Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Already 2023's Second Best-Selling Video Game

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom made its debut on the Nintendo Switch last month and has achieved remarkable success. According to Mat Piscatella from Circana, Tears of the Kingdom currently holds the title of America's second best-selling game of 2023, with only Hogwarts Legacy surpassing its sales. It's worth noting that this data only accounts for physical copies of the game, as Nintendo does not disclose sales figures for digital downloads. The game's triumph has also had a positive impact on the sales of the Nintendo Switch console, which claimed the top spot as the best-selling video game system in May.

The Tweet from Piscatella can be found embedded below:

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the best-selling game of May 2023, instantly becoming the #2 best-selling title of 2023 year-to-date, despite only physical sales from Nintendo being included in the best-selling titles charts.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) June 27, 2023

In an interesting turn of events, the success of Tears of the Kingdom has also had a positive impact on the sales of the previous Zelda game. Mat Piscatella reveals that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild climbed to the 13th spot in the best-selling games list for the month of May, a significant leap from its 28th position the previous month. It appears that the overall popularity of Tears of the Kingdom has enticed newcomers to explore the Zelda series. Nintendo's sales figures, released in early May, indicate that Breath of the Wild had already sold an impressive 29.81 million copies, securing its place as the fourth best-selling game on the Switch. With its continued strong performance, it will be fascinating to see the updated sales figures once Nintendo releases them.

While Tears of the Kingdom currently trails behind Hogwarts Legacy in the American market, the latest Zelda installment has taken the lead in the UK. GamesIndustry.biz reports that Tears of the Kingdom surpassed physical sales of Hogwarts Legacy during its debut weekend. Fans had eagerly awaited the release of Tears of the Kingdom for several years, and their enthusiastic response resulted in strong sales throughout May. It remains to be seen if this commercial success will endure throughout the year and whether Zelda will maintain its position at the top as other highly-anticipated games hit the market!