Though it’s been said multiple times that the Call of Duty franchise is losing steam and buyer interest is dwindling, that still doesn’t prevent it from proving to be a behemoth when it comes to sales. 2014 was no exception, with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare raking in a ton of cash, enough to make it the best-selling game of the entire year.
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The statistics were released by the NPD Group, following the surprise announcement that the Xbox One had bested the PS4 is terms of sales in both November and December, thoroughly dominating the Holiday period. The latest Call of Duty was the biggest hitter when it came to software, followed by Madden NFL 15 in second place and Bungie’s divisive sci-fi shooter Destiny in third.
Super Smash Bros. was the only Nintendo exclusive title to break the top 10.
NPD didn’t break down the sales each game achieved on each console, so we can’t deduce which system was dominant in terms of software sales last year. Regardless, here are the top 10 best-selling games of 2014:
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (360, XBO, PS4, PS3, PC)
- Madden NFL 15 (360, PS4, XBO, PS3)
- Destiny (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3)
- Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)
- Minecraft (360, PS3, XBO, PS4)
- Super Smash Bros. (3DS, NWU)
- NBA 2K15 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)
- Watch Dogs (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC, NWU)
- FIFA 15 (360, PS4, XBO, PS3, Wii, 3DS, PSV)
- Call of Duty: Ghosts (360, PS3, XBO, PS4, NWU, PC)
Destiny was the highest charting new IP, then, followed by Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs in eighth place. Meanwhile, Call of Duty: Ghosts still held on strong in tenth, while Super Smash Bros. was the only Nintendo exclusive title to chart in the top ten. GTAV‘s re-release on the PS4 and Xbox One kept it at number five, and it’s somewhat surprising to see FIFA 15, EA’s dominant franchise based upon the most popular sport in the world, sitting in ninth. Perhaps the rather middling reviews of the game compared to its iterations in previous years held it back somewhat?
Hopefully the abundance of great titles lined up for us in 2015 means that the top 10 best-selling games of next year will be much more varied, and maybe – just maybe – something will be able to topple Call of Duty from its throne.
