September’s top PlayStation games by copies sold: Horror and sports reign
Football season and spooky season are in full swing. Plus, a look at the surprise success of Skate with its 15M+ players.
September’s PlayStation copies sold chart was dominated by sports games, with EA and 2K once again controlling the field. But some new releases and legacy titles also did well.
Let’s have a look, before dropping into the performance of Skate.
Two sports franchises reigned in September on PlayStation
FC 26, EA’s third instalment in its post-FIFA football franchise, is doing gangbusters on PlayStation, selling 5M+ in September alone. Now, FC 26 has sold over 10 million copies across all platforms, with PlayStation accounting for about 60%.
A combination of early-access incentives, Ultimate Team integrations, and strong global marketing propelled FC 26 to the top spot.
The early success solidifies the franchise’s dominance in the premium console market, demonstrating that the FIFA divestment has fully matured into a self-sustaining franchise identity.
Of course, this news is relevant to the news of EA going private, which you can learn more about here. Saudi Arabia is often a top 3 market for FC (and formerly FIFA) games on PlayStation.
Meanwhile, NBA 2K26 also continues its annual success story with just under 2 million copies sold on PlayStation last month. While not quite the slam dunk of FC 26’s numbers, 2K’s basketball juggernaut has cemented its place as a leader in the US and Asia-Pacific.
NBA 2K26 has now sold over 6 million copies since its debut. Yet, the popularity of soccer and the FC games outside of the US means FC is selling far faster than NBA and the other licensed-sports games. Here’s how big the gap is on PlayStation, 10 days in, launch-aligned:
Then there’s Gearbox’s Borderlands 4 (#3), which moved nearly 800K copies on PlayStation platforms last month. These were mostly franchise fans, as shown by our player crossover data on PlayStation and Steam.
Cultural phenomena – old and new
Silksong (#4), Team Cherry’s long-awaited sequel, finally arrived to critical acclaim, selling over 600K units on PlayStation alone during its first calendar month.
As we covered in this deep dive, Silksong’s launch marks a watershed moment for indie developers, while also demonstrating a continued consumer appetite for challenging, atmospheric games. This will be one for the books.
Speaking of record-breakers, GTA V refuses to slow down 12 years post-launch. With over 500K units sold on PlayStation in September, Rockstar’s evergreen juggernaut continues to benefit from GTA Online’s persistent content drops, anticipation surrounding GTA VI, and – well – GTA being GTA.
The title’s constant re-releases since the original 2013 PS3 and Xbox 360 release, including the PS5 version’s improved performance and visual upgrades, have extended its lifecycle well beyond industry norms.
Few games illustrate “forever relevance” quite like GTA V. Ironically, the next title – Minecraft – is one of those coveted few. Mojang’s global phenomenon also remains one of the most consistent sellers across all regions.
Minecraft sold almost 500K copies on PlayStation platforms in September, which is typical for the title and reflects both steady new user inflows and ongoing parental purchases.
With education programs, frequent updates, and cross-platform compatibility, Minecraft continues to function alongside Roblox as a gateway title for younger players and a pillar for the industry.
Horror and sports round off the top 10
As for the rest of the ranking:
FC 25, last year’s instalment, still moved nearly half a million copies last month despite its successor’s release. This retention is largely driven by (regional) price reductions. The data reinforces EA’s deep catalogue resilience, sustaining multi-year sales cycles across successive releases, similar to Activision’s Call of Duty franchise. This also underlines the advantage of not going all in on subscription strategies.
Dying Light: The Beast (#8) shifted over 400K units, as Techland’s parkour-horror series continues to perform strongly. The game’s blend of open-world mobility and evolving nighttime threats has resonated with returning fans. A recent patch improving performance and adding co-op story missions helped extend engagement, suggesting The Beast may have longer legs than initial projections. It’s already at over 2 million sold across all platforms.
Madden NFL 26 (#9) sold a little over 400K copies on PlayStation last month. EA’s annual American football franchise remains a steady performer, selling just over 400K copies. While its core audience remains primarily North American (85% on PlayStation) , Madden continues to benefit from Ultimate Team monetisation and a modest but loyal global following. EA’s dual success with FC and Madden highlights its sports dominance on PlayStation, controlling three of the top ten spots in September’s chart – and also College Football and Skate, which we’ll get onto shortly.
SILENT HILL f (#10), Konami’s latest entry in the iconic psychological horror franchise, debuted with almost 300K units sold on PS5 – a solid start for a niche, narrative-driven title. Its period setting and Japanese folklore elements were well-received critically, but the broader commercial reach hasn’t hit yet. Nonetheless, the modest success of SILENT HILL f marks an encouraging original return for the franchise and signals ongoing consumer interest in prestige horror games on PlayStation platforms.
Sports dominated the top 10 by copies sold, but an unconventional free-to-play sports title has also done well this month.
Skate exceeded expectations with its free-to-play debut, but can it stick the landing?
EA’s Skate (2025) has opened its Early Access period last month with impressive traction, suggesting that the publisher’s decision to reposition the series as a persistent live service can work – if the live ops strategy is there.
EA just publicly announced that Skate has passed 15 million players, and we’re happy to say our download estimates were right on the money:
With over 12 million players on console (7.5M+ of them on PlayStation) and close to 4M on Steam, Skate has gone off to a flying start.
On Steam alone, Skate has generated roughly $3 million in cosmetic-driven revenues, an early sign that monetisation, while controversial among critics, is somewhat working.
Steam’s CCU data also paints a typical picture of initial peak hype (135K concurrent players at launch) followed by healthy stabilization (around 40K–50K concurrent users) on Steam.
But this title is console-first, so Steam is just one piece of the puzzle. Our multi-platform metrics show that Skate is still pulling in millions of daily active users, suggesting at least some short-term user retention and an influx of new players via network effects (and huge social reach on platforms like TikTok).
From a market perspective, the console-heavy player distribution aligns with both brand legacy and broader platform trends for sports titles. As we expected, the US also leads across all platforms, with Brazil overperforming on Steam and the UK on console. These are two territories – along with the US – where skate culture has had deep roots.
Our crossover data reveals that Skate sits at the intersection of a small but loyal niche: 15% of Skate’s players also own Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, and there’s further low-double-digit overlap with simulation-heavy skate titles like Session and Skater XL.
The audience for grounded, authentic skating experiences remains meaningful – even for experiences that incorporate streamer-bait features (such as crazy physics).
Skate is basically an MMO, so it needs to act like one to succeed
Strategically, EA and developer Full Circle are clear about what Skate represents: not a sequel or remake, but the “evolution” of the franchise into a potentially continuously expanding, always-online sandbox.
Skate is as much a platform as a product – an MMO-like city (San Vansterdam) designed for ongoing updates, user-generated content, and social skating. This strong start will provide a bit of runway there.
This direction is nothing new and reflects a broader EA playbook seen in titles like The Sims 4 and Apex Legends: build a large entry funnel through free access, then sustain engagement with cosmetic monetisation and seasonal updates.
From a business standpoint, the design– cross-progression, cross-platform play, and a social core all drive retention – are proven but also risky. The always-online requirement, while logical for a shared-world model, alienates legacy fans who associate Skate with offline exploration and authenticity.
Critical reception has, therefore, been deeply divided, reflecting this philosophical split. The consensus, which I agree with, is that the feel of Skate – its physics, control scheme, and flow – is as good as ever. The “Flick-It” system still anchors the experience, offering the tactile satisfaction that made the originals so beloved – especially for skaters.
San Vansterdam’s open world, while a little too pristine, is also a fluid and creative playground that is fun to explore. These are not trivial wins; they indicate that the core of Skate still understands the sport’s rhythm and physicality.
However, the tonal and aesthetic shift has alienated much of the legacy audience. The art style, overly clean environments, and cringeworthy dialogue as evidence that Skate has lost its subcultural edge.
Monetisation has also proven contentious. Although all in-game purchases are cosmetic, the structure around them have drawn comparisons to mobile game economies:
Premium currency bundles don’t divide neatly into item prices.
Random loot boxes gate certain rewards.
Unskippable “congratulations” animations are extremely annoying.
For some critics, this transforms Skate from a subversive skate culture simulator into a service-driven storefront. But it’s important to contextualise this by free-to-play standards and the game’s core target audience.
Skate’s model is not predatory compared to other F2P titles, and many players are happily engaging without paying. Still, the optics of loot boxes and FOMO-based reward tracks have diluted goodwill among purists who already mistrust EA’s live-service tendencies. It can feel icky.
The reception ultimately splits along generational and cultural lines. Younger and more social-oriented players – those entering the franchise for the first time – see Skate as a playful, open-ended hangout space, a digital city for skating and self-expression.
Older fans, particularly those nostalgic for the original trilogy – like yours truly – see it as a dilution: a franchise that once embodied rebellious realism now refashioned as a brand-safe MMO.
From an analyst’s lens, Skate represents a strong commercial foundation and a precarious cultural pivot. The player base numbers and engagement metrics suggest EA has built the infrastructure for a sustainable live-service sports platform, with growth potential still untapped (but planned) on mobile.
If Full Circle can address the tonal dissonance, expand the map with more characterful urban spaces, and refine its monetisation transparency, Skate could evolve into a flagship model for sustainable, community-driven sports games.
If not, it risks becoming a case study in how not to translate a cult classic into a live-service ecosystem – and another live-service casualty.
Still, this is an incredible launch, and there’s a lot of potential here. But whether or not Skate can keep the wheels spinning (with some Bones Swiss bearings) remains to be seen.
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