The U.S. video game industry began 2025 with a sharp downturn, as overall consumer spending in January fell 15% year-over-year to $4.5 billion, according to Circana. The decrease was at least partially the consequence of a shorter tracking period — January 2025 had four weeks, versus five in January 2024 — but even adjusted for time, the market was exhibiting obvious indications of difficulty.
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth Sees Massive Return on Steam
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth was one of the largest stories of the month as it propelled itself to No. 3 in the top monthly sellers following its long-awaited Steam release. Square Enix’s RPG underwhelmed when it initially launched in February 2024 but appeared to receive a much-deserved second wind with its Steam launch.
The FF7 Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also saw a massive leap, from No. 265 to No. 16, as repeat purchase enthusiasm from PC gamers and franchise fans remained strong.
January 2025 Top Games
Despite the market downturn, several franchises continued to perform well:
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 maintained its hold on the No. 1 spot, leading PlayStation’s individual sales chart and coming in second on Xbox Series X|S.
- Madden NFL 25 held steady at No. 2 overall.
- Donkey Kong Country Returns, the month’s only major new release, debuted strongly at No. 8 and topped the Nintendo Switch chart.
Mobile Gaming Trends
- Monopoly Go led the mobile charts, followed by Roblox and Candy Crush Saga.
- Pokémon TCG Pocket dropped three places but recorded its second-highest revenue week to date after a major late-January update.
- ReelShort – Short Movie & TV broke into the top ten, blending short-form video with interactive gameplay.
Spending Breakdown: Content, Hardware, and Services
- Content spending (games, DLC, subscriptions) declined 12% year-over-year.
- Non-mobile subscriptions grew by 13%.
- Mobile content spending increased 2%.
These gains, however, were not enough to counterbalance the broader decline in full-game and DLC sales.
Hardware sales experienced the steepest drop, falling 45% to $205 million — the lowest January figure since 2020 ($131 million):
- PlayStation 5 sales dropped 38%
- Xbox Series X|S dropped 50%
- Nintendo Switch sales declined 53%
Looking Ahead
While January was marked by widespread declines, there were some bright spots, particularly the resurgence of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth on Steam and strong mobile performance. With several major game releases and potential hardware news expected in the coming months, the industry is hoping for a rebound after a slow start to 2025.