Call of Duty and PlayStation 5 Lead U.S. Video Game Sales in a Quiet January

It was an understandably quiescent January successful the U.S. games market, with precise fewer caller releases and a spot of a comedown from a engaged vacation play leaving Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 again the best-selling crippled of the month, and the PlayStation 5 connected apical for consoles.

The PS5 led hardware successful some portion and dollar sales, with the Nintendo Switch 2 taking 2nd successful both, according to investigation shared by Circana elder manager and expert Mat Piscatella. Overall hardware spending was up 16% year-over-year, with an summation successful Switch 2 spending (admittedly an summation implicit nothing, arsenic the Switch 2 wasn't retired past year) offsetting declines successful spending connected PS5 (down 17%), Xbox Series (down 27%) and Switch 1 (down a whopping but understandable 79%). Accessories spending was down 5% to $185 million.

In content, spending up was up 3% year-over-year to $4.3 billion, mostly driven by a 23% summation successful subscription spending. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was erstwhile again the best-selling crippled of the month, followed by NBA 2K26 again successful the No.2 spot, and Madden NFL 26 rising from No.4 past period to No.3 successful January. Battlefield 6, past month's No.3, dropped to No. 5 successful January.

The lone caller crippled entering the apical 20 for January was Code Vein II, which came successful astatine No. 11. We did spot Final Fantasy 7: Remake leap from No.225 past period to No.9 for January, acknowledgment to its Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch 2 releases. Fallout 4 besides made a large leap from No.68 to No.20, perchance acknowledgment some to Season 2 of the Fallout TV amusement coinciding with a large driblet successful terms connected Steam astatine the extremity of the month.

Additionally, Piscatella tells IGN that extracurricular the apical 20, some Fable Anniversary and Animal Crossing: New Horizons saw important income bumps. In the former's case, this was acknowledgment to the caller trailer for the upcoming Fable game, and successful the latter's, owed to the DLC and Switch 2 release.

Overall, full gaming spending reached $4.7 billion, up 3% year-over-year. Not precisely a thrilling commencement to 2026, but erstwhile has January ever been an explosive period for games?

January 2026 U.S. Top 20 Best-Selling Games:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
2. NBA 2K26
3. Madden NFL 26
4. Minecraft*
5. Battlefield 6
6. EA Sports FC 26
7. Grand Theft Auto V
8. Red Dead Redemption II
9. Final Fantasy VII: Remake
10. Forza Horizon 5
11. Code Vein II (NEW)
12. Ghost of Yotei
13. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
14. EA Sports College Football 26
15. Helldivers II
16. Pokemon Legends: Z-A*
17. Split Fiction
18. Elden Ring
19. Flight Simulator 2024
20. Fallout 4

* Indicates that immoderate oregon each integer income are not included successful Circana's data. Some publishers, including Nintendo, bash not stock definite integer information for this report.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].