Circana: Best-Selling PC/Console Games in the U.S. by Year in the 21st Century
Call of Duty is a leader by mile.
![COD] What's that one game series you just can't seem to get enough of? : r/CallOfDuty](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb78e790-be51-43ae-8312-d9a257e54758_1400x788.png "COD] What's that one game series you just can't seem to get enough of? : r/CallOfDuty")
The Call of Duty series has topped the charts most frequently, claiming the first spot 12 times over the last 23 years.
Madden NFL is another standout series. Since the beginning of the century, its games have been in the top spot four times and have never fallen out of the top 20 in sales. Moreover, for the past 22 years, Madden NFL games have not dropped below the fifth spot in the charts.
Grand Theft Auto games have claimed the top spot three times: Vice City (2002), San Andreas (2004), and GTA V (2013).
Call of Duty games haven't managed to hold the top chart spot for more than four consecutive years. The series topped the charts from 2009 to 2012, until GTA V broke the streak. Red Dead Redemption II interrupted in 2018, and in 2023, Hogwarts Legacy took the lead. If history repeats, Call of Duty should return to the top in 2024—unless adding the game to Xbox Game Pass affects its sales.
From 2007 to 2009, music games thrived, with several entries from Guitar Hero and Rock Band in the charts—even the niche DJ Hero made it into the top 20. Those were the days!