January 2025 may have been a quiet month for major new releases, but it certainly wasn’t without surprises. With only one new title entering the top 20 and the continued dominance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at the top, the monthly sales data from Circana might seem underwhelming at first glance—until you take a closer look at Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth.
Originally launched in February 2024 as a PS5-exclusive, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth debuted at No.2 on the U.S. sales charts, dropped to No.7 the following month, and gradually settled at No.17 by year-end. While those numbers are solid, they sparked industry-wide speculation about whether the game met Square Enix’s internal sales expectations—especially when compared to other high-profile RPGs like Dragon's Dogma 2 or even its predecessor, Final Fantasy 7: Remake. The company never disclosed sales figures, and public statements suggested the title had fallen short of targets.
However, January 2025 marked a turning point. With the long-awaited Steam release of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, the game surged to No.3 on Circana’s sales charts, jumping from No.56 in December. The Final Fantasy 7: Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also saw a dramatic rise, climbing from No.265 to No.16. According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, who shared insights on Bluesky, the Steam launch was nothing short of “fantastic”:
“Across physical and tracked digital, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth was the best-selling game of the week ending January 25th in the U.S. by dollar sales, while the FFVII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack ranked 3rd.”
Though this data reflects only the U.S. market, the trend likely mirrors broader global performance. The success raises an important question: Could this PC release reshape Square Enix’s strategy for future Final Fantasy titles? Piscatella weighed in:
“It's hard for me to say how the Steam release impacts publisher perception of the game’s overall success—there are internal expectations and planning factors I don’t have access to. But purely from a consumer response standpoint, it was a very strong launch on Steam. This adds to the growing evidence that launching on PC makes strong financial sense today, regardless of genre or traditional release models. For third-party publishers, it's becoming increasingly difficult to justify single-platform exclusivity without substantial incentives from platform holders.”
All eyes will now turn to Square Enix’s next earnings call in May for any indication of how this sales resurgence might influence future release strategies.
As for the rest of January’s top 20, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 claimed the top spot once again, followed by Madden NFL 25. The only new entry was Donkey Kong Country Returns on Nintendo Switch, which landed at No.8—driven entirely by physical sales, as Nintendo does not report digital figures for its eShop.
Another standout was It Takes Two, which returned to the top 20 at No.20. Piscatella noted that while the game benefited from promotions during the final week of January on both PlayStation Store and Nintendo eShop, its sales momentum actually began in December, fueled by rising engagement and visibility ahead of Hazelight Studios’ upcoming title, Split Fiction, set to launch in March.
On the financial side, January 2025 saw a 15% year-over-year decline in total game spending, totaling $4.5 billion. A key factor? This year’s tracking period covered four weeks, compared to five in January 2024. Even so, content spending dropped 12%, with console content down 35%. Hardware sales were especially weak—down 45% overall. PS5 hardware spending fell 38% year-over-year, Xbox Series dropped 50%, and Switch was down 53%. Despite the declines, PS5 led in both dollar and unit sales, with Xbox Series second in spending and Switch a narrow second in units moved.
Top 20 Best-Selling Games in the U.S. – January 2025 (by Dollar Sales):
- 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. Publishers like Nintendo and Take-Two do not share full digital sales figures for this report.
