Sonny Corinthos

2017 is almost over and the best-selling games of the year will almost certainly not change much by the time December's NPD numbers are in.

The NPD tracks US video game sales, counting both digital and physical copies sold across most game publishers, giving us a pretty clear picture of how well the year's biggest games have performed---though we sadly have little to no information about how much these games' budgets.

In any case, now that we've seen November's numbers, we can safely say that Call of Duty: WWII is the best-selling game not only of the month but of the entire year.

It will likely remain the best-selling game for months to come and stay on the rotating 12-months list well into 2018 and perhaps throughout the year.

It's also the best-selling game over the course of the last 12 months, knocking Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare down to sixth place.

The best-selling list is topped by five cross-platform games, but also includes a Nintendo Switch exclusive and a PlayStation 4 exclusive.

Most of the best-selling games are from old franchises, but there are also two new IPs on the list. There's also one game that originally launched years ago still on the best-selling list. Bet you can guess which one.

Here are the best-selling games of 2017 so far:

1.Call of Duty: WWII

2.Destiny 2**

3. NBA 2K18

4. Madden NFL 18

5. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands

6.The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*

7.Grand Theft Auto V

8. For Honor

9.Injustice 2

10. Horizon Zero Dawn

And here are the best-selling games over the last 12 months:

1.Call of Duty: WWII

2. Destiny 2**

3.NBA 2K18

4.Madden NFL 18

5. Grand Theft Auto V

6. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

7.Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands

8. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*

9. NBA 2K17

10. Final Fantasy XV

These two lists aren't identical but they're pretty close. That makes sense as the two line up more and more closely.

hese two lists aren't identical but they're pretty close. That makes sense as the two line up more and more closely.

Activision is the year's clear winner with both Call of Duty: WWII and Destiny 2 topping the charts. The NPD doesn't count the latter's PC Battle.net sales, either.

Similarly, the NPD doesn't count Nintendo's digital sales, so it's possible that Zelda would land higher on the list if those numbers were included. Regardless, it's a huge achievement for Nintendo.

Meanwhile, GTA V remains a force to be reckoned with, taking #7 for the year and #5 for the past 12 months despite being a four-year old game.

Missing from the list is Star Wars: Battlefront II largely due to the massive scandal surrounding the game's pay-to-win micro-transactions. Gamer backlash led to EA removing those micro-transactions in the 11th hour.

Also missing is last month's third best-selling game, Assassin's Creed Origins, though Ubisoft has both Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands and For Honor in the top ten. I'm surprised by For Honor's inclusion here; I didn't realize that game had done so well this year.

I'm also impressed to see Horizon Zero Dawn on here. It's the only game on this list other than For Honor that's a brand new IP and the only game other than Zelda that launched on just one platform. Not bad at all.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkai.../#7e782cb2ab2b

DthRdrX

What's really impressive about GTA is how well it sold despite still being >$40 most of the year. Looks like it will finally hit $19.99 for 2018.

fujishig

For some reason I never thought that NBA 2K outsells Madden, or that it would claim two spots in the 12 month span. That's not even including their freaking VC transactions.

What are the ** next to Destiny 2?

Adam Tyner

Means that at least some portion of digital numbers are not included. I'm assuming the single * means "no digital" and the ** doesn't include a particular digital platform.

Maxflier

It is crazy for GTA to still be selling so well. Then again, I have bought it 3 times myself...

Decker

From a previous NPD sales article :

joeblow69

Hmm, no battle.net sales is pretty significant, I think. Especially since people can spend their World of Warcraft gold to buy copies of Destiny 2 essentially for free. (167k gold in World in Warcraft can be turned into a $15 battle.net credit. So 668k gold = free copy of Destiny 2 for PC)

astrochimp

Fifa 18 has to be up there, if you go worldwide.

Red Hood

Seeing Madden and NBA 2K at the top of the list is disheartening as both EA and 2k will continue to push micro transactions and minor upgrades from year to year as long as the games keep selling.