January 2025's video game sales reveal a surprisingly strong showing for Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, potentially signaling a shift in Square Enix's future release strategies. While January is typically a slow month, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 predictably dominated the charts. However, the standout performer was Rebirth, which saw a significant sales boost following its January Steam release.
Initially released in February 2024 as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, Rebirth's performance, while respectable, reportedly fell short of Square Enix's expectations. The game's initial chart positions—peaking at #2 and ending the year at #17—sparked concerns about its commercial success, especially compared to other 2024 RPG releases.
The PC launch changed the narrative. Rebirth jumped from #56 in December to #3 in January's Circana charts, demonstrating the significant impact of a wider platform release. The "Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack" also experienced a dramatic rise, moving from #265 to #16. Analyst Mat Piscatella highlighted Rebirth's "fantastic" Steam launch, noting it was the best-selling game for the week ending January 25th in the US.
This success raises questions about Square Enix's future approach to platform exclusivity. Piscatella commented that the Steam launch provides further evidence that cross-platform releases are increasingly crucial for third-party publishers, especially without significant platform-holder incentives. Square Enix's reaction will likely be revealed at their May earnings call.
The rest of the January 2025 charts showed the expected dominance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25. Donkey Kong Country: Returns was the only new release in the top 20, reaching #8 based solely on physical sales due to Nintendo's non-disclosure of digital sales data. It Takes Two also made a noteworthy return to the top 20 (#20), likely boosted by promotional activities ahead of Hazelight Studios' upcoming release, Split Fiction.
Overall game spending was down 15% year-over-year to $4.5 billion, partly attributed to a shorter tracking period this year (four weeks versus five in 2024). Accessories, content, and hardware spending also saw significant declines. Despite the overall downturn, the PS5 remained the best-selling hardware in both units and dollar sales.
Here's the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S. for January 2025 (based on 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.
