January 2025 marked another quiet month for the video game industry, with only one new title, Donkey Kong Country: Returns on Nintendo Switch, making it into the top 20 best-sellers. The month was predictably dominated by stalwarts like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25. However, the month also witnessed a potential comeback story for 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 U.S. sales charts. However, its ranking slipped to No.7 in March and ended the year at No.17. Square Enix had expressed dissatisfaction with the game's performance, hinting at unmet sales expectations. The game's initial release was exclusive to PS5, a factor that might have contributed to its underwhelming sales, as platform exclusives often struggle compared to multi-platform releases.

In a significant turn of events, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth became available on Steam in January 2025, breaking its exclusivity. This move propelled it to No.3 on the Circana charts, a dramatic leap from its No.56 position in December. The Final Fantasy 7: Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also saw a remarkable rise, moving from No.265 to No.16. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella highlighted Rebirth's "fantastic" launch on Steam, noting it as the best-selling game of the week ending January 25th in the U.S. market, with the Twin Pack ranking third.

This success on Steam could signal a shift in Square Enix's strategy for future Final Fantasy releases, possibly leaning towards cross-platform launches. Piscatella emphasized the importance of PC releases for third-party publishers, suggesting that exclusive releases are becoming increasingly challenging without substantial incentives from platform holders.

The industry awaits Square Enix's next earnings call in May for further insights into their strategy adjustments.

As for the rest of the January 2025 charts, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25 retained their top spots, with Donkey Kong Country: Returns being the only new entry at No.8, driven solely by physical sales. It Takes Two re-entered the top 20 at No.20, buoyed by promotional efforts ahead of Hazelight Studios' upcoming game, Split Fiction, set for a March release.

Overall, January 2025 saw a decline in spending across the board. Total spending was down 15% to $4.5 billion compared to the previous year's January, which had an extra week for sales. Content spending dropped by 12%, with console content down 35%. Hardware spending plummeted by 45%, with PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch all seeing significant declines. Despite this, PS5 remained the best-selling hardware in both dollars and units.

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

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.