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U.S. video game spending in June of this year dropped a substantial 21% compared to June of 2025. While that kind of decline might sound dismal, especially placed within the context of current economic struggles and abundant price increases everywhere, it’s also due to just how good June 2025 was for video game spending, bolstered by the record-breaking launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, as reported by the latest Circana analyst report.
EA Sports UFC 6 took the top spot for best-selling game of 2026 for U.S. spending on physical and full game digital dollar sales, with Meccha Chameleon behind it in second, followed by 007 First Light and Star Fox, the recently released Nintendo Switch 2 remake of Star Fox 64.
The top 10 is as follows:
- EA Sports UFC 6
- Meccha Chameleon
- 007 First Light
- Star Fox
- Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
- Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
- Forza Horizon 6
- MLB: The Show 26
- Minecraft
- NBA 2K26
U.S. video game spending reached $4.5 billion during June (in totality), and first-half spending for the year finished 1% behind 2025’s pace, at $27.5 billion. For June 2026 itself, video game hardware spending dropped 62% compared to June 2025, down to $383 million, driven by the aforementioned Switch 2 launch. Switch 2 hardware spending in the U.S. actually dropped 79% compared to its launch month last year, though that’s likely to be expected given a console launch is a massive month, if not the biggest, for sales. That said, the Switch 2 remained the best-selling hardware across both units sold and dollars for June 2026 and 2026 year-to-date, with PlayStation 5 ranking second across the same measures.
PlayStation 5 spending fell 19% year-on-year, and Xbox Series spending fell more than double that, according to Circana’s report.
Looking more broadly at U.S video game spending, content (games, etc.) spending fell by 12% last month, compared to June 2025, down to $3.9 billion. Year-to-date content dollars remain flat compared to 2025, though, sitting at $24.3 billion.
Surprisingly, subscription service spending was the only content segment in video game spending that experienced growth last month, jumping up 7% compared to June 2025; even mobile spending is down, which is rare.
Finally, June accessories spending fell 21% from last year, to $232 million, and controller spending, specifically, dropped 31%.
For more, read Game Informer’s reviews of EA Sports UFC 6, 007 First Light, Star Fox, and Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight.
Are you surprised by any of these spending reports? Let us know in the comments below!
