January 2025 proved to be a relatively quiet month for video game releases, with the industry seeing little excitement beyond the consistent dominance of Call of Duty. However, a notable exception was the resurgence of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, a title that had faced scrutiny following its initial sales performance in 2024.
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth initially launched in February 2024, debuting at No.2 on Circana's U.S. dollar sales charts. Despite a strong start, it quickly dropped to No.7 the next month and ended the year at No.17. Square Enix had expressed disappointment in the game's sales, failing to meet their expectations and not releasing any official sales figures. The game's exclusive launch on the PS5 was cited as a potential factor in its underperformance, as exclusives often struggle to match the sales of multi-platform releases.
However, the narrative shifted in January 2025 when Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth expanded its reach by launching on Steam. This move catapulted the game from No.56 in December to an impressive No.3 in January. The Final Fantasy 7: Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also saw a significant rise, moving from No.265 to No.16. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella highlighted the game's "fantastic" Steam launch, noting it was the best-selling game of the week ending January 25th in the U.S. market based on dollar sales.
This success on Steam has sparked discussions about Square Enix's future strategies. Piscatella commented, "Releasing on PC makes a ton of sense at this point regardless of genre or historical release strategies." He added that for third-party publishers, it's increasingly challenging to justify exclusive releases without significant incentives from platform holders. The impact of this Steam launch on Square Enix's broader strategy will likely be discussed in their next earnings call in May.
Elsewhere on the charts, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 maintained its position as the best-selling game of the month, followed by Madden NFL 25. The only new release to break into the top 20 was Donkey Kong Country: Returns on Nintendo Switch, reaching No.8 solely based on physical sales data. It Takes Two also made a notable return to the top 20 at No.20, buoyed by ongoing promotions and the anticipation for Hazelight Studios' upcoming game, Split Fiction, set for release in March.
Overall, January's spending figures were down compared to the previous year, with a 15% decrease to $4.5 billion. This year's January had one less week than the previous year, which contributed to the drop. Accessories spending was down 28%, content spending decreased by 12%, and console content saw a significant 35% drop. Hardware spending was down 45%, with PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch all experiencing declines in sales. Despite these declines, PS5 remained the best-selling hardware in both dollars and units.
The top 20 best-selling games in the U.S. for January 2025, based on dollar sales, were:
- 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.
