Video Game Hardware And Physical Software Sales This Year Had The Worst November Since 1995 In The US

Video game hardware and physical software sales just had the worst November since 1995 here in the U.S. That’s according to the latest U.S. Video Game Market report from industry analyst group Circana, with senior director Mat Piscatella revealing that 1.6 million units of hardware and a 14 percent spending decline in physical software led to the worst November in consumer video game spending since 1995. 

It’s important to note that Piscatella explicitly cites 1995 as the year this kind of tracking began. Monthly hardware spending dropped by 27 percent compared to 2024, down to $695 million, which Piscatella calls “the lowest video game hardware spending total for a November month since the $455 million reached during the November 2005 tracking period,” in his highlights thread on Bluesky. However, when you look at unit sales (rather than spending totals), the 1.6 million hardware units sold during November 2025 across all platforms is the lowest total for a November since 1995, when 1.4 million hardware units were sold. That’s especially surprising considering Black Friday is in November, a popular consumer spending holiday in the U.S.

That said, the PlayStation 5 was November’s best-selling hardware in both units sold and dollar sales, which is the first time this has occurred since the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 in June. Switch 2 ranked second in both categories last month. 

In terms of physical software sales, November spending fell 14 percent compared to last November, an all-time low for that month since tracking began in 1995, Piscatella says. However, video game content spending grew by 1 percent compared to a year ago, to $4.8 billion, with a 16 percent increase in subscription spending and 2 percent growth in mobile, which Piscatella says offsets declines in console and PC content spending. 

Diving into the specifics of video game software, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was still the best-selling game of last month, despite fans of the franchise calling it one of the weakest entries in years (something the devs behind the game recently acknowledged). This marks the 18th consecutive year that a Call of Duty release is the best-selling game of its release month. This streak started with the November 2008 release of Call of Duty: World at War. However, Piscatella says the franchise experienced a “double-digit percentage full game dollar sales decline” when compared to November 2024. 

Fortnite was the most-played game in November on PlayStation and Xbox consoles by monthly active users. However, on PC via Steam, Arc Raiders was the most-played game. 

In terms of accessories, which are categorized separately from platform consoles, spending fell 13 percent last month compared to November 2024, down to $327 million. Controller spending declined 19 percent year-on-year, driving this 13 percent spending drop. The Midnight Black edition of the PlayStation Portal was the best-selling accessory of November in dollar sales, while the Midnight Black PlayStation 5 DualSense controller led the month in unit sales. 

Here Are The Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games Of November 2025

Piscatella says this is specifically for the U.S. and includes dollar sales, physical and digital data from opt-in publishers, and excludes add-on content like DLC and expansions. 

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
2. Battlefield 6
3. NBA 2K26
4. Madden NFL 26
5. EA Sports FC 26
6. Pokémon Legends: Z-A
7. Ghost of Yōtei
8. EA Sports College Football 26
9. Minecraft
10. Kirby Air Riders
11. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
12. The Outer Worlds 2
13. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
14. Donkey Kong Bananza
15. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
16. Red Dead Redemption II
17. Grand Theft Auto V
18. Borderlands 4
19. Forza Horizon 5
20. Digimon Story: Time Stranger

For more details about November 2025 video game spending, head to Piscatella’s thread here on Bluesky. After that, read Game Informer’s reviews of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Ghost of Yōtei, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Battlefield 6, Kirby Air Riders, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. 

Are you surprised by these November 2025 spending results? Let us know in the comments below!