It looks like Christmas came early for Bandai Namco as one of its latest titles, Elden Ring, is now on track to become the best-selling game of 2022.
Bandai Namco revealed to investors that Elden Ring had amassed sales of 17.5 million units as of September 30. It's highly likely that Elden Ring has sold more copies since then and it will probably sell a lot more as we close out the holiday season.
Elden Ring's numbers are nothing to scoff at as the game is now the fastest-selling multi-platform Japanese game in gaming history. In fact, even when you compare Elden Ring's sales figures to other Nintendo Switch exclusives, which populate the rankings, Elden Ring's sales from February to September still rank third all-time. The only games that rank ahead of Elden Ring are Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Pokemon Sword & Shield, which sold 26.04 million and 18.22 million copies, respectively, over a six-month period.
Elden Ring's sales are even more impressive when you consider that the year is supposed to mark a "downtrend" for the entire gaming industry following two years of record-breaking sales numbers.