'Red Dead Redemption 2' beat out 'Call of Duty' to become 2018's best-seller - these were the 20 best-selling games games of the year

Rockstar Games/Take-Two Interactive

• The NPD Group has released their year-end report on video game sales, including a list of the year's best-selling games.
• Since 2013, the "Call of Duty" franchise has owned the number one spot on the best-sellers list, but "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" wasn't the best-selling game of 2018.
• Six of the top 20 best-selling games are exclusive to the Nintendo Switch, showing just how popular Nintendo's console has become in its second year.
• "NBA 2K19" was the best-selling sports game for the third year in a row, with "Madden NFL 19" and "FIFA 19" also finishing in the top 20.

The video game industry continues to see increased sales year after year, and 2018 produced some interesting sales trends among the best-selling games. On January 22nd, the NPD Group released their year-end report detailing hardware and software sales for 2018, which included a list of the best-selling games on each major console.

Since 2009, the "Call of Duty" series of first-person shooters has produced the best-selling game every year, except for 2013, when "Grand Theft Auto V" took the top spot. Now the makers of "Grand Theft Auto" have reclaimed the number one best-seller crown with "Red Dead Redemption 2," an open-world cowboy saga that spent more than seven years in development. "Grand Theft Auto V" also remains among the best-selling games of the year; the game surpassed a significant milestone in 2018 with 100 million copies sold since its release.

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Read more: The best-selling video game of every year, dating back to 1995

Nintendo had an impressive year on the charts, with their Nintendo Switch console dominating sales and six Switch-exclusive games reaching the top 20 best-sellers list. Despite being released in December, "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" was the 5th best-selling game of 2018 with only three weeks on the shelf. NPD Group doesn't track the Switch's digital sales either, meaning the final numbers could be even higher for Nintendo titles.

Sports games continue to perform well too, with "NBA 2K19" taking the 3rd spot on the best-sellers list and "Madden NFL 19" and "FIFA 19" both making the top 20.

Keep in mind that because some games are console exclusive, meaning that despite their quality or popularity, they aren't available to as many players. PlayStation exclusive games like "God of War," "Marvel's Spider-Man," and the Nintendo Switch-exclusive "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" are considered to be among the best games, but don't have the same availability or mass appeal as "NBA 2K."

These are the best-selling games of 2018, according to the NPD Group.