US physical game sales drop to lowest monthly total since 1995 | US Monthly Charts

US physical software spending fell to $85 million in July, marking the lowest monthly total since Circana began tracking the market in 1995. That decline lands alongside a broader softening in game spending, with total video game outlay down 10% year over year to $4.5 billion. For teams still shipping boxed products, the channel is now a much smaller slice of the business than it was even a few years ago.

Nintendo platforms drove 63% of physical game spending, while PlayStation accounted for 32%. Sony has already said it will stop producing physical software for new games starting in January 2028, which makes the current mix especially notable. Circana’s Mat Piscatella also pointed out that only two games cleared 10,000 physical units in the week ending July 11, even though seven PlayStation games have topped 100,000 physical units in the US to date.

Hardware followed the same downward trend. Spending dropped 29% year over year to $282 million, the lowest July total since 2020, while unit sales fell 39%. Average selling price climbed 16% to $542 as price increases hit PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch consoles, and the Switch 2 launch continues to distort comparisons. Piscatella said RAM and component shortages have also slowed PS5 and Xbox Series sell-through, with another Switch 2 price hike set for September 1.

On the software side, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 led July thanks to its PS4 and PS5 port, while EA Sports College Football 27 took second in full-dollar sales. Circana said the EA Sports MVP Bundle (2026) would have pushed that package ahead of Black Ops 2...