After 'Failing to Meet Expectations' at Launch, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth Shoots to No.3 in U.S. Charts With Steam Debut

January 2025 proved to be a relatively quiet month in the video game industry, mirroring the typical lull following the holiday season. Only one new release, Donkey Kong Country: Returns, managed to crack the top 20 best-selling games, highlighting the continued dominance of established titles like Call of Duty. However, a surprising comeback story emerged: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.

Initially released in February 2024, Rebirth debuted at number two on Circana's US sales charts but subsequently saw its ranking decline to number 17 by year's end. While respectable, these figures reportedly fell short of Square Enix's expectations, leading to speculation about the game's performance. The lack of official sales figures further fueled this speculation, particularly when compared to other successful RPGs released that year.

The game's initial PlayStation 5 exclusivity likely hindered its sales potential compared to cross-platform releases. However, January 2025 marked a significant turning point. The Steam release propelled Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth to number three on the Circana charts, a dramatic jump from its December ranking of 56. The Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack also experienced a substantial surge, climbing from number 265 to number 16.

This success wasn't limited to the US market. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella highlighted the game's "fantastic" Steam launch, noting it was the best-selling game for the week ending January 25th in the US, with the Twin Pack ranking third. This success suggests a broader positive response internationally. The significant sales boost from the PC launch may influence Square Enix's future cross-platform release strategies. Piscatella commented on this, stating that releasing exclusively on a single platform is becoming increasingly challenging for third-party publishers without substantial incentives from the platform holder.

The rest of the charts showed the predictable dominance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Madden NFL 25. Donkey Kong Country: Returns was the only new entry in the top 20, achieving its ranking solely through physical sales due to Nintendo's policy of not sharing digital sales data. The return of It Takes Two to the top 20 is attributed to ongoing promotional efforts, particularly in the lead-up to Hazelight Studios' upcoming release, Split Fiction.

Overall, January 2025 saw a 15% decrease in total games spending compared to the previous year, partly due to a shorter tracking period. Hardware and content spending also experienced significant year-over-year declines. Despite this, the PS5 remained the best-selling console in both units and dollar sales.

The top 20 best-selling games in the U.S. for January 2025 (based on dollar sales):

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
2. Madden NFL 25
3. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
4. EA Sports FC 25
5. Minecraft
6. Marvel's Spider-Man 2
7. EA Sports College Football 25
8. Donkey Kong Country Returns*
9. Hogwarts Legacy
10. Sonic Generations
11. Helldivers II
12. Astro Bot
13. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
14. Super Mario Party Jamboree*
15. Elden Ring
16. Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack
17. Mario Kart 8*
18. The Crew: Motorfest
19. UFC 5
20. It Takes Two*

*Indicates that some or all digital sales are not included in Circana's data.