January 2025 proved to be a subdued period for video game releases, with only one new title making it into the top 20, and Call of Duty maintaining its stronghold at the top. However, the month was not without its highlights, particularly with the resurgence of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, which had been considered a sales disappointment in 2024.

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth initially launched in February 2024, securing the No.2 spot on Circana's charts, which rank video games by dollar sales in the U.S. Its ranking slipped to No.7 in March and ended the year at No.17. Despite these respectable figures, Square Enix expressed dissatisfaction with the game's performance, never releasing specific sales numbers. This was partly attributed to its exclusive release on the PS5, a platform that can limit sales potential due to its exclusivity.

However, the narrative changed in January 2025 when Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth expanded to Steam. This move propelled the game from No.56 in December to No.3 in January's Circana charts. 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, while the Twin Pack ranked third.

This success on Steam may influence Square Enix's future strategies, potentially encouraging cross-platform releases for upcoming Final Fantasy titles. Piscatella remarked, "Releasing on PC makes a ton of sense at this point regardless of genre or historical release strategies," suggesting that exclusive releases on single platforms are becoming increasingly challenging without substantial incentives from platform holders.

Square Enix's next earnings call in May will be crucial in understanding the company's reaction to these developments. Meanwhile, the rest of January's top-selling games included familiar titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25, with Donkey Kong Country: Returns being the only new release to crack the top 20, reaching No.8 on physical sales alone.

It Takes Two also made a notable return to the top 20 at No.20, driven by ongoing promotions across various digital stores, ahead of Hazelight Studios' upcoming release, Split Fiction, set for March.

Overall, January 2025 saw a decline in spending across various gaming sectors. Total spending was down 15% to $4.5 billion, influenced by a shorter tracking period compared to the previous year. Content spending fell by 12%, with console content down 35%. Hardware spending decreased by 45%, with significant drops across all major platforms: PS5 down 38%, Xbox Series down 50%, and Switch down 53%. Despite these declines, the PS5 remained the best-selling hardware in terms of both dollars and units.

The top 20 best-selling games in the U.S. for January 2025, based on dollar sales, are as follows:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
2. Madden NFL 25
3. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
4. EA Sports FC 25
5. Minecraft*
6. Marvel's Spider-Man 2
7. EA Sports College Football 25
8. Donkey Kong Country Returns*
9. Hogwarts Legacy
10. Sonic Generations
11. Helldivers II
12. Astro Bot
13. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
14. Super Mario Party Jamboree*
15. Elden Ring
16. Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack
17. Mario Kart 8*
18. The Crew: Motorfest
19. UFC 5
20. 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.