The Last of Us 2 sales started out pretty strong, but it looks like they’ve continued to withstand and have been broken or come near some sales records. Naughty Dog’s epic title was the second-biggest launch of a Sony-published game, finishing just behind Spider-Man. It also instantly became the best-selling game of June 2020 and third-best selling game of 2020 overall.
Video Game Industry Analyst at NPD Mat Piscatella tweeted the milestone numbers. He also revealed that it had the highest launch month dollar sales of all of the 2020 titles so far, which would include Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The Last of Us 2 had the second-highest launch month dollar sales ever for Sony and was only beat by 2018’s Spider-Man, which was also very successful in multiple ways.
Spider-Man‘s continued reign can likely be partly attributed to two things: rating and timing. Spider-Man is rated T while The Last of Us 2 is rated M, which would limit its audience. It’s not your friendly neighborhood Ellie, after all.
Timing also plays a part in two ways. For one, Spider-Man released on September 7 and The Last of Us 2 came out on July 19, which means it had fewer days to sell within its launch month. Piscatella even later noted this himself. The pandemic also could have played a role since it isn’t easy for people to buy physical games when they are in quarantine.
The Last of Us 2 didn’t overtake every other game in 2020 though. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Animal Crossing: New Horizons still have more units sold this year and take up the first and second slots, respectively. It’s also the eighth best-selling game from the prior twelve months, but those other seven games were not revealed. Neither Sony nor Naughty Dog have tweeted about the numbers but it’s likely because both are currently caught up with another Sony-published release.
