madden NFL 26 |
| 3 | NEW | Mafia: The Old Country |
| 4 | NEW | Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater |
| 5 | 1 | EA Sports College Football 26 |
| 6 | NEW | Gears of War: Reloaded |
| 7 | 3 | Donkey Kong Bananza* |
| 8 | 2 | EA Sports MVP Bundle |
| 9 | NEW | EA Sports Kickoff Bundle |
| 10 | 24 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 |
| 11 | 6 | Minecraft^ |
| 12 | 5 | Call of Duty 6: Black Ops 6 |
| 13 | 10 | Grand Theft Auto 5 |
| 14 | 25 | Helldivers 2 |
| 15 | 7 | Forza Horizon 5 |
| 16 | 8 | Grounded 2 |
| 17 | 13 | WWE 2K25 |
| 18 | 23 | Hogwarts Legacy |
| 19 | NEW | Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar |
| 20 | 9 | Red Dead Redemption 2 |
*Not all digital sales are included for these titles
^ Excludes digital sales on Nintendo devices