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

January 2025 saw a relatively quiet month for video game sales, mirroring the typical trend. Call of Duty's dominance remained unchallenged, with only one new title, Donkey Kong Country: Returns, making it into the top 20. However, a surprising comeback story emerged: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.

Initially released in February 2024, Rebirth debuted at #2 on Circana's US dollar sales charts but subsequently declined to #17 by year's end. Square Enix acknowledged that sales fell short of expectations, fueling speculation about its performance. The game's initial PS5 exclusivity was a likely contributing factor to lower sales compared to multi-platform releases and other major RPGs like Dragon's Dogma 2.

The January 2025 release of Rebirth on Steam dramatically altered its trajectory. The title surged to #3 on the Circana charts, a significant jump from December's #56. The accompanying Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also saw a remarkable rise, from #265 to #16.

Analyst Mat Piscatella highlighted Rebirth's "fantastic" Steam launch, noting it was the best-selling game for the week ending January 25th in the US. This strong PC performance suggests similar success internationally, potentially influencing Square Enix's future cross-platform strategies. Piscatella commented on the broader implications: "For 3rd party publishers, it's looking harder and harder to release exclusively on a single platform without significant incentives provided by the platform holder."

The rest of the January charts showed the expected dominance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25. Donkey Kong Country: Returns secured the #8 spot based solely on physical sales due to Nintendo's non-disclosure of digital sales data. It Takes Two's re-entry at #20 is attributed to ongoing promotions and sustained sales momentum, possibly boosted by anticipation for Hazelight Studios' upcoming title, Split Fiction.

Overall, January 2025 saw a 15% decrease in games spending compared to the previous year, largely attributed to a shorter tracking period (four weeks versus five). Accessories, content, and hardware sales also experienced significant year-over-year declines. Despite this, PS5 remained the best-selling console in both units and dollar sales.

Top 20 Best-Selling Games (US, January 2025, Dollar Sales):