Elden Ring is now one of the top 10 bestselling games of all time in the U.S.

By Jesse Lennox July 15, 2022

Mat Piscatella of The NPD Group has revealed that Elden Ring is now one of the top 10 bestselling premium games of all time in the U.S. market for dollar sales.

US NPD PREMIUM GAMES – Elden Ring ranks among the top 10 best-selling premium games in the U.S. market all-time (dollar sales).

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) July 15, 2022

Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s breakout hit after building a niche but passionate audience with its Dark Souls trilogy, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The studio made a name for itself with these tough but fair action-RPGs that featured cryptic stories, intricate level design, innovative combat and death systems, and challenging boss encounters. Elden Ring took the formula of those previous titles and expanded it into a massive open world that has been universally acclaimed by critics and players alike.

Elden Ring had already become the bestselling game in the last 12 months within two months of launch, and has now become one of the top 10 bestselling premium games of all time in the U.S. It also managed to top the bestselling games list for the month of June, which marks the fourth time it has reached the No. 1 spot in the five months since launch. Elden Ring remains the bestselling game of 2022 so far.

According to the latest NPD report, overall spending on games for June dropped 11% compared to last year, and the first half of 2022 saw a 10% total decline in consumer spending, with only subscription serves showing year-over-year growth.

Elden Ring‘s success wasn’t a surprise, but just how successful it has become could never have been predicted. FromSoftware titles have been selling better with each release, but the jump from Sekiro to Elden Ring is almost unbelievable. Within its first two months on sale, it already sold more than Call of Duty: Vanguard, which was the bestselling game of 2021 and had been on the market for over twice as long.

This is a monumental accomplishment for a new IP from a studio previously known for making games too difficult for a wide audience.

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2022’s biggest games need to learn a valuable lesson from Elden Ring

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As 2022's biggest releases, Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok have been pitted against each other in just about every way this year. However, they couldn't be more different in one key way. While Elden Ring wants its players to get lost in The Lands Between, God of War: Ragnarok (and many more of 2022's biggest budget games) seem terrified of players missing a single piece of content.

Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, and most other blockbuster game this year tended to hold players hands tighter than ever. That attitude stood in stark contrast with Elden Ring, which isn't just OK with letting players miss out on massive amounts of content, but almost seems to want them to. This isn't purely a critique on how Forbidden West has checklists and waypoints while Elden Ring doesn't; those are just the symptoms of the bigger problem with modern game design.

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Elden Ring’s first significant post-launch content is a PvP Colosseum

Four players fight in an Elden Ring colosseum.

Bandai Namco Entertainment and FromSoftware have confirmed that multiple PvP Colosseums will be added to Elden Ring as part of an update on December 7.
Although Elden Ring is the best-selling and most critically acclaimed game of 2022, its post-launch patches have primarily been focused on balance tweaks and bug fixes. Update 1.08, which drops on December 7, changes that by adding a new way for players to duel each other. Colosseums will now appear in Limgrave, Leyndell, and Caelid, where players can face off against each other. There will be three match types: 1v1 duels, 3v3 team fights, and free-for-alls where only one player can come out on top.
The update will be free to Elden Ring owners across all platforms, and a new trailer gives us a look at these new arenas and the fights that take place within them.
ELDEN RING | Free Colosseum Update Trailer
The Colosseums look like fun places for players to test new character builds, show their builds off to others, and test their skills against really experienced players. It seems like this is strictly PvP-focused content though, so players yearning for more single-player content of DLC won't be satiated just yet. Still, this is one of our first very clear indications that FromSoftware and Bandai Namco Entertainment are interested in adding significant, brand-new content to Elden Ring, which is a good sign.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The Colosseums will be added as part of Elden Ring Update 1.08, which is set to release on December 7.