In January 2025, spending on games in the US decreased by 15%, totaling $4.5 billion | US Monthly Charts
After its successful debut on Steam, "Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth" from Square Enix climbed to the third position in Circana's US rankings for the month of January.
This momentum follows Square Enix's earlier report that the game initially "did not meet expectations" when released in February 2024. Additionally, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack saw a notable jump from No.265 to No.16 in the Top 20 with its introduction on Steam.
Retaining its lead, "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6" dominated both the overall chart and individual standings for PlayStation, securing the second place on Xbox Series X|S as well.
The sole newcomer in January was "Donkey Kong Country Returns," which secured the eighth spot overall and led the Nintendo Switch ratings.
In the mobile gaming sector, "Monopoly Go" was the chart leader, followed by "Roblox" and "Candy Crush Saga." Despite slipping three slots, "Pokémon TCG Pocket" experienced its second-highest revenue week towards the end of January after an update.
The streaming application ReelShort, known for short movies and TV, joined the Top Ten under the interactive story genre, with Samuel Aune from Sensor Tower citing its recent surge in popularity. "Launched in August 2022, ReelShort only gained substantial attention in 2023," Aune stated, noting its entry into the Top Ten for monthly consumer spending in US mobile games.
On the consumer spending front, January saw a 15% decline from the previous year, totaling $4.5 billion. Circana pointed out that this year's tracking period was one week shorter than the five weeks of January 2024.
Spending on video game content was down 12% compared to last year. Despite a 13% increase in non-mobile subscriptions and a 2% rise in mobile expenditure, Circana noted these upticks couldn't counterbalance the reductions in overall content spending.
Hardware sales plummeted by 45% year-on-year to $205 million, marking the lowest level since January 2020's $131 million. Declines affected all major platforms: the PS5 fell by 38%, Xbox Series X|S by 50%, and the Switch by 53%.
Top 20 best-selling games from January 5 to February 1, 2025, as reported by Circana:
| Rank | Last month rank | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 |
| 2 | 2 | Madden NFL 25 |
| 3 | 56 | Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth |
| 4 | 4 | EA Sports College Football 25 |
| 5 | 9 | Minecraft^^ |
| 6 | 13 | Marvel's Spider-Man 2 |
| 7 | 3 | EA Sports College Football 25 |
| 8 | NEW | Donkey Kong Country Returns* |
| 9 | 7 | Hogwarts Legacy |
| 10 | 6 | Sonic Generations |
| 11 | 15 | Helldivers 2 |
| 12 | 8 | Astro Bot |
| 13 | 15 | Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero |
| 14 | 5 | Super Mario Party Jamboree* |
| 15 | 12 | Elden Ring |
| 16 | 265 | Final Fantasy 7 Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack |
| 17 | 16 | Mario Kart 8* |
| 18 | 31 | The Crew: Motorfest |
| 19 | 28 | UFC 5 |
| 20 | 82 | It Takes Two |
*Digital sales not encompassed, ^^Excludes digital sales on Nintendo platforms.