Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 bumps Starfield to become the best-selling game of October 2023, per Circana

Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG was still in the top 20 for the month.

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What you need to know

What you need to know

A new month means new sales data to pour over in the gaming industry.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was the best-selling game of October 2023 in U.S, assharedby executive director and analyst Mat Piscatella on Twitter. The web-slinger was followed by Super Mario Bros. Wonder andAssassin’s Creed Mirage.

The Xbox console exclusiveStarfield, which was thetop-seller for the previous month, fell to #14 for October, though of course, Bethesda’s science-fiction role-playing game is available onXbox Game Pass.

Alan Wake 2, which released toward the end of the month, is not in the top 20, and while Piscatella tells me Epic Publishing doesn’t share sales data, Alan Wake 2 was also not in the top 100 for monthly active users on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series consoles.

The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console of the month, with Xbox Series X|S taking the #2 spot in dollar sales, while Nintendo Switch was second in units sold. Overall spending for the month reached $4 billion, a drop of 5% year-over-year, largely due to the absence of a newCall of Dutygame, as last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) launched in October 2022, while Modern Warfare 3 (2023) released in November 2023.

Newly provided this month are charts ranking engagement, meaning Circana is measuring monthly active users of games played across Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam platforms. While this doesn’t include Nintendo or other Windows PC launchers, it’s still useful insight.

October 2023 Circana: Here are the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S.

October 2023 Circana: Here are the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S.

  1. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

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  1. Super Mario Bros. Wonder*

  2. Assassin’s Creed Mirage

  3. Madden NFL 24

  4. EA Sports FC 24

  5. Mortal Kombat 1

  6. UFC 5

  7. NHL 24

  8. Sonic Superstars

  9. Hogwarts Legacy

  10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

  11. Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1

  12. NBA 2K24*

  13. Starfield

  14. Elden Ring

  15. The Crew Motorfest

  16. Forza Motorsport (2023)

  17. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

  18. Minecraft

  19. Lords of the Fallen (2023)*

October 2023 Circana: Here are the best-selling games in the U.S. so far this year

  1. Hogwarts Legacy

  2. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom*

  3. Madden NFL 24

  4. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

  5. Diablo 4

  6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

  7. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

  8. Mortal Kombat 1

  9. Starfield

  10. Resident Evil 4 (2023)

  11. MLB The Show 23**

  12. EA Sports FC 24

  13. Dead Island 2

  14. Final Fantasy 16

  15. Street Fighter 6

  16. FIFA 23

  17. Elden Ring

  18. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

  19. Remnant 2

  20. Dead Space (2023)

October 2023 Circana: Top 20 games played by platform

PlayStation:

  1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

  2. Fortnite

  3. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

  4. Roblox

  5. Grand Theft Auto 5 Remastered

  6. NBA 2K24

  7. Mortal Kombat 1

  8. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

  9. The Callisto Protocol

  10. Madden NFL 24

  11. Apex Legends

  12. Minecraft

  13. Gotham Knights

  14. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

  15. Cyberpunk 2077

  16. NBA 2K23

  17. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

  18. My Hero Ultra Rumble

  19. Overwatch 2

  20. Destiny 2

Xbox:

  1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

  2. Fortnite

  3. Grand Theft Auto 5 Remastered

  4. Starfield

  5. Gotham Knights

  6. Roblox

  7. Forza Motorsport

  8. Minecraft

  9. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

  10. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

  11. Apex Legends

  12. Payday 3

  13. NBA 2K24

  14. Party Animals

  15. My Hero Ultra Rumble

  16. Madden NFL 24

  17. Forza Horizon 5

  18. Overwatch 2

  19. Mortal Kombat 1

  20. Dead Space (2023)

Steam:

  1. Counter-Strike 2

  2. Baldur’s Gate 3

  3. Cyberpunk 2077

  4. The Finals (beta)

  5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

  6. Rocket League

  7. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

  8. Phasmaphobia

  9. Apex Legends

  10. Starfield

  11. Team Fortress 2

  12. Destiny 2

  13. BattleBit Remastered

  14. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

  15. Dead by Daylight

  16. Rust

  17. Halo Infinite

  18. Deep Rock Galactic

  19. DOTA 2

  20. Terraria

  •   No digital data shared** No digital data shared for Xbox or Nintendo platforms

Analysis: Spidey strong and Starfield’s legs

Marvel’s Spider-Man is easily one of the biggest brands (arguably the biggest) PlayStation has right now, so it’s not surprising to see it go that high. I assume it’ll be around a year before we hear anything about a PC port, but just like with the two prior games, that’ll ensure it has great longevity.

For Xbox, Starfield still hanging in the paid charts despite being in Xbox Game Pass is great to see, and as long asBethesda keeps on sharing new updates and fixes quickly, I’m expecting Starfield to become a long-term winner for the rest of the generation.

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.