The year 2025 was packed with lots of talking points from the gaming community, including huge new titles, returning legendary titles, and a few surprises that have kept many players playing for months on end.
Some franchises bounced back when many thought they were past their peak. And a few reminded you that nostalgia still sells if it’s done right.
As per Circana, consumer spending on gaming content reaching a record $4.84 billion in November alone.
These are the 10 best-selling games of 2025, seen through both stats and context.
Battlefield 6
The past decade for Battlefield often felt like trial and error. Battlefield 6 has finally proven that it is not only back to being an iconic series but also that it is a franchise that deserves the spotlight once more. As per EA, selling over 7 million copies within the first three days made it the biggest launch in this franchise's history.
In the month of October, Battlefield 6 topped all monthly sales charts in North America, beating multiple competitors outside the shooter category. The latest data, as per Alinea Analytics, shows the game has surpassed 20 million copies sold as of December 20, 2025, and reached a total player count of 26 million.
EA put a lot of emphasis on having a more polished product at launch and better communication leading up to the launch, and it got the result it wanted, something the series hadn’t consistently achieved in recent years.
NBA 2K26
Every year, when the NBA 2K series releases a new entry, those games typically become some of the best-selling video games around due to massive support from sports game lovers. NBA 2K26 is an example of this trend, with number one sales on both the PlayStation and Xbox platforms and also finishing with a top 10 placement for PC sales (as per Circana via Gameindustry.biz).
It wasn’t a case of launch-week hype either. The game kept momentum for months. Also, by creating a career mode containing more realistic pacing and smooth online play than previous titles, NBA 2K has effectively become a staple in the lives of basketball fans.
Monster Hunter: Wilds
Released in early 2025, more than 8 million copies of Monster Hunter: Wilds were sold within the first 3 days, thus making it the fastest-selling game in Capcom’s history. By the end of September, the total number of sold copies reached over 10 million worldwide via Capcom H1 FY2025 financial report.
As for PC, player engagement was in line with sales figures. On launch day alone, Wilds experienced over 1.3 million concurrent players via Steam, with even higher numbers the day after launch. This amount is usually only seen in large-scale multiplayer title releases in the gaming industry.
Borderlands 4
As the Borderlands 4 game was released, player concerns regarding franchise performance seemed valid. However, after the launch, the data showcased otherwise.
The new game became the highest-grossing game in Borderlands history on Steam (1.3 million copies sold+), and in the first 48 hours of being online, the new game's player base exceeded 2.5 million users.
When compared to its previous title, Borderlands 3, it also had incredible sales numbers in the U.S., reaching approximately 30% more sales at launch than Borderlands 3.
EA Sports College Football 26
As per Circana via Games.gg, College Football 26 was the 4th best-selling sports video game on the US market by the end of November 2025. It was listed as the third best-selling video game for the entire year as of mid-year.
Even when released as a standalone product (i.e., not bundled with other games), College Football 26 sold incredibly well and continued to build momentum
In market terms, College Football 26 confirmed that EA now has two football franchises that complement rather than compete with each other.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
Typically, remastered games do not create as much buzz as new games; however, Oblivion Remastered made waves. Within three days, it had acquired 4 million players and grew to 9 million within the first three months of launch. In the U.S., it was the top seller for April and sold more copies in one week than the original managed in over a year.
Not to say nostalgia did play a role, but quality sealed the deal. Bethesda created a high-quality remaster of Oblivion by rebuilding the game using modern lighting and textures, while leaving the gameplay and overall aesthetic of the game intact.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Call of Duty’s annual appearance on sales charts is no surprise, but Black Ops 6 took things to another level by achieving the largest launch weekend of any COD title in its history and attracting 50 million players by mid-2025
As a result, Black Ops 6 has become the top-selling title on PS5 since its release and ranked within the top-grossing games. Rather than making big promises and changing everything about the franchise, Black Ops 6’s approach was the continual improvement of the greatest aspects of the game.
Madden NFL 26
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Millions of Madden fans continue to use Madden NFL 26 as part of their yearly video game tradition, and it was definitely an exciting release for many fans. The initial sales of Madden NFL 26 reached approximately 1.4 million copies within 24 hours of release across all platforms (for reference, the previous edition had first-day sales of 1.2 million).
Although the overall gameplay of Madden NFL 26 did not revolutionize the gameplay mechanics of the series, it was a more polished version of previous games. The graphics have improved; players moved realistically on the field, tackles felt heavier, and there were many enhancements with respect to defense.
Ghost of Yōtei
Many industry veterans believed that Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Yōtei was not built to dominate charts overnight. Instead, it built momentum one week at a time. As per Sony's official financial report, by November, it had sold around 3.3 million units worldwide, with particularly strong performance in Japan.
In contrast to games that have large pre-order numbers that may be driven by hype or advertisements or marketing campaigns, Ghost of Yōtei connected with its quiet storytelling and breathtaking visual design, much like its similar previous entry Ghost of Tsushima.
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