Best-selling games in May 2019: ‘Rage 2,’ ‘Total War’ & a big decline

Only a handful of notable games were released last month, and it showed on the sales charts. According to data from the NPD Group, video game sales in May 2019 were down 13% compared to May 2018 and reached their lowest revenue total since May 2013, a few months before the release of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Just two new May releases managed to break into the top 10 best-selling games of the month: “Rage 2” and “Total War: Three Kingdoms.” A pair of April releases, “Mortal Kombat 11” and the PlayStation 4 exclusive “Days Gone,” managed to hold steady at the top of the best-sellers list.

Look soley at the month’s new titles, they generated the lowest revenue for games released in May since 1998. Following the weak month, combined video game hardware and software sales are down about three percent compared to this time last year.

Video game publishers are currently preparing for the next-generation of video game consoles set to launch during the 2020 holiday season, leaving this year’s slate of releases somewhat bare. Perennial hits like “Call of Duty” and “NBA 2K” are still planned for this fall, and a few long-awaited titles like “Doom Eternal” and “Death Stranding” will arrive in time for the holiday season. Still, several major releases are being held until year.

This includes highly-anticipated games, like “Halo Infinite,” which will launch with Microsoft’s new Xbox, and Sony’s “The Last of Us 2,” which has no confirmed release date. No fewer than six major games designed for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will also launch in March and April 2020, a final wave of releases before publishers make the push towards next-generation hardware. “Marvel’s Avengers,” “Final Fantasy VII Remake,” and “Cyberpunk 2077” are just a few of the buzz-worthy titles launching early next year.

But before we can get to all of the remarkable games to come, we’ll have to suffer through a few months of slow releases. These were the best-selling games of May 2019: