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

Starfield ship planet orbit
(Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Circana shared the sales data for the video game industry in October 2023 in the U.S.
  • Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is the best-selling game of the month, followed by Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Assassin's Creed Mirage. 
  • Starfield, the best-selling game of September 2023, is still in the top 20 games sold for the month of October.
  • PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console hardware. 

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, as shared by executive director and analyst Mat Piscatella on Twitter. The web-slinger was followed by Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Assassin's Creed Mirage

The Xbox console exclusive Starfield, which was the top-seller for the previous month, fell to #14 for October, though of course, Bethesda's science-fiction role-playing game is available on Xbox 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 new Call of Duty game, 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.

1. Marvel's Spider-Man 2

2. Super Mario Bros. Wonder*

3. Assassin's Creed Mirage

4. Madden NFL 24

5. EA Sports FC 24

6. Mortal Kombat 1

7. UFC 5

8. NHL 24

9. Sonic Superstars

10. Hogwarts Legacy

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

12. Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1

13. NBA 2K24*

14. Starfield

15. Elden Ring

16. The Crew Motorfest

17. Forza Motorsport (2023)

18. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

19. Minecraft

20. 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 as Bethesda 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
Freelance Writer

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.

TOPICS