Elden Ring dethrones Vanguard as the best-selling game of the last year
Action role-playing game Elden Ring was one of the biggest video game releases of 2022 and a new report proves that it has dethroned Vanguard as the best-selling game of the past 12 months.
Prior to its February 25, 2022 release date, Elden Ring was one of the most highly anticipated AAA video game titles in recent years. While Elden Ring launched to critical acclaim, the scope of its commercial success based on its sales numbers is truly impressive.
Traditionally, premium Call of Duty titles dominate the sales charts for multiple months in a row, but the poor reception of Vanguard opened the door for Elden Ring to do something that hasn’t been done in many years.
An NPD sales report that calculates video game sales for a 12-month period has Elden Ring as the best-selling game in the US. The 12-month period takes into account sales until the end of April 2022.
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This window makes the accomplishment all the more impressive when you consider Vanguard released on November 5, 2021. Vanguard had a nearly four-month advantage on Elden Ring’s February 25, 2022 release date, and yet as of April 2022, Elden Ring is the top-selling game of the past 12 months.
Elden Ring’s accomplishment is historic seeing as this is the first time in many years that a Call of Duty title is not the best-selling game for a 12-month period in the US. It seems the last game to do this was GTA V, which was initially released in 2013.
It’s unfortunate that sales numbers aren’t disclosed in the report, but Bandai Namco did reveal that Elden Ring had sold upwards of 13.4 million units worldwide as of March 31. This number has likely increased by a couple of million since then.
While Vanguard sales were still strong compared to other titles, Activision confirmed that the game failed to meet the franchise’s expectations. Luckily for CoD fans, the sales outlook for Modern Warfare 2 is already considerably positive following Vanguard’s disappointment.
For more Call of Duty news, check out how Modern Warfare 2’s gameplay reveal date has reportedly leaked.
Image Credit: Activision / FromSoftware
