November 2025 was a surprisingly unhealthy month for U.S. online game gross sales We historically consider November as a giant gross sales month with issues like Black Friday, however November 2025 was the worst November for online game {hardware} unit gross sales and the worst for bodily software program greenback gross sales within the U.S. since 1995.
That is in response to Circana’s month-to-month report, which paints a fairly dire image of economic efficiency final month. Within the U.S. trade, spending on {hardware}, equipment, and consoles declined throughout the board, with an general decline of 4% year-over-year, totaling $5.9 billion in spending.
{hardware}
Particularly, {hardware} spending decreased 27% year-over-year to $695 million, the bottom whole {hardware} spending in November since 2005, when it was $455 million. To make issues worse, gross sales reached 1.6 million items, the bottom November whole since 1995, when 1.4 million items had been bought.
And that is consultant of the general decline. Xbox Collection {hardware} gross sales had been down 70% yr over yr. Though this yr was the discharge yr for the Nintendo Change 2, PS5 gross sales had been down over 40%, and mixed gross sales of the Nintendo Change and Nintendo Change 2 had been down over 10% from final yr’s Change gross sales.
what occurred? As Circana senior director Mat Piscatella identified, online game {hardware} is dearer than ever, hitting an all-time excessive of $439 per unit in November, up 11% yr over yr. For Xbox particularly, the typical worth per unit has elevated by greater than 30%, which appears to substantiate one of many explanation why folks aren’t so eager on shopping for Xbox particularly.
Relating to Nintendo Change 2, Piscatella stated that he’s watching its gross sales “very carefully” and analyzed the present state of affairs as follows:
Six months after its launch, it stays the fastest-selling online game {hardware} in U.S. historical past. However a part of the driving power was that it was out there for buy through the launch interval. It is very uncommon {that a} new system this profitable does not endure from provide constraints throughout its first vacation gross sales interval. Change 2 gross sales had been decrease than Change 1 gross sales in every console’s first November, however the worth ranges are additionally very totally different. The common worth paid for a brand new Nintendo Change in November 2017 was $309 (roughly $405 in November 2025 {dollars}, adjusted for inflation), whereas the typical worth paid for a Change 2 in November 2025 was $486. Maybe it was a case of demand being introduced ahead earlier within the yr as a result of folks had been capable of finding them. Or possibly the overall market hasn’t adopted the Change 2 as shortly because the Change. Or possibly shoppers are wanting elsewhere for vacation presents as the value of online game {hardware} continues to rise. It is onerous to say at this level.
There may be one piece of {hardware} that’s working advantageous. It is NEX Playground. It surpassed the Xbox Collection in unit gross sales and was the third best-selling online game {hardware} in November, though the dearer Xbox Collection surpassed it in gross sales (the PS5 was primary in each classes and the Change 2 was quantity two). Piscatella known as NEX Playground a βexceptional storyβ and famous that whereas everybody else was having a horrible time, November was nice compared.
Tracked U.S. retail gross sales for NEX Playground in November 2025 had been simply 7% decrease than gross sales for all the retail monitoring interval by way of October. With a median sale worth of simply over $200 in November, robust retail placements, and profitable influencer and viral advertising efforts, NEX Playground grew to become one of the standard online game merchandise of the vacation season that month. We’ll should see how effectively this tempo will be maintained, as NEX Playground is presently nearly bought out, and there are experiences that secondary market costs on websites like eBay are rising accordingly.
The lesson right here could also be that extra reasonably priced, family-friendly gaming units are extra interesting through the vacation reward season.
software program
By way of content material, the state of affairs doesn’t appear to be excellent. Circana experiences that content material spending elevated 1% year-over-year to $4.8 billion, pushed by a 16% improve in subscription spending and a 2% improve in cellular. In the meantime, bodily software program gross sales fell 14% yr over yr, making it the worst November since Circana started monitoring the info in 1995.
Name of Responsibility: Black Ops 7 was November’s bestseller, returning the Name of Responsibility sequence to the highest of its debut month and marking Name of Responsibility’s 18th consecutive yr on the high of the charts. That being stated, Circana experiences that the franchise noticed a double-digit proportion decline in general sport greenback gross sales in comparison with November 2024.
It is just a little tough to precisely examine Black Ops 7 and its predecessor, Black Ops 6, contemplating each video games had been launched on Xbox Sport Go and Black Ops 6 was launched final October as an alternative of November. Nonetheless, Piscatella stated general sport gross sales for Black Ops 7 completed decrease than Black Ops 6 final November. Moreover, Black Ops 7 is presently the seventh best-selling sport of the yr, and Piscatella expects rival Battlefield 6 to finish the yr because the best-selling sport of 2025. This is not the primary time in latest reminiscence that Hogwarts Legacy rose to the highest in 2023. Notably, Hogwarts Legacy outperformed Name of Responsibility: Fashionable Warfare 3 that yr. did would not have Black Ops 7 launched on Sport Go this yr, and its precise gross sales whole was nearly actually decrease in consequence.
It is also price noting that spending on equipment was down 13% yr over yr.
pink flag
This yr is shaping as much as be fairly a wierd one. I requested Piscatella what he thinks about all this and what it means for the gaming trade. He famous that a lot stays to be stated in December, so shoppers could also be ready for higher offers nearer to the vacation season. Alternatively, financial components or the value of gaming consoles could also be discouraging folks from buying video games. Mr. Piscatella’s feedback are as follows:
Regardless of the strain from rising costs seen out there, retail spending has remained comparatively robust to this point. To this point, wealthier shoppers have continued to spend, offsetting among the decline in spending amongst much less prosperous segments of the market. Maybe this is a sign that rising costs are beginning to have an effect on purchases of dearer objects, reminiscent of gaming consoles. Most likely not.
Nonetheless, if RAM costs proceed to soar and the costs of consoles and gaming PCs improve within the coming months, it might theoretically be devastating to the devoted gaming console market. In fact, this has potential implications on the content material aspect.
I actually see among the {hardware} unit gross sales and worth relationships within the November outcomes as pink flags.
Monetary outcomes for December and the total yr will not be identified till January, however they may probably inform us extra about whether or not the gaming trade is heading right into a quiet interval or whether or not this November was only a blip.
Prime 20 best-selling video games within the US for November 2025:
- Name of Responsibility: Black Ops 7 (New)
- battlefield 6
- NBA 2K26
- Madden NFL 26
- EA Sports activities FC 26
- Pokemon Legend: ZA*
- Ghost of Yotei
- EA Sports activities Faculty Soccer 26
- Minecraft*
- Kirby’s Air Riders (NEW)*
- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (New)*
- outer world 2
- Sonic Racing: Crossworld
- Donkey Kong Bananza*
- marvel’s spiderman 2
- Pink Useless Redemption II
- Grand Theft Auto V
- borderlands 4
- Forza Horizon 5
- digimon story time stranger
* Signifies that some or all digital gross sales should not included in Circana’s knowledge. Some publishers, together with Nintendo, don’t share sure digital knowledge for this report.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter at videogameaddicted. Do you might have any story ideas? Ship it to rvalentine@videogameaddicted.com.