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Forums - Sales - September 2026 Circana (NPD) Thread + Predictions

September 2025 Circana (NPD) covers the five-week period from August 3o to October 3 and will be released on October 22 around 6:00 am PT / 9:00 am ET / 2:00 pm UK.

Since Circana (NPD) leaks don't happen nearly as often as it used to and hardware revenue is something we do get, be sure to include revenue in your predictions.

Feel free to also predict what you think the top software games will be for the month.

Example prediction:

[Total Hardware Revenue]

  1. [#1 selling console] XXX,000
  2. [#2 selling console] XXX,000
  3. [#3 selling console] XXX,000
  4. [#4 selling console] XXX,000

VGChartz US estimates for September 2025:

  1. NS2 - 277K
  2. PS5 - 212K
  3. XS - 89K
  4. NS - 61K

VGChartz US estimates for August 2026:

  1. NS2 - 300K
  2. PS5 - 170K
  3. XS - 58K
  4. NS - 29K

Possible impact on hardware sales:

  • NS2 - $50 price hike on September 1 ($450 to $500)
  • PS5 - Marvel's Wolverine
  • PS5+XS - GTA6 pre-orders

Upcoming release dates for Circana reports:

  • September (8.30-10.3) - Oct 22
  • October (10.4-10.31) - Nov 19
  • November (11.1-11.28) - Dec 17
  • December (11.29-1.2.27) - Jan 21, 2027

RESULTS

Units: PS5 > NS2 > XS > NS1
Revenue: PS5 > NS2 > XS > NS1

https://www.vgchartz.com/article/469429/ps5-outsells-switch-2-in-the-us-in-september-2026-wolverine-top-selling-game/

PS5 Outsells Switch 2 in the US in September 2026, Wolverine Top Selling Game

The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console in the US for September 2026 in terms of units sold and dollar sales, according to figures from Circana (formerly The NPD Group). Circana includes the dates for the four-week period of August 30 to October 3.

The Nintendo Switch 2 came in second place, followed by the Xbox Series X|S in third place. 

The total hardware unit sales fell three percent compared to a year ago. The PlayStation 5 in terms of unit sales increased 22 percent year-on-year, while the Switch 2 fell 14 percent and the Xbox Series X|S dropped 27 percent.

The Xbox ecosystem fell to its worst September in history. The previous record was set last year. 

Hardware dollar spending for the PlayStation 5 increased 43 percent year-on-year, while the Xbox Series X|S is down two percent and the Nintendo Switch fell 12 percent. Sony's dollar share of the hardware market reached its highest point in a single month since May 2025, which is the month before the Switch 2 launched. 

Overall spending on video games in September decreased one percent year-on-year from $4.80 billion to $4.76 billion. Spending on video game content was down two percent from $4.27 billion to $4.18 billion, while video game hardware sales increased 12 percent from $324 million to $362 million. Spending on accessories increased 10 percent from $199 million to $218 million.

In terms of 2026 total sales, overall spending on video games is down three percent year-on-year from $42.23 billion to $41.04 billion. Spending on video game content is down two percent from $37.22 billion to $36.34 billion, while video game hardware sales dropped nine percent from $3.18 billion to $2.91 billion. Spending on accessories is down two percent from $1.84 billion to $1.79 billion.

"US video game projected total spending across content, hardware and accessories fell 1% in September when compared to a year ago, to $4.8 billion," said Senior Director and Video Game Industry Advisor at Circana Piscatella. "Year-to-date spending is now 3% behind 2025’s pace, at $41.0 billion." 

He added, "The PS5 Limited Edition DualSense Wireless Controller Wolverine Battle Yellow gamepad was September’s best-selling accessory in both units and dollars."

There were eight new releases in the top 10 best-sellers list with Marvel's Wolverine debuting in first place for the month of September. It is the 11th best-selling game of 2026 year to date.

"Marvel's Wolverine generated the highest launch month full game dollar sales for a Sony published title since the February 2024 debut of Helldivers II," said Piscatella.

He added, "NBA 2K27 surpassed Resident Evil: Requiem to become the best-selling game of 2026 year-to-date. NBA 2K27 ranked 2nd overall in September behind only Marvel's Wolverine."

EA Sports FC 27 debuted in third place, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave debuted in fourth place, The Blood of Dawnwalker debuted in fifth place, and Wardogs debuted in sixth place.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword debuted in seventh place, Halloween: The Game debuted in eighth place, and Ace Combat 8: Ace of Theve debuted in ninth place.

Here are the top 10 best-selling games in terms of dollars for September 2026:

Here are the top 10 best-selling games in September year-to-date:

Last edited by trunkswd - on 23 October 2026

VGChartz Sales Analyst and Writer - William D'Angelo - I stream on Twitch and have my own YouTube channel discussing gaming sales and news, as well as posting random gaming content. Follow me on Bluesky.

I post and adjust the VGChartz hardware estimates, with help from Machina.

Writer of the Sales Comparison | Monthly Hardware Breakdown | Monthly Sales Analysis | Marketshare Features, as well as daily news on the Video Game Industry.

Around the Network
  1. NS2 - 300K
  2. PS5 - 260K
  3. XS - 70K
  4. NS - 35K


My primary threads:

Ultimate Showdowns: JP 2023 / JP 2024 / JP 2025 / JP 2026 / 2026 / 2025 / 2024 / 2023 / 2022 / 2021

Lifetime Showdowns: Global / Regional / Historical / YOY Charts / 150M+ Club Chart

PS5 vs SW2 in 2026 / Biggest months, years and holidays / When will the Switch pass 160M? / LT expectations of: Switch / PS5 / XBSX / Switch 2

NS2 - 260K
PS5 - 245K
XS - 65K
NS - 30K



NS2 290k
PS5 235k
XS 75k
NS 30k

I suspect that NS2 and PS5 are alot closer this month.
Xbox is an eternal mystery to me.
There is no reason to expect anything but lowering sales for Switch and Switch 2 takes hold. With games like Zelda coming in November, Switch 2 is the obvious choice for people wanting to invest in the eco system.... especially since it plays Switch 1 games.

Last edited by CosmicSex - on 12 October 2026

Keep in mind that September is 5 weeks month instead of 4 like August. Even if we count all the weeks the same, it still has to be up across everything because of the 5th week. In reality it should be even more on the rise, for the PS5 and Series, because of GTA.



My primary threads:

Ultimate Showdowns: JP 2023 / JP 2024 / JP 2025 / JP 2026 / 2026 / 2025 / 2024 / 2023 / 2022 / 2021

Lifetime Showdowns: Global / Regional / Historical / YOY Charts / 150M+ Club Chart

PS5 vs SW2 in 2026 / Biggest months, years and holidays / When will the Switch pass 160M? / LT expectations of: Switch / PS5 / XBSX / Switch 2

Around the Network
XtremeBG said:

Keep in mind that September is 5 weeks month instead of 4 like August. Even if we count all the weeks the same, it still has to be up across everything because of the 5th week. In reality it should be even more on the rise, for the PS5 and Series, because of GTA.

Thanks for the reminder.  I'm gonna edit my prediction.



Content removed.

Last edited by trunkswd - on 20 October 2026

NS2 247k
PS5 218k
Xbox s 85k
NS 41k

Last edited by tak13 - on 22 October 2026

Tomorrow is one of those rare double data days as we get Circana and Famitsu data!



CosmicSex said:

Tomorrow is one of those rare double data days as we get Circana and Famitsu data!

Ι misinterpreted  your comment, please ignore.

Last edited by tak13 - on 22 October 2026