The well-known analyst, Mat Piscatella from Circana, shared the sales data for the video game market in the USA for January 2025.
Piscatella explains that consumer spending on video games (hardware, software, accessories) has decreased by 15% compared to last year. However, this is not a direct comparison since last year’s data includes five weeks, while this year only has four. In total, consumers spent 4.5 billion dollars, which is actually a 0.5% increase compared to 2023.
Console sales have dropped significantly. The PS5 saw a 38% decrease year-over-year, Xbox dropped by 50%, and Nintendo Switch experienced a 53% decline. Despite this, the PS5 remains the best-selling console, followed by Xbox in second place, and Nintendo Switch in third, based on revenue. However, if you count units sold, Xbox and Switch swap places.
Spending on accessories also saw a 28% drop year-over-year. The PS Portal (which is counted as an accessory, not a console) remains the top-selling accessory in terms of revenue. If you count the number of units sold, the DualSense Midnight Black controller is in first place.
Top 20 Best-Selling Games in the USA for January 2025 (Both Physical and Digital copies):
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Madden NFL 25
- Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
- EA Sports FC 25
- Minecraft (Switch digital copies not included)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- EA Sports College Football 25
- Donkey Kong Country Returns (digital copies not included)
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Sonic Generations
- Helldivers II
- Astro Bot
- Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
- Super Mario Party Jamboree (digital copies not included)
- Elden Ring
- Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack
- Mario Kart 8 (digital copies not included)
- The Crew: Motorfest
- UFC 5
- It Takes Two
Spending on video games reached 4.1 billion dollars, with a 12% drop year-over-year. Spending on non-mobile game subscriptions grew by 13%, and spending on mobile gaming rose by 2%. Sales of console games dropped by 35% compared to last year.
Looking at sales by console, Piscatella notes that the most sold games included Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Madden NFL 25, EA Sports FC 25, EA Sports College Football 25, Minecraft, and a few exclusives like Astro Bot on PlayStation and Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox.
The Nintendo sales list is different, as it mostly features exclusive games, and Nintendo doesn’t share data for digital eShop sales. However, the top three games for Nintendo are Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
For most-played games on Xbox and PlayStation, familiar titles like Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA 5, Marvel Rivals, and Roblox are still at the top. On PC, the most popular games include Marvel Rivals, CS2, Helldivers 2, Path of Exile 2, Balatro, Baldur’s Gate 3, Rocket League, Cyberpunk 2077, Delta Force (2024), and Palworld.
