After 'Failing to Meet Expectations' at Launch, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth Shoots to No.3 in U.S. Charts With Steam Debut

January 2025 proved to be a relatively quiet month in the video game industry, mirroring the typical lull often seen at the start of the year. Only one new release, Donkey Kong Country: Returns, managed to crack the top 20 best-selling games, highlighting the continued dominance of established titles like Call of Duty. However, a surprising comeback story emerged, breathing new life into a game previously considered a potential sales disappointment: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.

Initially released in February 2024, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth debuted at number two on Circana's US sales charts, but its ranking steadily declined throughout the year, eventually settling at number 17. This performance sparked questions about its commercial success, particularly when compared to other major RPG releases of 2024. Square Enix acknowledged that the game fell short of their sales expectations, further fueling speculation. The game's initial PlayStation 5 exclusivity was often cited as a potential contributing factor to these lower-than-expected sales.

However, the narrative shifted dramatically in January 2025 with the release of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth on Steam. This PC launch propelled the game to number three on the Circana charts, a significant jump from its December position at number 56. The Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also saw a remarkable surge, climbing from number 265 to number 16. Circana 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 market.

This success, while initially limited to the US market, strongly suggests similar performance in other regions. This upswing in sales could significantly influence Square Enix's future strategies, potentially leading to a shift towards cross-platform releases for future Final Fantasy titles. Piscatella commented on the broader implications, stating that for third-party publishers, releasing exclusively on a single platform is becoming increasingly challenging without substantial incentives from the platform holder.

The rest of the January 2025 sales charts saw the predictable dominance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25. The only new entry in the top 20 was Donkey Kong Country: Returns, reaching number eight solely based on physical sales due to Nintendo's policy of not sharing digital sales data. The resurgence of It Takes Two at number 20 is attributed to promotional activities leading up to the release of Hazelight Studios' next game, Split Fiction.

January 2025's overall games spending was down 15% year-over-year, totaling $4.5 billion. This decrease is partially attributed to a shorter tracking period (four weeks versus five in 2024). Accessories, content, and hardware spending also experienced significant year-over-year declines. Despite the overall downturn, the PlayStation 5 remained the best-selling hardware platform in both units and dollar sales.

The top 20 best-selling games in the U.S. for January 2025 (based on dollar sales) are listed below:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Madden NFL 25 Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth EA Sports FC 25 Minecraft Marvel's Spider-Man 2 EA Sports College Football 25 Donkey Kong Country Returns Hogwarts Legacy Sonic Generations Helldivers II Astro Bot Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Super Mario Party Jamboree Elden Ring Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack Mario Kart 8 The Crew: Motorfest UFC 5 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.