Tomodachi Life is the third-biggest new game of 2026, Newzoo says
Newzoo ranks the April Switch release third among 2026 launches by revenue in six Western markets, ahead of Resident Evil Requiem and Forza Horizon 6.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is the third-biggest new game release of 2026 so far by revenue, according to Newzoo's September rankings update. The Switch life sim, out since April, out-earned Resident Evil Requiem, Pokémon Pokopia, Crimson Desert and Forza Horizon 6 across six Western markets between January and September.
The numbers behind the surprise
Newzoo's ranking covers the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Tomodachi Life actually sat at number one a month earlier and only slipped to third when September's annual FC and NBA sports releases landed. Nintendo had already reported 8 million copies sold by the end of June.
That puts a quirky Mii-based social sim, built for the original Switch and still without a Switch 2 Edition, above some of the year's most heavily marketed blockbusters, including Pokémon Pokopia.
Why it is winning
Three things work in its favour. It is the biggest 2026 release for the original Switch, a console with a far larger installed base than Switch 2 and one that plays on the newer hardware too. It is built for sharing, and its absurd Mii moments travel well as short clips. And, as Polygon points out, it is widely played by women and girls, an audience whose spending is often under-reported in coverage that tracks core action releases.
Nintendo's marketing has noticed. Nintendo UK's new "Back to Me" ad puts Tomodachi Life at the centre of a family story rather than Switch Sports Resort or the Ocarina of Time remake, its two big autumn releases. The ad doubles as a reminder that Switch games run on Switch 2.
What it means
The lesson Nintendo keeps relearning applies again: hits do not always look like hits. For a region like Southeast Asia, where the original Switch remains common and mobile-style social play is huge, a cheap-to-enter, clip-friendly life sim is exactly the kind of game that sells for years rather than weeks.
Newzoo's list measures revenue, not units, and covers only those six markets, so global positions may differ. Even so, eight million copies by June is a blockbuster by any measure.
Source: Polygon; Newzoo; Nintendo.
