The NPD Group has released some of their North American sales data for December (the full numbers should arrive tomorrow, and we’ll update this story when they do) and we now know the overall winners for the year. From Software’s acclaimed Elden Ring topped the sales charts for much of 2022, leading some to speculate/hope it may end up the year’s top-seller, up-ending the seemingly-unbeatable longtime champion Call of Duty. Well, sorry Souls fans, it just wasn’t to be, as the power of the anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II was just too much. While the latest CoD was only available for the last couple months of the year, it is officially the best-selling game of 2022.

　　Looking at the December top 10, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II held the top spot, while Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and God of War Ragnarok continued to perform well at #2 and #3 respectively. Elden Ring also made a last holiday push, returning to #7 after falling out of the top 10 the previous month. As for new games, Need for Speed Unbound came in at #8, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - Reunion at #10, and The Callisto Protocol debuted at a rather disappointing #17.

　　Edit: The full top 20 games for December 2022 have now been revealed:

　　1 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

　　2 - Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

　　3 - God of War Ragnarok

　　4 - Madden NLF 23

　　5 - FIFA 23

　　6 - Sonic Frontiers

　　7 - Elden Ring

　　8 - Need for Speed Unbound

　　9 - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

　　10 - Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - Reunion

　　11 - NBA 2K23

　　12 - Just Dance 2023

　　13 - Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

　　14 - Minecraft

　　15 - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

　　17 - The Callisto Protocol

　　18 - Animal Crossing: New Horizons

　　19 - Splatoon 3

　　20 - Gotham Knights

　　And here are your top 10 games for 2022:

　　1 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

　　2 - Elden Ring

　　3 - Madden NFL 23

　　4 - God of War Ragnarok

　　5 - Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

　　6 - Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

　　7 - FIFA 23

　　8 - Pokemon Legends: Arceus

　　9 - Horizon Forbidden West

　　10 - MLB The Show 22

　　What are your thoughts on the year-end NPD numbers? What game do you think will top the 2023 charts, taking into account that Call of Duty is taking the year off?