Sensor Tower data shows indies and new IP rising in 2026 first-month sales charts

Research by Sensor Tower for GamesIndustry.biz found 76 PC and console games sold over 500,000 units in their first month in the 2026 window, up from 55, with units rising from 120.5 million to 182.4 million. Indies grew from 13 titles (24%) to 33 (43%), first games in a new series from 21 (38%) to 40 (53%), and brand-new IP titles from 19 to 35. Sensor Tower's Karl Kontus said indie hits are additive to AAA rather than taking its share, as the number of AAA games passing 500,000 first-month units stayed roughly flat.