The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has sold more copies physically than Resident Evil 4 Remake or Star Wars Jedi: Survivor sold period.
Revealed through the latest data from Circana (formerly NPD), the long-awaited Breath of the Wild sequel got off to an incredibly hot start, instantly moving to second place on the list of best-selling games of the year so far.
What makes this a particularly astounding feat is that Nintendo only shares its physical sales data, not digital, meaning none of Tears of the Kingdom's eShop sales contributed to this number.
This means the physical version only fell to Hogwarts Legacy and otherwise outperformed Resident Evil 4 (which topped March's sales charts), Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (which topped April's), Dead Island 2, MLB: The Show 23, and every other game released in 2023.
The best selling games of 2023 so far are therefore: Hogwarts Legacy, Tears of the Kingdom, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Resident Evil 4, MLB: The Show, Dead Island 2, FIFA 23, Dead Space, Madden NFL 23, and Elden Ring.
Physical sales are also generally considered to be poorer performing compared to digital, with a report from January 2023 indicating digital sales accounted for an estimated 90% of games sold in the UK in 2022.
Tears of the Kingdom's hot start wasn't necessarily a secret, of course, as Nintendo announced the sequel sold 10 million copies within three days. That being said, overcoming 2023's other hit games through physical sales alone is a significant accomplishment in an industry where major developers are giving up on boxed copies altogether.
In our 10/10 review of the game, IGN said: "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up, expanding a world that already felt full beyond expectation and raising the bar ever higher into the clouds."
And for help with everything Tears of the Kingdom, take a look at our Tears of the Kingdom Walkthrough and Guide about making your way through Hyrule. In fact, you can start here:
- 16 Things to Do First in Tears of the Kingdom
- 14 Things Tears of the Kingdom Doesn't Tell You
- How to Uncover the Full TOTK Map
- How to Expand Your Inventory in TOTK
- PSA: Your Old BOTW Save Unlocks Something Cool in TOTK
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.