According to Circana, in January 2025 U.S. consumer spending on video game hardware fell by 45%, reaching $205 million. This marks the lowest total for January hardware spending since 2020.
Most major console platforms experienced significant double-digit declines. Spending on PlayStation 5 hardware dropped by 38% compared to last year, while Xbox Series spending decreased by 50% and Nintendo Switch saw a reduction of 53%.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was the best-selling video game for January. Notably, Donkey Kong Country Returns was the only new release to make the top sellers list, securing eighth place based solely on physical sales.
Circana reported that overall U.S. consumer spending on video game hardware, content, and accessories fell by 15% compared to a year ago. Specifically, spending on video game content decreased by 12%, and spending on consoles dropped by 35%.
However, there was positive news as spending on non-mobile subscriptions grew by 13%. For mobile content, the top game was Monopoly GO!
Remarkably, ReelShort—Short Movie & TV claimed the tenth spot on the list. This raises an interesting point regarding the distinction between games and streaming services.
“One of these does not like the others: ReelShort – Short Movie & TV seems to be a streaming video app, not a game,” says Samuel Aune of Sensor Tower. “However, its ‘choose your own adventure’-ish engagement is exactly that: a game in the Interactive Story sub-genre.”
“In the past two years, the streaming video/game hybrid has skyrocketed, and now it’s cracked the top ten mobile games by U.S. monthly consumer spend,” says Aune.
It’s important to note that the January 2024 tracking period consisted of four weeks, while January 2025 comprised five weeks. For more information and other reports, visit circana.com.
