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

January 2025 was a relatively quiet month for video game releases, with only one new title, Donkey Kong Country: Returns on Nintendo Switch, making it into the top 20 best-sellers. However, the month was marked by the notable performance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which once again topped the charts, followed closely by Madden NFL 25. Amidst this, a potential comeback story emerged with Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, which had been considered a sales disappointment in 2024.

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth initially launched in February 2024, debuting at No.2 on Circana's charts, which rank video games by dollar sales in the U.S. However, its sales declined over the year, finishing at No.17. Square Enix had expressed that the game did not meet their sales expectations, and no specific sales figures were released. The game's initial exclusivity to the PS5 platform may have contributed to its underperformance, as exclusives often struggle to match the sales of cross-platform releases.

The narrative shifted in January 2025 when Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth was released on Steam, breaking its exclusivity. This move propelled the game from No.56 in December to No.3 on the Circana charts for January. The Final Fantasy 7: Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also saw a significant rise, moving 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 on Steam suggests that a broader platform release can significantly boost sales, potentially influencing Square Enix's strategy for future Final Fantasy titles. Piscatella commented that releasing on PC makes sense regardless of genre or historical strategies, and that it's increasingly challenging for third-party publishers to justify single-platform exclusivity without substantial incentives from platform holders.

As for other notable movements in the charts, It Takes Two re-entered the top 20 at No.20, driven by ongoing promotions and a sales rally that began in December. This resurgence is timely, as it precedes the March release of Hazelight Studios' next game, Split Fiction.

Overall, January 2025 saw a decline in gaming industry spending compared to the previous year. The tracking period for January 2025 was four weeks, compared to five weeks in 2024, which contributed to a 15% drop in overall spending to $4.5 billion. Content spending was down 12%, with console content down 35%, and hardware spending saw a significant 45% decrease. PS5 remained the best-selling hardware in both dollars and units, with Xbox Series and Switch following.

The top 20 best-selling games in the U.S. for January 2025, based on dollar sales, were:

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.

Square Enix's next earnings call in May will be crucial in understanding their response to Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth's performance and potential shifts in their release strategy.