In the second month of summer, residents of the United States tightened their belts a little and cut back on spending for video games, consoles, and other gaming hardware. This was reported by Circana analyst Mat Piscatella.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- According to Piscatella's data, the U.S. gaming market revenue for July amounted to $4.5 billion, marking a 10% decline from the previous year.
- Console sales continued to show the greatest decline, plummeting by 29% to $282 million—marking the worst July performance since 2020. As the analyst pointed out, this was due to two factors. First, the Nintendo Switch 2, which was released just last year and sold excellently, has now seen its hype die down. Second, the memory market crisis has driven up console prices, deterring some consumers.
- Specifically, unit sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 fell by 51% in July, Xbox Series by 18%, and PlayStation 5 by 6%.
- Sales of gaming accessories for the month totaled $187 million, reflecting a 6% drop.
- Sales of video games themselves decreased by 9%, reaching a figure of $4.07 billion. This decline is mainly linked to setbacks in the mobile segment, although sales of console and PC games also suffered.
- The top-grossing paid game of July in the U.S. was Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which saw a port release for PlayStation 4 and 5 at the start of July. The first Black Ops, which received a similar port, also entered the top ten, securing fifth place.
Top 10 Highest-Grossing Paid Games in the U.S. in July 2026
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops II* (↑66)
2. EA Sports College Football 27* (new)
3. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced* (new)
4. EA Sports MVP Bundle* (new)
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops I* (↑145)
6. Halo: Campaign Evolved* (new)
7. Splatoon Raiders* (new)
8. Echoes of Aincrad^ (new)
9. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream* (↓3)
10. 007 First Light* (↓7)
^ — Digital sales data obtained directly from publishers.
* — Digital sales data based on Circana's forecast.