U.S. November Video Game Sales Hit Lowest Since 1995

November 2025 witnessed the lowest video game sales in the U.S. since 1995, according to a report from Circana. A significant decline in both hardware and physical software sales contributed to this downturn. Mat Piscatella, a senior director at Circana, highlighted that 1.6 million hardware units were sold, marking a stark contrast to the 1.4 million units sold in November 1995.

Hardware Sales Decline

Video game hardware spending plummeted by 27% compared to November 2024, totaling $695 million. Piscatella noted that this amount represents the lowest spending for a November since $455 million was recorded in 2005. This drop in sales is particularly surprising given the traditional surge in consumer spending during the Black Friday holiday.

Best-selling Hardware

• PlayStation 5: Topped sales in units and dollar amounts for the month.
• Nintendo Switch 2: Ranked second in both categories.

Physical Software Sales

Spending on physical software saw a 14% decrease compared to November 2024, marking it the lowest since tracking began in 1995. However, overall video game content spending rose by 1% year-over-year, reaching $4.8 billion. This increase was fueled by a 16% growth in subscription services and a 2% rise in mobile gaming revenue.

Top Games of November

Despite its decline in popularity among fans, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was the best-selling game of the month. This marks the 18th consecutive year a Call of Duty title has led sales for its release month. However, the franchise noted a significant decrease in dollar sales compared to the previous November.

• Most Played Game:Fortnite was the top game across PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
• Most Played on PC:Arc Raiders led on Steam.

Accessories Market Overview

Spending on accessories fell by 13% compared to last year, totaling $327 million. The decline in controller sales, which dropped by 19% year-on-year, was a primary driver of this downturn. The best-selling accessory in dollar sales was the Midnight Black edition of the PlayStation Portal, while unit sales were led by the Midnight Black PlayStation 5 DualSense controller.

Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games

The following games dominated sales for November 2025, reflecting consumer preferences:

These insights emphasize the changing landscape of the video game market in the U.S. as consumer behavior evolves. Despite challenges, the industry continues to experience growth in content revenue, highlighting opportunities in subscription and mobile gaming markets.