Call of Duty Black Ops II Tops July 2026 Best Sellers as Overall Spending Falls

U.S. video game spending fell 10% in July 2026, dropping to $4.5 billion despite a wave of major releases hitting the market, according to the latest report from market research firm Circana (shared by Mat Piscatella).

Credit: Activision

Why did spending drop despite big releases?

The hardware side of the business is still feeling the aftershocks of the record-breaking launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 back in June 2025, which makes this year's comparisons look weaker on paper. But Circana analyst Mat Piscatella pointed out that the real story goes beyond simple year-over-year cycles. Component and RAM shortages have pushed hardware prices higher across the board, squeezing sell through rates for both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles.

Making matters more complicated, Nintendo has confirmed a price increase for Switch 2 hardware starting September 1, 2026.

Hardware sales take a steep hit

The numbers paint a rough picture for console hardware in July:

• Hardware spending fell 29% year over year to $282 million, the lowest July total since 2020, when the figure sat at $163 million.

• Total hardware units sold dropped 39% compared to July 2025.

• The average selling price of a new console jumped 16%, landing at $542.

• PlayStation 5 unit sales slipped 6%.

• Xbox Series unit sales fell 18%.

• Switch 2 unit sales declined 51%.

• PlayStation 5 led the month in dollar sales, while Switch 2 led in total units sold.

Even with the decline, Switch 2 continues to outperform its predecessor. Fourteen months into its lifecycle, the console is running 11% ahead of the original Switch's sales pace at the same point.

Accessory spending was not spared either, falling 6% year over year to $178 million, marking the lowest July total for the category since 2019, when it stood at $144 million. Within that category, racing controller sales dropped 26% compared to last year, while cases and organizers bucked the trend with a 36% increase in dollar sales.

Physical media leans heavily on Nintendo

Credit: Xbox

With Sony preparing to phase out physical PlayStation discs by 2028, and Xbox widely expected to follow, Circana's data offers a revealing look at who is actually still buying physical games and on which platform. Just over 4% of all new physical video games sold in the United States this year were for Xbox.

By comparison, Nintendo platforms accounted for 63% of new physical game sales in 2026, while PlayStation made up 32%. When asked about the remaining share, Piscatella noted that PC also saw some physical releases this year, including collector's editions of 007 First Light and Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, which accounts for the sliver left over for Xbox.

Circana's data also showed that new physical software sales hit an all time July low of $85 million. It is worth noting that July did not feature a particularly strong physical release lineup, and overall spending is down across the board as rising costs push more consumers to cut back on entertainment. Still, January of this year also set an all time low for its month, which supports the broader trend Sony has pointed to of physical media losing its grip on the market regardless of how much fans say they miss it.

The bigger picture for 2026 so far

Resident Evil: Requiem (Credit: Capcom)

Total content spending dropped 9% year over year to $4.1 billion in July. Circana attributed most of the decline to weaker mobile spending, with softer console and PC content sales adding to the slide.

Total content spending for the year to date sits at $28.4 billion, down 1% compared to the same period last year. Total video game sales for the year so far come in at $32 billion, a 2% decline year over year.

Looking at the year-to-date top 10 best sellers:

1. Resident Evil: Requiem

2. 007 First Light

3. Crimson Desert

4. MLB The Show 26

5. Call of Duty: Black Ops II

6. Forza Horizon 6

7. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream

8. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

9. Pokemon Pokopia

10. EA Sports College Football 27

Top 10 best-selling games of July 2026:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops II 

2. EA Sports College Football 27 (new)

3. Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced (new)

4. EA Sports MVP Bundle (2026) (new)

5. Call of Duty: Black Ops

6. Halo: Campaign Evolved (new)

7. Splatoon Raiders (new)

8. Echoes of Aincrad: Sword Art Online (new)

9. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream

10. 007 First Light

Call of Duty: Black Ops II took the top spot for the month, largely thanks to the release of a current-generation PlayStation port bringing the game to PS4 and PS5. That same port strategy helped the original Black Ops climb back into the top five as well.

EA Sports College Football 27 landed at number two on its own, but Circana noted that combined sales of the base game and the EA Sports MVP Bundle 2026, which charted separately at number four, would have been enough to claim the number one spot for the month.

The rest of the chart was dominated by fresh releases, with Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, Halo: Campaign Evolved, Splatoon Raiders, and Echoes of Aincrad: Sword Art Online all debuting in the same month.

Piscatella shared that Halo also ranked as the sixth best-selling game on PlayStation for the month, with 2% of active PlayStation players engaging with the game compared to 10% of active Xbox players.

Elsewhere, Palworld's full 1.0 launch pushed it to the number two spot on Steam's best sellers list by dollar sales, trailing only Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced. Digimon Story: Time Stranger also made a notable jump, climbing from number 87 in June to number 23 in July following its release on Switch.