Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth Climbs to No.3 in U.S. Charts After Steam Launch

January 2025 proved to be a subdued period for the video game industry, mirroring the typical quiet nature of the month. The spotlight, however, was stolen by the impressive resurgence of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, a title that had faced scrutiny for its sales performance in 2024. Initially launched in February 2024, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth secured the No.2 spot on Circana's charts but experienced a decline, finishing the year at No.17. Square Enix had expressed disappointment over the game's sales, withholding any official sales figures.

The game's fortunes took a dramatic turn in January 2025 when it transitioned from a PS5 exclusive to a multi-platform release on Steam. This move propelled Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth from No.56 in December to an impressive No.3 on the Circana charts for January. The Final Fantasy 7: Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also saw a significant rise, jumping from No.265 to No.16. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella highlighted the game's "fantastic" Steam launch, noting it as the best-selling game of the week ending January 25th in the U.S. market based on dollar sales.

This success story suggests that a broader platform release could influence Square Enix's strategy for future Final Fantasy titles. Piscatella emphasized the consumer response to the Steam launch, stating, "This launch does provide yet another benchmark that shows releasing on PC makes a ton of sense at this point regardless of genre or historical release strategies." He also noted the challenges of maintaining exclusivity without substantial incentives from platform holders.

As we await Square Enix's next earnings call in May, the industry watches closely to see how this might affect their future plans.

Elsewhere on the charts, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 continued its reign as the best-selling game of January, followed by Madden NFL 25. The only new entry in the top 20 was Donkey Kong Country: Returns on Nintendo Switch, which reached No.8, driven solely by physical sales. It Takes Two made a notable return to the top 20 at No.20, buoyed by promotions across the PlayStation store and eShop, as well as steady sales and engagement throughout the month.

January's overall gaming spending saw a decline, partly due to the month being one week shorter than January 2024. Total spending dropped 15% to $4.5 billion compared to last year, with content spending down 12% and hardware spending down a significant 45%. PS5 led in hardware sales both in dollars and units, with Xbox Series and Switch trailing behind.

Here are 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.