After 'Failing to Meet Expectations' at Launch, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth Shoots to No.3 in U.S. Charts With Steam Debut

January 2025's video game sales reflected the typical post-holiday lull, with Call of Duty once again dominating the charts. However, a surprising comeback story emerged: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.

Initially released in February 2024 as a PS5 exclusive, Rebirth debuted at No. 2 on Circana's US sales charts but later saw its ranking decline. While Square Enix acknowledged the game missed sales projections, the January 2025 Steam release dramatically altered its trajectory. Rebirth surged to No. 3 on the Circana charts, a significant jump from its December position. The "Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack" also experienced a substantial increase in sales, climbing from No. 265 to No. 16.

Circana 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 suggests similar international performance, potentially influencing Square Enix's future cross-platform release strategies. Piscatella commented that the Steam launch provides further evidence of the benefits of PC releases for third-party publishers, making single-platform exclusivity increasingly challenging without significant platform-holder incentives.

Beyond Rebirth's resurgence, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25 maintained their top positions. Donkey Kong Country: Returns (Switch) was the only new entry in the top 20, achieving No. 8 based solely on physical sales. It Takes Two's return to the top 20 (No. 20) is attributed to ongoing promotions and consistent sales throughout the month, possibly linked to the upcoming release of Hazelight Studios' Split Fiction.

Overall, January 2025's game spending showed a 15% decrease compared to the previous year, partly due to a shorter tracking period (four weeks versus five). Accessories, content, and hardware sales all experienced significant year-over-year declines. Despite this, the PS5 remained the best-selling console in both units and dollar sales.

Top 20 Best-Selling Games (US, January 2025):

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 do not share this data.