Hogwarts Legacy sold over 22 million copies, grossed over $1 billion in total revenue, and became the most financially successful industry title in 2023. This is a historical record, as for the first time in more than a decade, the top-selling game of the year was not a new entry in the Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto franchises.
Released back in February 2023, Hogwarts Legacy was an instant success, despite its controversy with certain audiences. Giving fans the ultimate open-world Harry Potter experience set about a century before the books in an unexplored timeline is a recipe for victory. Not only that, but allowing players to sort into any house of their choosing and giving them full customization, housing, and the ability to craft potions/grow plants makes for the perfect experience.
- Read more: Hogwarts Legacy Guides
It also helped that the Wizarding World adventure was released to every single major platform, including the Nintendo Switch.
This information has been confirmed according to data by Circana (formerly NPD) executive director and games industry analyst Mat Piscatella, who recently posted some interesting facts about gaming hardware and software sales across 2023.
Below is a list of every single best-selling game of the year from 2009 to 2023, according to Piscatella:
- 2009 — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- 2010 — Call of Duty: Black Ops
- 2011 — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- 2012 — Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
- 2013 — Grand Theft Auto V
- 2014 — Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- 2015 — Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
- 2016 — Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
- 2017 — Call of Duty: WWII
- 2018 — Red Dead Redemption 2
- 2019 — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- 2020 — Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- 2021 — Call of Duty: Vanguard
- 2022 — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- 2023 — Hogwarts Legacy
As you can see, it’s a big deal that the title is not related to CoD or anything made by Rockstar Games.
In case you wanted to know which are the top 10 best-selling games of 2023 when compared to Hogwarts Legacy across all platforms, here is the list:
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
- Madden NFL 24
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Diablo IV
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare II
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- EA Sports FC 24
We played Hogwarts Legacy and absolutely adored it, but like most fans, wished there was room for multiplayer and Quidditch. Luckily, the latter is being remedied with a brand new title from WB Games.