Online game {hardware} gross sales had been down 25% year-over-year on the finish of 2024, in response to industry-tracking agency Circana. Online game content material spending generally was up in contrast with the earlier yr, however {hardware} gross sales — together with nearly all different gross sales, save for equipment — had been down in December. Just one December recreation charted on the best-selling video games listing, that being MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Nice Circle
| December 2024 Greenback Gross sales, Million | Dec 2023 | Dec 2024 | Change |
| Complete Video Recreation Gross sales (Projected to Complete Market) | $8,282 | $7,543 | -9% |
| Video Recreation Content material (Bodily & Digital Full Recreation, DLC/MTX and Subscription client spending throughout Console, Cloud, Cellular*, Transportable, PC and VR platforms) | $6,054 | $5,761 | -5% |
| Video Recreation {Hardware} | $1,555 | $1,112 | -29% |
| Video Recreation Equipment | $673 | $671 | 0% |
A lot of the losses, each for December and for the yr general look like from declining console gross sales, which have been dwindling steadily all yr. Mat Piscatella, Circana’s Circana’s govt producer for video games reviews mentioned within the report, “Spending on PlayStation 5 {hardware} fell 18% when in comparison with December 2023, with Xbox Sequence and Change every declining by 38%. Annual spending on online game {hardware} completed 25% decrease than 2023, at $4.9 billion.”
That mentioned, spending on precise recreation content material for 2024 was up 2% YoY, and was “the 2nd highest complete for online game content material spending in U.S. historical past, trailing solely 2021’s $52.0 billion,” says Piscatella. Spending on console content material dropped 11%, however the progress in cellular, PC, cloud, VR and subscription content material offset this. Piscatella additionally added in a put up on Bluesky, “However [the decline] was anticipated with Change being in marketplace for so lengthy and each PS5/XBS previous their promoting peaks.”
| 2024 Greenback Gross sales, Thousands and thousands | 2023 Yr | 2024 Yr | Change |
| Complete Video Recreation Gross sales (Projected to Complete Market) | $59,294 | $58,659 | -1% |
| Video Recreation Content material (Bodily & Digital Full Recreation, DLC/MTX and Subscription client spending throughout Console, Cloud, Cellular*, Transportable, PC and VR platforms) | $49,850 | $50,639 | 2% |
| Video Recreation {Hardware} | $6,453 | $4,854 | -25% |
| Video Recreation Equipment | $2,992 | $3,166 | 6% |
Equipment spending equally noticed 6% progress in 2024, regardless of the widely lukewarm {hardware} market and gross sales being general flat in December itself. The PlayStation Portal was the very best promoting accent of the yr, having launched within the U.S. in late 2023. Circana’s report additionally notes that the PS5’s DualSense controller in Midnight Black was the accent with probably the most models bought.
Circana December 2024: Prime 20 best-selling video games within the U.S.
| Rank | Final Month Rank | Title | Writer |
| 1 | 1 | Name of Responsibility: Black Ops 6 | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 2 | 2 | Madden NFL 25 | Digital Arts |
| 3 | 4 | EA Sports activities School Soccer 25 | Digital Arts |
| 4 | 3 | EA Sports activities FC 25 | Digital Arts |
| 5 | 6 | Tremendous Mario Get together Jamboree* | Nintendo |
| 6 | 8 | Sonic X Shadow Generations | Sega |
| 7 | 11 | Hogwarts Legacy | Warner Bros. Video games |
| 8 | 13 | Astro Bot | Sony (Corp) |
| 9 | 18 | Minecraft^^ | A number of Video Recreation Producers |
| 10 | 9 | NBA 2K25* | Take-Two Interactive |
| 11 | 5 | Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero | Bandai Namco Leisure |
| 12 | 29 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Leisure |
| 13 | 14 | Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 | Sony (Corp) |
| 14 | NEW | Indiana Jones and the Nice Circle | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 15 | 37 | Helldivers II | Sony (Corp) |
| 16 | 38 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 17 | 7 | Mario & Luigi: Brothership* | Nintendo |
| 18 | 27 | God of Struggle: Ragnarok | Sony (Corp) |
| 19 | 23 | The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Knowledge* | Nintendo |
| 20 | 30 | Simply Dance 2025 Version | Ubisoft |
^^ Digital gross sales on Nintendo platforms not included
As famous above, MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Nice Circle is the one December launch to make it onto Circana’s month-to-month best-seller charts. It’s additionally the fourth best-selling recreation on Xbox platforms and the third most-played video games on those self same platforms, in response to Circana’s gross sales and engagement trackers. Different December launches which have missed the Circana reviews embody Marvel Rivals, Path of Exile 2 and Infinity Nikki, although the previous two seem within the reviews for many each day lively customers on Steam and consoles.
The remainder of the best-seller listing for December options a number of video games that had been initially in decrease rankings leaping into the highest 20 — presumably as a result of vacation gross sales. God of Struggle Ragnarok, for instance, was supplied as a part of a vacation sale just a few brief months after its launch on PC. Different titles akin to Elden Ring and Helldivers 2 may need obtained a lift from The Recreation Awards and a brand new content material launch, respectively.
Circana December 2024: 20 best-selling video games of 2024
| Rank | Final Month Rank | Title | Writer |
| 1 | 2 | Name of Responsibility: Black Ops 6 | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 2 | 1 | EA Sports activities School Soccer 25 | Digital Arts |
| 3 | 3 | Helldivers II | Sony (Corp) |
| 4 | 4 | Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero | Bandai Namco Leisure |
| 5 | 5 | NBA 2K25** | Take-Two Interactive |
| 6 | 7 | Madden NFL 25 | Digital Arts |
| 7 | 6 | Name of Responsibility: Trendy Warfare III (2023) | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 8 | 8 | EA Sports activities FC 25 | Digital Arts |
| 9 | 10 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Leisure |
| 10 | 9 | EA Sports activities MVP Bundle | Digital Arts |
| 11 | 14 | Hogwarts Legacy | Warner Bros. Video games |
| 12 | 11 | Dragon’s Dogma II | Capcom USA |
| 13 | 12 | WWE 2K24** | Take-Two Interactive |
| 14 | 13 | MLB: The Present 24^ | A number of Video Recreation Producers |
| 15 | 15 | Grand Theft Auto V** | Take-Two Interactive |
| 16 | 19 | Minecraft^^ | A number of Video Recreation Producers |
| 17 | 16 | Remaining Fantasy VII: Rebirth | Sq. Enix Inc (Corp) |
| 18 | 17 | Tekken 8 | Bandai Namco Leisure |
| 19 | 21 | Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 | Sony (Corp) |
| 20 | 18 | NBA 2K24** | Take-Two Interactive |
** Oct-Dec digital gross sales not included
^^ Digital gross sales on Nintendo platforms not included
A Name of Responsibility recreation has taken the highest spot within the charts, which doesn’t come as an enormous shock. If something, it’s a return to kind, as final yr’s Hogwarts Legacy was the primary recreation to dethrone a Name of Responsibility title from the highest spot on a Circana bestsellers chart since 2008. CoD additionally stays the best-selling franchise within the U.S. for the sixteenth consecutive yr. The remainder of the listing incorporates a slight remix from November’s positions, with many of the similar video games having remained.
Along with the year-end listing, Circana additionally launched particular person charts for gross sales for every console (although Nintendo’s entries by itself chart are ranked principally by bodily gross sales knowledge, as the corporate doesn’t present digital gross sales knowledge to Circana). Purple Useless Redemption is on Xbox’s chart, however not PlayStation’s, whereas the latter counts a number of of its unique titles by itself listing, with Helldivers II rating third. Nintendo’s listing incorporates a lot of new releases alongside mainstays akin to Mario Kart 8 and Tremendous Smash Bros Final.
