Circana reports that Black Ops 6 has emerged as the top-selling game of 2024. However, the overall expenditure on video games in the United States has decreased by 9% compared to the previous year

An anonymous soldier sits in shadow, the text "Call of Duty Black Ops 6" across his middle — Image credit: Treyarch / Activision

The December 2024 US report from Circana highlights that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 emerged as the top-selling premium game, dominating not just the month but the entire year. This achievement marks the 16th consecutive year where the Call of Duty series, owned by Activision, has claimed the title of best-selling franchise.

December was also notable for Roblox, which saw its consumer expenditure increase by 24% compared to November, reaching nearly $12 million spent by users in the US on mobile devices during the holiday season. Sensor Tower noted that the spending on Roblox during Christmas was particularly significant, with a 35% increase compared to the previous year, making it a standout event for the platform.

Despite these gains, Circana reported an overall decline in the US video game market. The estimated consumer spending on gaming hardware, content, and accessories fell by 8.9% to $7.5 billion for the month, while annual spending across the video game market slightly decreased by 1.1% to $58.7 billion from $59.2 billion the previous year.

Total video game sales in December 2023: $8.282 billion
Total video game sales in December 2024: $7.543 billion (a 9% drop)
Total video game sales for 2023: $59.294 billion
Total video game sales for 2024: $58.659 billion (a decrease of 1%)

*projected to the total market

**spanning December 30, 2023, to January 4, 2025

While spending on game content decreased by 5%, hardware saw a significant 29% reduction. Spending on gaming accessories remained steady compared to the previous year. The analysis reveals a 21% drop in console content spending and a marginal 1% decline in mobile gaming, contrasted by a 13% increase in PC, cloud, and non-console VR gaming.

The most notable decreases in hardware sales were seen in Xbox and Nintendo, with the Xbox Series and Switch both facing a 38% decline, and Sony's PS5 down by 18%. Among the PS5 and Xbox Series units sold in December, nearly half of the PS5s and 43% of Xbox Series models lacked a physical disc drive. The PS5 has now solidified its position as the third most popular console in the US based on lifetime sales, following the Switch and Xbox 360.

The PlayStation Portal led accessory sales in December 2024 and throughout the year, although the PS5 DualSense controller ranked highest in terms of units sold during both periods.

While Black Ops 6 held the top spot in annual sales, EA Sports College Football 25 ranked as the second best-selling game of 2024. On Steam, Marvel Rivals gained prominence with the highest number of monthly active users, also securing a third-place ranking for user activity on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series.

Samuel Aune from Sensor Tower commented, "Roblox reclaimed the #2 position on the list of top 10 games by US mobile consumer spend for the first time since August. The platform experienced a revenue boost of 24% over November and saw a significant surge in Christmas sales. This Christmas was extraordinary, generating 35% more US consumer spending than last year."

"In December 2024, Call of Duty: Mobile also experienced impressive growth, with US consumer spend rising by 20% in conjunction with the launch of Season 11: Winter War 2," Aune added.