These were the 20 best-selling games in Canada in 2024

The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) and Circana have revealed the 20 best-selling games in Canada in 2024.

Leading the pack are Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, PlayStation’s Helldivers II and EA’s Canadian-made NHL 25. Here’s the full list:

1. Call of Duty Black Ops 6 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
2. Helldivers II (PS5, PC)
3. NHL 25 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S)
4. EA Sports FC25 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
5. Hogwarts Legacy (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC)
6. Elden Ring (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
7. Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Switch)
8. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
9. EA Sports College Football 25 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S)
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
11. NBA 2K25 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, macOS, tvOS)
12. Dragon’s Dogma II (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
13. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5) [PC port launched in 2025]
14. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo Switch)
15. Astro Bot (PS5)
16. Minecraft (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, macOS, tvOS)
17. Madden NFL 25 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
18. Grand Theft Auto V (PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
19. WWE 2K24 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
20. Star Wars Outlaws (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

It’s important to note that digital sales for Nintendo games are not included. On top of that, October to December digital sales for Take-Two’s GTA V, WWE 2K24 and NBA 2K25 aren’t factored in here.

Geographical and genre diversity

It’s worth mentioning that some of the top-selling games are Canadian.

First and foremost, the year’s overall best-seller, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, was primarily developed by California-based Treyarch but had its PC version developed by Quebec City’s Beenox. On top of that, popular sports games NHL 25 and EA Sports FC 25 were both made by EA Vancouver. And finally, Ubisoft’s Toronto team and Venezuelan-Canadian Humberly González played key roles in Sweden-based Massive Entertainment’s Star Wars Outlaws as the narrative leads and lead actress, respectively.

“It’s great to see [four] Canadian-made, or at least partially Canadian-made, games on the list, which, at this point, isn’t surprising, given the maturity of our industry and the popularity of some of the big titles,” ESAC president Paul Fogolin tells MobileSyrup.

In general, he says he loves releasing data like this because lists are a big interest among gamers.

“Gaming fans, we’re always looking for lists. Game of the Year Lists, Top 10 lists, sales lists… they’re always exciting, because it’s fascinating to see what people are playing. And also games that you’re interested in, where did they place in relation to where you’d thought they place?” says Fogolin.

Another element that’s interesting is to compare how games fare in Canada versus other markets. Of course, there are some clear-cut cultural differences, like NHL performing better in hockey-loving Canada and football games being bigger in America. But something that’s not as easily explained is that Nintendo games have tended to chart higher in Canada than in the U.S.

For context, here were 2024’s best-selling games in the U.S.:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
2. EA Sports College Football 25
3. Helldivers 2
4. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
5. NBA 2K25
6. Madden NFL 25
7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)
8. EA Sports FC 25
9. Elden Ring
10. EA Sports MVP Bundle (includes College Football 25 and Madden NFL 25)
11. Hogwarts Legacy
12. Dragon’s Dogma 2
13. WWE 2K24
14. MLB: The Show 24 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
15. Grand Theft Auto 5
16. Minecraft
17. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
18. Tekken 8 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
19. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PS5) [PC port launched in 2025]
20. NBA 2K24

As you might notice, none of the Japanese gaming giant’s titles cracked the top 10 in either the U.S. or Europe, while Super Mario Party Jamboree sits comfortably at seventh on Canada’s list. What’s more, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom placed 14th in Canada but didn’t appear on either the American or European lists.

This is a trend we’ve noticed since the ESAC and Circana first started sharing monthly Canadian sales data in early 2023. At the time, fans were elated to see the likes of Fire Emblem Engage chart so high in Canada. Fogolin admits that it’s “tough” to explain precisely why that is, but he has some ideas.

For one, he suspects this partially has to do with a “generational interest [that] transcends age groups in Canada,” leading older gamers to play with their kids. “And maybe a brand loyalty as well. So that’s why some of these games keep being popular, keep charting. I mean, the Mario Party series and sort of group games have been around since I was a kid or teenager around the N64 and those remain engaging and fun games to play […] Fun doesn’t have a certain age group, it just sort of works for everybody.”

Overall, though, he was happy to see a strong variety of games making the list, Canadian, Nintendo or otherwise, from “evergreen” sports series like NHL and EA Sports FC and “beloved” franchises like Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda to the enduring popularity of “open-world” experiences like Hogwarts Legacy and Elden Ring (both of which were actually released in 2023) and “family” titles like Astro Bot, Mario Party and Zelda. “It’s a really interesting mix.”

Why this data resonates

He adds that this kind of data will likely be of even greater interest to fans amid the broader political climate. He is, of course, referring to constant threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to Canada to impose harsh tariffs and even annex the entire country. This has led to many encouraging Canadians to buy from local businesses and a greater sense of national pride, especially amid sports games with the U.S.

“I think now, more than ever, with some of the global dynamics, we’ve seen this increase in Canadian pride. I think we felt that at the [Canadian Game Awards] the other week. There are things outside of entertainment going on. I went to the grocery store the other day and there’s now little maple leaf logos, like we have on our [best-sellers] list — here’s the [Canadian] ketchup, here’s [etc],” he says. “I’m just saying this because I think there’s an increased interest. There’s always an interest from Canadians and Canadian players and gamers, “What are we playing? What makes us different?” Which I think is part of the reason we like to track these lists and have these conversations. But I think it’s increasing.”

To that point, he floats the possibility of expanding ESAC’s partnership with Circana to highlight even more “unique Canadian trends [and] perspectives,” including, potentially, lists of upcoming Canadian games.

“I don’t have something concrete yet, but there’s no reason not to look at some more data points and think about what would be most interesting and also tie into different narratives. Maybe there’s a certain release coming out, and so it’d be fun to look at historical trends of other releases related to that. That’s something I think we should have a little fun with.”

Another recent initiative was ESAC’s recently published report on the economic impact of the Canadian gaming industry, including its $5.1 billion contribution to Canada’s GDP. Given the general lack of mainstream coverage on video games, I point out to Fogolin that I was pleasantly surprised to see the likes of The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail and BNN Bloomberg covering the report. Fogolin adds that even more business- and tech-focused outlets, like BetaKit and The Peak, have also reported on the data. (Note: BetaKit was once a part of MobileSyrup several years ago, while The Peak is owned by MobileSyrup’s parent company ZoomerMedia).

“I’m thrilled with the response,” says Fogolin. Part of that, he thinks, comes from taking an extra year to prepare the data with the consulting firm Nordicity, but also due to the aforementioned climate.

“Also, again, just the general ‘what’s going on in the world, what’s going on with with the United States.’ So the message about ‘The industry continuing to be a global leader, we good at this?’ It’s striking at the right time with that interest in national pride, what makes Canadians different. So it’s been quite the ride,” he says. “And I’d like to keep the momentum going by getting out across the country and continuing to talk about the study.”

He says there’s even a bit of a fun rivalry that can come about these nation-wide discussions. He points to Balatro, last year’s smash hit roguelike poker game, which was made by anonymous developer LocalThunk from Saskatchewan.

“It’s funny — I was on a call with some of our provincial friends, and [LocalThunk is] from Saskatchewan, but I think he lives in Winnipeg now. So there’s a bit of a fight going on, who gets that claim,” he says with a laugh. “But how cool is that?”

Beyond that, he’s enjoyed talking to regional media to have conversations that highlight different markets. “Some of the radio and print that I’ve done, it’s been, “Tell me about why did B.C. grow more than others?’ Or ‘tell me about the unique story of what’s going on in Quebec,’ or ‘What’s happening in so and so?’ That’s been really neat, too.”

He adds he has some desires to look back on the history of the Canadian gaming industry this year to coincide with ESAC’s own celebration of its 20th anniversary. Beloved Canadian developer BioWare, in particular, just turned 30 this month. This also all aligns with a provincial election in Ontario and impending federal election for Canada. Needless to say, it’s a busy time, and that gives the ESAC lots of opportunities to spread its messaging.

“It’s a good news story in a time when there’s some challenging news globally. So it’s great that is continuing. And again, I think getting into different cities and communities across the country to continue to tell the story will help give it legs,” Fogolin says. “So for what we do again on the advocacy side, there’ll be some new audiences to speak to about our industry, which I think creates some good momentum going into the summer, into the fall, to tell the story of the industry.”

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This interview has been edited for language and clarity.

Image credit: EA