Call of Duty and PlayStation 5 Dominate U.S. Game Sales in a Subdued January Market

The U.S. video game market experienced a predictably slow January, with minimal new releases and a post-holiday lull, allowing Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to retain its position as the month's top-selling game and the PlayStation 5 to lead in console sales.

According to analysis from Circana senior director and analyst Mat Piscatella, the PS5 topped hardware sales in both units and dollars, followed by the Nintendo Switch 2 in second place for both metrics. Overall hardware spending increased by 16% compared to last year, driven by a rise in Switch 2 sales—though this is a gain from zero, as the Switch 2 wasn't available in the previous year. This offset declines in spending on the PS5 (down 17%), Xbox Series (down 27%), and Switch 1 (down a significant but expected 79%). Accessories spending dropped 5% to $185 million.

In content, spending rose 3% year-over-year to $4.3 billion, primarily fueled by a 23% surge in subscription spending. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 remained the best-selling game, with NBA 2K26 holding steady at No. 2 and Madden NFL 26 climbing from No. 4 last month to No. 3 in January. Battlefield 6, previously at No. 3, fell to No. 5.

The sole new entry into the top 20 was Code Vein II, debuting at No. 11. Notably, Final Fantasy 7: Remake soared from No. 225 to No. 9, likely due to its releases on Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch 2. Fallout 4 also made a substantial leap from No. 68 to No. 20, possibly boosted by Season 2 of the Fallout TV show and a major price drop on Steam at month's end.

Piscatella also noted to IGN that outside the top 20, both Fable Anniversary and Animal Crossing: New Horizons saw notable sales increases. Fable Anniversary benefited from a new trailer for the upcoming Fable game, while Animal Crossing: New Horizons gained traction from DLC and its Switch 2 release.

Total gaming spending reached $4.7 billion, up 3% from the previous year. While not an electrifying start to 2026, January has never been known for explosive game sales.

• Indicates that some or all digital sales are excluded from Circana's data, as certain publishers, including Nintendo, do not provide full digital sales information for this report.