The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) has revealed February’s top 10 best-selling games in Canada.
See below for the full list, which comes in partnership with the market research firm NPD Group:
- Hogwarts Legacy (PS5/Xbox Series X and S/PC)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox Series X and S/PC)
- Dead Space (PS5/Xbox Series X and S/PC)
- NHL 23 (PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox Series X and S/PC)
- FIFA 23 (PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox Series X and S/Nintendo Switch/PC)
- Octopath Traveler II (PS4/PS5/Nintendo Switch/PC)
- Elden Ring (PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox Series X and S/PC)
- The Last of Us Part I (PS5)
- Metroid Prime Remastered (Nintendo Switch)
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch)
Unsurprisingly, Hogwarts Legacy was the best-selling game of the month. That said, this only accounts for the current-gen and PC versions of the Harry Potter game; PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions are set to release later this year. The former two versions drop in May, while the latter will release in July, so it remains to be seen whether the game will reappear on those respective monthly charts.
Meanwhile, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Dead Space placed second and third in February, respectively. The Call of Duty sequel was Canada’s best-selling game last month, while the Dead Space remake was also in the third spot last month behind Fire Emblem Engage. Interestingly, the strategy game — which the ESAC told MobileSyrup got Nintendo fans especially excited to see ranked so high in January — fell off the top 10 entirely in February.
It’s worth noting that both Modern Warfare II and Dead Space have Canadian connections. Dead Space was developed by Montreal’s EA Motive, while the PC port of Modern Warfare II — a game otherwise developed by California’s Infinity Ward — was handled by Quebec City-based Beenox handled the PC port. Additionally, the fourth and fifth games on the list, NHL and FIFA 23, respectively, were both developed by EA Vancouver.
For comparison, here’s the NPD’s U.S. list of best-selling games in February:
In general, the Canadian and U.S. charts are quite similar, besides the obvious exception of NHL 23 being on the former list due to our bigger love of hockey. The Last of Us Part I charting in both countries makes sense, given the popularity of the Alberta-shot HBO series.
That said, Octopath Traveller II placed sixth in Canada compared to only tenth in the U.S., which, alongside Fire Emblem Engage ranking higher here than there last month, suggests that Canadians sure do like their old-school JRPGs. As well, Metroid Prime Remastered didn’t crack the U.S. top 10 but came in at nine in Canada — particularly notable considering NPD doesn’t track digital sales for Nintendo games and physical copies of the remaster have seemingly been more limited than other Switch titles.
Ultimately, data like this is interesting, especially since we’ve historically not had any insight into Canada-specific findings. We’ll have more on March’s sales data when it becomes available.
Image credit: Warner Bros. Games
