January 2025 proved to be a relatively quiet month in the video game industry, mirroring the typical lull experienced in this period. Only one new title, Donkey Kong Country: Returns, managed to break into the top 20 best-selling games, highlighting the continued dominance of established franchises like Call of Duty. However, a potential comeback story emerged, unexpectedly boosting the sales charts.
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, initially released in February 2024, initially saw a less-than-stellar performance, falling short of Square Enix's sales projections. Despite a respectable initial debut at number two on Circana's charts, its ranking gradually declined throughout the year, ultimately ending 2024 at number 17. This underperformance, particularly when compared to other major RPG releases of the same year, led to speculation and questions regarding its commercial success. Square Enix's lack of official sales figures further fueled this uncertainty.
However, the January 2025 release of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth on Steam dramatically altered its trajectory. The PC launch propelled the game to number three on the Circana charts, a significant jump from its December 2024 position at number 56. Similarly, the Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack saw a substantial increase, climbing from number 265 to number 16. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella highlighted the game's "fantastic" Steam launch, noting it was the best-selling game for the week ending January 25th in the US market.
This surge in sales, particularly on the PC platform, raises questions about Square Enix's future release strategies. Piscatella commented on the implications, stating that the success of the Steam launch provides another strong argument for cross-platform releases, particularly for third-party publishers. He emphasized the increasing difficulty of maintaining platform exclusivity without substantial incentives from platform holders. Square Enix's official response to this renewed success is eagerly anticipated at their upcoming May earnings call.
The rest of the January 2025 sales charts showed the continued dominance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25. The only new entry in the top 20 was Donkey Kong Country: Returns, reaching number eight based solely on physical sales due to Nintendo's non-disclosure of eShop digital sales data. The reappearance of It Takes Two at number 20 was attributed to ongoing promotional efforts, particularly in the last week of January, and steady sales throughout the month, potentially linked to the upcoming release of Hazelight Studios' Split Fiction in March.
Overall, January 2025 saw a 15% decrease in total game spending compared to January 2024, partly attributed to a shorter tracking period this year (four weeks versus five weeks in 2024). This decline extended to accessories (down 28%), content (down 12%), and hardware (down 45%). While PS5 remained the best-selling hardware in both units and dollar sales, Xbox Series and Switch experienced significant drops in sales.
The top 20 best-selling games in the U.S. for January 2025 (based on dollar sales) are listed below:
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Madden NFL 25 Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth EA Sports FC 25 Minecraft Marvel's Spider-Man 2 EA Sports College Football 25 Donkey Kong Country Returns Hogwarts Legacy Sonic Generations Helldivers II Astro Bot Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Super Mario Party Jamboree Elden Ring Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack Mario Kart 8 The Crew: Motorfest UFC 5 It Takes Two
*Indicates that some or all digital sales are not included in Circana's data. Some publishers, including Nintendo and Take-Two, do not share certain digital data for this report.
