US Video Game Spending: January 2025

Key insights

4 slides

Market Contraction

Total US video game spending declined by 15% year-over-year in January 2025.

Consumer spending across all categories reached $4.51 billion. This downturn affected hardware, software, and accessories.

Content and Accessories

Game content sales dropped 12% to $4.11 billion, despite growth in mobile spending.

Non-subscription mobile spending increased by 13%, but this was not enough to offset broader market weaknesses. Accessories revenue also fell 28% to $194 million.

Mixed Results. Game content sales dropped 12% to $4.11 billion, as a 13% increase in non-subscription mobile spending failed to offset declines in other sectors.

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Summary

The United States video game market experienced a significant downturn in January 2025, with total consumer spending falling 15% year-over-year to $4.51 billion. This decline was broad-based, affecting hardware, software, and accessories. Hardware revenue suffered the most substantial contraction, dropping 45% to $205 million, marking the lowest January performance for the category since 2020. Across the board, all major console platforms saw double-digit revenue declines, with the Nintendo Switch falling 53%, Xbox Series X|S down 50%, and PlayStation 5 decreasing by 38%.

Content sales also faced downward pressure, declining 12% to $4.11 billion. While non-subscription mobile spending provided a bright spot with 13% growth, this was insufficient to offset broader market weaknesses. Accessory spending followed the downward trend, falling 28% to $194 million. Despite the overall market contraction, specific titles maintained strong engagement. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 led premium game sales, while Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth saw a significant surge in rankings following its Steam release.

The data, provided by Circana and supplemented by Sensor Tower for mobile insights, reflects a challenging start to the year for the US gaming industry. PlayStation 5 maintained its position as the market leader in both dollar and unit sales, while Monopoly Go! continued to dominate the mobile sector. The findings highlight a period of cooling demand across traditional gaming segments, emphasizing the industry's current reliance on established franchises and the shifting performance of mobile versus console ecosystems.