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 revealed a surprising resurgence for a title previously considered a sales underperformer: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. While the game's initial February 2024 launch, as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, only reached No. 2 on Circana's US dollar sales charts before settling at No. 17 by year's end, its January 2025 Steam release propelled it to No. 3. This marked a significant jump from its December 2024 position of No. 56. The accompanying Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also saw a dramatic increase, rising from No. 265 to No. 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 success, likely mirrored internationally, suggests a potential shift in Square Enix's future release strategies, possibly favoring cross-platform launches. Piscatella commented on the broader implications, stating that for third-party publishers, single-platform exclusivity is increasingly challenging without substantial platform-holder incentives.

The January 2025 sales charts were otherwise dominated by familiar titles. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 secured the top spot, followed by Madden NFL 25. The only new entry in the top 20 was Donkey Kong Country: Returns on Nintendo Switch, achieving No. 8 based solely on physical sales due to Nintendo's non-disclosure of digital sales data. It Takes Two's return to the top 20 (at No. 20) is attributed to ongoing promotion, particularly in the last week of January, and sustained sales throughout the month, possibly linked to the upcoming release of Hazelight Studios' Split Fiction.

Despite the positive news for Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, overall January 2025 game spending was down 15% year-over-year at $4.5 billion, partly due to a shorter tracking period (four weeks versus five in 2024). Accessories, content, and hardware spending all experienced significant declines. While PS5 remained the best-selling hardware in both units and dollar sales, Xbox Series and Switch saw substantial drops in hardware sales.

Here's 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.