A Comprehensive Guide to the Top 10 Best-Selling Star Wars Games in the US

Overview

Every year, fans celebrate May the 4th (Star Wars Day) with enthusiasm, and in 2023, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella marked the occasion by revealing the top 10 best-selling Star Wars games in the United States since 1995. This guide breaks down that ranking, explains the criteria used, explores the key titles, and offers insights into what these sales figures mean for the franchise. Whether you're a curious gamer, a market analyst, or a Star Wars enthusiast, understanding these numbers provides a fascinating look at gaming trends and licensing dynamics.

We'll walk through each major title, highlight statistical milestones (like the combined 33+ million copies of EA's Battlefront games), and discuss why certain sequels never materialized. By the end, you'll have a clear picture of the most commercially successful Star Wars games in the US market.

Prerequisites

To get the most out of this guide, you should be familiar with basic gaming terminology (e.g., DLC, dollar sales, revenue). No advanced math or coding is required, but a curious mindset helps. If you're interested in analyzing similar data yourself, some familiarity with spreadsheet tools or Python would be beneficial—but not mandatory.

Step-by-Step Guide to the Sales Ranking

1. Understand the Ranking Criteria

The list is based on dollar sales in the United States from 1995 onward, and it deliberately excludes downloadable content (DLC) revenue. That means pure game purchases—physical and digital—are counted, but expansions or microtransactions are not. This provides a clearer view of core game popularity.

• Timeframe: Sales data compiled from January 1995 through early 2023.
• Geography: Only US sales, not global.
• Source: Circana (formerly The NPD Group), a reliable market research firm.

2. Explore the Top 10 List

Here are the ten best-selling Star Wars games in the US, ranked by dollar sales. Note that positions 1 through 4 are very clear, while spots 5–10 include several Lego titles.

1. Star Wars: Battlefront (2015) – Developed by DICE and published by EA. This reboot topped the chart.
2. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) – Respawn Entertainment’s action-adventure hit.
3. Star Wars: Battlefront II (2017) – The sequel to the 2015 reboot, also from DICE/EA.
4. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023) – The direct follow-up to Fallen Order.
5. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (2022) – Traveller’s Tales’ comprehensive Lego adventure.
6. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (2007) – The classic compilation of the original trilogy and prequels.
7. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (2006) – Standalone Lego title covering Episodes IV–VI.
8. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2016) – Based on the sequel trilogy opener.
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008) – LucasArts’ action game featuring a new protagonist.
10. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003) – BioWare’s classic RPG, still revered by fans.

As you can see, four Lego Star Wars games made the list, demonstrating the enduring appeal of the franchise's family-friendly spin-offs. The Jedi series from Respawn also performed exceptionally, with both entries in the top four.

3. Dig Into the Key Insights

Beyond the ranking, Piscatella’s data reveals several important points:

• Battlefront dominance: The two EA-developed Battlefront games (2015 and 2017) sold a combined over 33 million copies globally by 2019. Given continued sales, that number has likely increased.
• Why no Battlefront III? In 2021, reports indicated EA rejected a pitch for a third Battlefront game. Under EA’s licensing deal with Disney, a new title would need to sell 20% more copies to generate the same revenue due to a change in revenue share or royalty structure. This economic hurdle killed the project.
• Respawn’s success: The Jedi series proves that single-player action-adventure games still have a massive market, even in a landscape dominated by multiplayer shooters.

4. How to Analyze This Data Further (Optional)

If you want to run your own analysis on game sales data, you can use a simple Python script to compare titles or predict future sales. Here’s an example that lists games by rank and unit sales (hypothetical units for illustration):

import pandas as pd

data = {
    'Game': ['Battlefront (2015)', 'Jedi: Fallen Order', 'Battlefront II (2017)', 'Jedi: Survivor', 'Lego Skywalker Saga'],
    'Dollar Sales (USD millions)': [350, 320, 290, 250, 200]
}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)
df.sort_values('Dollar Sales (USD millions)', ascending=False)
print(df)

This code loads the data into a DataFrame and sorts it—just like the official list. Of course, real numbers are proprietary, but this gives you the idea.

Common Mistakes

• Mistaking global for US sales: The list is US-only, so don’t assume the same order applies worldwide.
• Ignoring the “no DLC” rule: Games with heavy post-launch monetization (like Battlefront II’s microtransactions) might appear lower if DLC revenues were included—but they aren’t.
• Assuming “best-selling” equals “best quality”: Sales rank reflects marketing, release timing, and platform availability, not necessarily critical reception. For example, The Force Unleashed outsold some critically acclaimed titles.
• Overlooking older games: Pre-1995 releases like Star Wars: X-Wing (1993) aren’t included because the data starts in 1995. That doesn’t mean they weren’t popular.

Summary

The US best-selling Star Wars games list is dominated by EA’s Battlefront reboot and Respawn’s Jedi series, with Lego titles occupying half of the top ten. Dollar sales (excluding DLC) since 1995 provide a clear picture of commercial hits. The data also sheds light on why a third Battlefront never happened—a 20% higher sales requirement under licensing terms. Understanding these rankings helps fans and analysts appreciate the business side of the Force.