Spending on video games in the US rose by 3% in December, driven partially by a 24% increase in subscription services, according to the US Monthly Charts
December 2025 witnessed a 3% increase in video game expenditures in the U.S., reaching $5.9 billion. This growth was driven in part by a substantial 24% growth in subscription service spending, compared to the previous December.
Data from Circana shows a 6% increase in spending on PC, cloud, and non-console VR content. In contrast, spending on console and mobile content remained unchanged. Overall, the gaming market saw a 1.4% increase, with the Nintendo Switch 2 emerging as the top-selling hardware for the year in terms of both units sold and revenue. It is noted as the swiftest-selling gaming console on record.
Despite a 7% decline in accessory sales totaling $625 million, the Nintendo Pro Controller stood as the most popular accessory for the year. However, it was surpassed in December by sales of the PlayStation Portal Midnight Black and the original PlayStation Portal, which secured the top two spots in accessory sales for the month.
In the realm of new game releases, "Metroid Prime 4: Beyond" was the sole title to make it to the December Top 20 chart, debuting at number seven. "Call of Duty: Black Ops 7" dominated December as the top-selling title in both physical and digital formats, marking the seventh consecutive year a Call of Duty title led December sales.
Throughout 2025, "Battlefield 6" was the highest-grossing game overall, leading the sales charts on Xbox and across all PC storefronts combined. On the PS5, however, it was surpassed by "NBA 2K26".
Fortnite continued to be the most played game in terms of total active users on PlayStation and Xbox platforms during the year, with more than half of users on these systems playing the game at least once.
Roblox stood out as the top publisher for 2025 in terms of digital retail spending, with a 16% increase year-on-year.
Top 20 Selling Video Games from December 1, 2025, to January 3, 2026, as reported by Circana:
| Rank | Last month rank | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 |
| 2 | 3 | NBA 2K26 |
| 3 | 2 | Battlefield 6 |
| 4 | 4 | Madden NFL 26 |
| 5 | 5 | EA Sports FC 26 |
| 6 | 6 | Pokémon Legends: Z-A* |
| 7 | NEW | Metroid Prime 4: Beyond* |
| 8 | 9 | Minecraft^ |
| 9 | 14 | Donkey Kong Bananza* |
| 10 | 7 | Ghost of Yotei |
| 11 | 8 | EA Sports College Football 26 |
| 12 | 17 | Grand Theft Auto 5 |
| 13 | 13 | Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds |
| 14 | 19 | Forza Horizon 5 |
| 15 | 16 | Red Dead Redemption 2 |
| 16 | 114 | Flight Simulator 2024 |
| 17 | 23 | Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 |
| 18 | 10 | Kirby Air Raiders* |
| 19 | 26 | Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2* |
| 20 | 15 | Marvel's Spider-Man 2 |
*Digital sales not included for marked titles
^Digital sales on Nintendo platforms not included