Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth ranks third in the U.S. rankings after “unable to meet expectations” at launch.

January is always a quiet video game month, and 2025 is no exception. There is only one new game released in the top 20 and predictable Call of Duty, so there are few crows since last month… Perhaps, one of the so-called sales disappointments last year could be a comeback story: Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth.

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth made its debut at No. 2 on the Carriage Rankings in February 2024, the chart ranked second in the U.S. with U.S. dollars in sales, down to No. 7 the next month, and End at No. 17. While these numbers are considerable, after issuing, questions about whether the game is good enough, or even especially good for Square Enix's taste Other major RPGs of the same year, such as Dragon's Dogma 2 or its ex Final Fantasy 7: Remake. Square Enix finally comes out to talk about this game Cannot meet its sales expectationsnever even announced sales figures, which suggests it is not doing well enough.

But it is worth noting that Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth is launched on PS5 with platform exclusivity, and exclusive products often face a tough battle compared to cross-platform releases. Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth is unique as of January 2025, and finally debuted on Steam and ranked No. 3 on the Circana rankings from 56th in December. Final Fantasy 7: Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also rose from December 265 to January 16, thanks to the Steam release.

That's not all. Circana Analysis Mat Piscatella It was pointed out earlier this month on the blues This rebirth has a “wonderful” steam launch: “available game of the week ($selling) in the U.S. market as of January 25, while FFVII remake and Rebirth Twinin are the best-selling of the week Game. Package ranked third. ”

Now, this is just the United States, but it is likely to symbolize similar sales abroad, which when combined may signal to Square Enix that needs to be changed. This success inevitably sparked speculation that the sale of PC releases could shift the company's plans for future Final Fantasy versions to cross-platform launches. I asked Piscatra what he thought about this situation, and that's what he said:

“I mean, it’s hard for me to say how steam releases have impacted publishers’ perceptions of the overall title success. It’s a very good launch month for launch months.

“For third-party publishers, it is becoming increasingly difficult to publish on a single platform only with a large number of incentives provided by platform holders.”

We just have to wait and see what the next related earnings conference for Square Enix is. stay tuned.

As for the rest of the charts, it won't surprise anyone who summons: Black Ops 6 is the best-selling game of the month, followed by Madden NFL 25. Donkey Kong Country: Reward On the Nintendo Switch, the Switch is purely based on physical sales (Nintendo does not share its ESHOP's digital sales data).

It is also worth noting that its return requires two to enter the top 20 in the No. 20 match. Piscatella told me that there was no reason. “There were promotions this month, including Jan's last week on the PlayStation Store and Eshop,” he said. “But in reality, sales were pretty steady throughout the month. But in December, two times really started the latest one Rally, sales and engagement speeds extend to January.”

It is worth noting that most promotions require two before the release of Hazelight Studios' next game Split novelreleased in March.

Overall, the game’s spending figures actually look a bit sad compared to last January, but there is a potential reason. The tracking period for January this year is four weeks, while January 2024 is five weeks, so it's the whole week of making money. But as a result, total spending fell 15% this year to $4.5 billion (0.3% over the four-week period in January 2023). Accessories spending fell 28% year-on-year.

Content spending fell 12% compared to last year and console content fell 35%. Hardware spending fell by 45%. PS5 hardware spending fell 38% year-on-year, Xbox series rate fell 50% and switchover fell 53%. The PS5 is the best-selling hardware this month in USD and units, with the Xbox series ranked second in hardware spending and the unit sales toggle only second.

According to US dollar sales, the best-selling game in the United States in 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 Academy Football 25
8. Donkey Hole Country Return*
9. Hogwarts Legacy
10. Sound Generation
11. Hell II
12. Astro Bot
13. Dragon Ball: Spark! zero
14. Super Mario Party Jamboree*
15. Elden Ring
16. Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth Double Pack
17. Mario Map 8*
18. Crew: Motoroose
19. UFC 5
20. Need two

*Signs that Circana's data does not contain some or all digital sales. Some publishers, including Nintendo and Take-Two, do not share certain digital data for this report.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior journalist at IGN. You can find her post on bluesky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Is there a story tip? Send it to [email protected].