January 2025 proved to be a subdued month for video game releases, with only one new title, Donkey Kong Country: Returns on Nintendo Switch, making it into the top 20 best-sellers. However, the month was not without its highlights, particularly the resurgence of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, which had previously been considered a sales disappointment.
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, which initially launched in February 2024 as a PS5 exclusive, saw a significant sales boost after its release on Steam in January 2025. The game climbed from No.56 in December to No.3 on the Circana charts for January, indicating a strong reception on the PC platform. Similarly, the Final Fantasy 7: Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack surged from No.265 to No.16, showcasing the impact of the Steam launch.
Circana analyst Mat Piscatella highlighted the success of Rebirth's Steam launch, noting it as the best-selling game of the week ending January 25th in the U.S. market based on dollar sales. This performance suggests that a cross-platform release could be beneficial for future Final Fantasy titles, potentially influencing Square Enix's strategy. Piscatella commented on the broader implications for third-party publishers, suggesting that exclusive releases are increasingly challenging without significant platform incentives.
As for the rest of the top-selling games, it's no surprise that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25 continued to dominate, taking the first and second spots, respectively. Donkey Kong Country: Returns, the only new release to crack the top 20, secured the No.8 position, driven by strong physical sales.
It Takes Two also made a notable return to the top 20, reaching No.20. Piscatella attributed this resurgence to ongoing promotions and steady sales throughout January, with a significant uptick beginning in December. This renewed interest comes ahead of Hazelight Studios' next game, Split Fiction, set to release in March.
Overall, January 2025 saw a decline in gaming spending compared to the previous year, partly due to a shorter tracking period. Total spending was down 15% to $4.5 billion, with content spending down 12%, console content down 35%, and hardware spending down 45%. The PS5 remained the best-selling hardware in both dollars and units, followed by the Xbox Series and the Switch.
The top 20 best-selling games in the U.S. for January 2025, based on dollar sales, were as follows:
- 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.
We'll have to wait until Square Enix's next earnings call in May to see how the company responds to Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth's successful Steam launch and what it might mean for future releases.
