Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream claimed the top spot on the US monthly video game sales charts for April 2026, marking a significant shift in how these rankings are calculated. The result carries extra weight this month because Circana debuted a new tracking methodology that, for the first time, accounts more accurately for digital sales from publishers who have historically refused to share that data.
Tomodachi Life tops April charts
Why Circana changed how it counts sales
For years, Nintendo has declined to share its digital sales figures with Circana, which meant Nintendo titles were routinely underrepresented on the monthly charts. The old model only counted what publishers handed over, and Nintendo simply did not hand anything over on the digital side.
Circana's new approach splits reporting into two categories: Digital Point of Sale Actuals (real numbers from participating publishers) and Digital Sales Projections (estimated figures for non-participating publishers like Nintendo). The market has evolved significantly since the Digital Leader Panel launched in the early 2010s, and the tracking system needed to catch up.
The new methodology captures games that would have been invisible under the old system. It also provides more accurate relative performance data for titles from publishers like Nintendo who don't share their digital numbers. The company has been transparent about the limits of this approach — fully accurate, all-publisher point-of-sale data is not happening, publicly or privately. The projection model is the best available compromise, and the stated goal is to keep refining it over time.
The April top 10, broken down
With the new method applied, here is how April 2026 shook out across the top five:
Pragmata, the long-in-development Capcom action game, came in second with actual digital data included. Crimson Desert held third, continuing a strong run since its launch. Windrose, the pirate-themed early access game, cracked the top five despite only releasing partway through the month. The old methodology would have missed it entirely.
Saros, the latest PlayStation Studios single-player game, squeezed into ninth place. The Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 collection also had a notable month, boosted by the Super Mario Galaxy Movie releasing at the start of April.
Circana April 2026 top sellers
Where things stand for the full year
The year-to-date picture looks different from the monthly snapshot. Tomodachi Life only managed ninth place on the 2026 running chart, while Resident Evil Requiem holds the top spot for best-selling game of the year so far. Crimson Desert officially entered second place on the annual chart under the new tracking method, a direct result of Circana's updated projections finally capturing its digital performance.
Pokémon Pokopia sits fourth on the year-to-date list, a game Nintendo has acknowledged as a system seller for Switch 2. ARC Raiders holds eighth place year-to-date, just above Tomodachi Life's ninth.
On the hardware side, Nintendo Switch 2 was the best-selling console in April. It is currently outpacing the original Switch by 11% on a time-aligned basis. The PlayStation 5 came in second but is running 2% ahead of where PS4 was at the same point in its lifecycle.
The practical takeaway here is that Circana's new methodology is likely to surface more Nintendo titles in the upper reaches of future charts, given how much digital revenue Nintendo generates that was previously invisible to these reports. For a fuller picture of how these games actually play, check out game reviews for the biggest April releases. And if you want to get the most out of any of the titles climbing the charts, gaming guides cover the strategies worth knowing before you jump in.
