MW3 was November’s top-selling game, but more gamers chose to play Fortnite

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the best-selling game of November, but the most-played title was Fortnite during its return to its OG map, according to a report by NPD Group.

NPD’s Mat Piscatella revealed today that MW3 outsold all other games in November, despite many decrying it as a $70 DLC for last year’s Modern Warfare 2. The top 20 list of new games from the month only included four other titles in Super Mario RPG, Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, and Star Ocean: The Second Story R.

But not even the popularity of CoD could take down Fortnite. The return to the battle royale’s original island welcomed players back in droves and it was the most-played title in November on both PS5 and Xbox, according to NPD.

Fortnite’s popularity has exploded once again thanks to Fortnite OG and new experiences such as LEGO Fortnite, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival, which are three entirely new games within Fortnite itself that will be supported with new content over time.

For CoD, though, not only was it November’s biggest game, but it instantly became the second-highest-selling game of the entirety of 2023, only just behind Hogwarts Legacy in the top spot. That could change with another month left in the year, but for now, the Potterverse remains on top.

CoD, as usual, has been mired in controversy since its release. The game was slammed by critics for its lackluster campaign, earning it the lowest aggregate review score in series history, and the multiplayer component has been received by many as nothing more than an expansion of MW2.

But that hasn’t changed much as far as series success. This is the fifth consecutive year that CoD has been the highest-selling game in November, with Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018 being the last non-CoD to achieve the feat.