‘Call of Duty: Black Ops III’ Was the Bestselling Game of 2015

Ben Silverman
image

Image: Activision

There were a lot of amazing games released in 2015, and while the likes of Star Wars Battlefront and Fallout 4 captured headlines, an old standby shot its way to the top of the sales chart.

According to NPD, the game industry’s retail tracking group, Call of Duty: Black Ops III was the year’s biggest seller — not that it should come as much of a surprise. Last year, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare topped the list, though more impressively, 2015 marks the seventh year in a row that the Call of Duty franchise has been the No. 1 seller in North America. All told, the franchise has now passed the 250 million mark. Man, gamers sure like shooting stuff.

The rest of the year’s Top 10 includes the usual suspects, like Madden (No. 2), NBA 2K (No. 6), and Minecraft ( No. 7). Despite their November releases, Fallout 4 and Star Wars: Battlefront nabbed the third and fourth spots, respectively. And just to once again remind you that it’s Call of Duty’s world we’re living in, 2014’s Advanced Warfare managed to creep into 10th.

Here’s the full list:

  1. Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)

  2. Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)

  3. Fallout 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

  4. Star Wars: Battlefront (Xbox One, PS4, PC)

  5. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)

  6. NBA 2K16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)

  7. Minecraft (360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4)

  8. FIFA 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)

  9. Mortal Kombat X (PS4, Xbox One)

  10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)

Sadly, our Game of the Year winner, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, didn’t crack the Top 10. It’s important to note, however, that NPD only tracks retail product and doesn’t include digital sales. As more and more gamers buy their games digitally, these figures are getting less and less reliable. But still, hats off to Activision and Call of Duty for making all the money. All of it.

Chat with Ben about games and stuff on Twitter at @ben_silverman.