FF7 Rebirth Soars After Steam Launch

January 2025's video game sales saw a relatively quiet month, mirroring the typical trend. Call of Duty's continued dominance and only one new entry in the top 20 highlight the lackluster performance, except for a potential resurgence of a previous year's title: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.

Initially released in February 2024, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth debuted at number two on Circana's US dollar sales charts, eventually settling at number 17 by year's end. While respectable, Square Enix publicly acknowledged the game fell short of their sales projections, fueling speculation about its performance relative to other 2024 RPGs like Dragon's Dogma 2. The initial PS5 exclusivity was a contributing factor to these lower-than-expected sales.

However, the January 2025 Steam release marked a significant turning point. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth jumped to number three on the Circana charts, a dramatic climb from its December position at number 56. The "Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack" also experienced a substantial increase, rising from number 265 to number 16. Analyst Mat Piscatella highlighted the game's "fantastic" Steam launch, noting it was the best-selling game for the week ending January 25th in the US.

This US success strongly suggests similar international performance, potentially prompting Square Enix to reconsider their future release strategies. Piscatella commented on the impact, stating that while internal publisher perceptions are complex, the consumer response to the Steam launch was overwhelmingly positive. He further emphasized the increasing difficulty for third-party publishers to maintain single-platform exclusivity without substantial platform-holder incentives.

The rest of the January charts showed the predictable dominance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25. Donkey Kong Country: Returns (Switch) was the only new entry in the top 20, reaching number eight based solely on physical sales due to Nintendo's non-disclosure of eShop digital sales data. It Takes Two's re-entry at number 20 is attributed to ongoing promotions and consistent sales throughout the month, potentially boosted by anticipation for Hazelight Studios' upcoming game, Split Fiction.

Overall, January 2025 saw a 15% decrease in total game spending compared to January 2024, largely attributed to a shorter tracking period (four weeks versus five). Accessory, content, and hardware spending also experienced significant year-over-year declines. Despite this, PS5 remained the best-selling hardware in both units and dollar sales.

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.