By Jon Scarr
November 2025 delivered a mixed picture for U.S. video game sales. According to Circana data shared by analyst Mat Piscatella, total video game spending across hardware, content, and accessories reached about $5.9 billion for the month. That figure represents a 4 percent decline compared to November 2024.
This sales snapshot also lines up with recent engagement trends. In our latest What Gamers Played This Week breakdown, familiar titles continued to dominate playtime across platforms, even as hardware spending slowed.
The headline drop was not evenly spread across the U.S. market. Video game content spending held steady year over year, supported by growth in subscriptions and mobile. Hardware and accessories, however, saw sharper declines, pulling the overall total lower. This created a month where games continued to sell, but fewer new systems and add-ons moved at the same pace.
Looking at November 2025 in isolation, the data reflects a U.S. market adjusting rather than stalling. Spending patterns shifted, platform performance varied, and familiar franchises continued to dominate the charts while hardware told a different story.
Hardware Spending Saw the Sharpest Decline
Hardware was the weakest segment of the U.S. video game market in November 2025. Total hardware spending fell 27 percent compared to a year ago, landing at $695 million. Circana notes this as the lowest hardware spending total for a November month since 2005.
Unit sales followed a similar pattern. Roughly 1.6 million video game hardware units were sold in the U.S. during the month, making it the lowest November unit total since 1995. At the same time, the average price paid for new hardware reached a November record high of $439, up 11 percent year over year. Fewer systems sold, but at higher average prices.
For longer-term context, Circana data shows that the average U.S. hardware price in November 2019 was $235, with 3.9 million units sold, compared to $439 and 1.6 million units in November 2025.
Platform rankings still showed clear leaders. PlayStation 5 finished November as the best-selling hardware in the U.S. in both units and dollar sales. This marked the first time PS5 led both measures since Nintendo Switch 2 launched in June. Nintendo Switch 2 ranked second in both units and dollars, while the NEX Playground placed third in units sold. Xbox Series hardware ranked third in dollar sales for the month.
Hardware declines played a major role in shaping November’s overall U.S. market results, especially when compared to the more stable performance seen in game content spending.
- U.S. hardware spending dropped 27 percent year over year in November.
- Unit sales were the lowest for a November month since 1995.
- PS5 led hardware sales in the U.S., followed by Nintendo Switch 2.
Game Spending Held Steady as Subscriptions and Mobile Offset Declines
While hardware struggled, video game content spending showed more stability in the U.S. during November 2025. Total content spending reached $4.8 billion, up 1 percent compared to the same month last year, according to Circana.
That modest growth came from specific areas. Subscription spending increased 16 percent year over year, and U.S. mobile game spending rose 2 percent. Circana attributes mobile performance to Sensor Tower data, which showed steady consumer spending even as other parts of the market softened.
Those gains helped balance declines elsewhere. Spending on console and PC game content fell year over year, and physical software continued to slide. Physical game sales in the U.S. dropped 14 percent compared to November 2024, marking the lowest physical software spending total for a November month since tracking began in 1995.
Subscriptions and mobile spending helped offset these declines, allowing overall content spending to remain relatively steady despite continued pressure on physical and traditional console sales.
- U.S. content spending rose 1 percent year over year in November.
- Subscription and mobile spending grew, while console, PC, and physical spending declined.
- Physical game sales hit a November low not seen since 1995.
Call of Duty Continued Its November Sales Streak
At the software level, November 2025 followed a familiar pattern at the top of the U.S. sales charts. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 finished the month as the best-selling game in the U.S., continuing a long-running trend for the franchise.
According to Circana, this marked the 18th consecutive year that a Call of Duty release has been the best-selling title in its launch month. The streak dates back to Call of Duty: World at War in November 2008. Black Ops 7 also debuted as the seventh best-selling game of 2025 year to date.
Despite leading the month, Circana noted that full-game dollar sales for the Call of Duty franchise declined by a double-digit percentage compared to November 2024. Even so, the series remained the top-selling title in the U.S. for the month.
Beyond Call of Duty, the November U.S. top 20 best-sellers featured a mix of annual sports releases, long-running franchises, and new launches. Titles such as NBA 2K26, Madden NFL 26, EA Sports FC 26, and EA Sports College Football 26 benefited from promotional pricing, which helped several games move higher in the monthly rankings.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was the best-selling U.S. game of November 2025.
- The franchise extended its streak to 18 straight years leading its launch month.
- Promotional pricing boosted several sports and franchise titles.
How November’s Best-Sellers Shaped Up Across Platforms
PlayStation Platforms
On U.S. PlayStation platforms, November’s best-selling charts closely mirrored the overall market. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 led the month, followed by Battlefield 6 and NBA 2K26. Annual sports releases remained strong performers, with Madden NFL 26, EA Sports FC 26, and EA Sports College Football 26 all landing in the top ten.
First-party and platform-associated titles also maintained a presence. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Ghost of Yotei both ranked among November’s top-selling games on PlayStation in the U.S.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 topped U.S. PlayStation sales in November.
- Sports titles made up a large share of the top ten.
- First-party releases continued to perform well.
Xbox Platforms
U.S. Xbox charts showed a similar lineup at the top. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 once again led November sales, followed by Battlefield 6 and NBA 2K26. Sports franchises remained a consistent presence across the platform’s top ten.
Titles such as Minecraft and Borderlands 4 also appeared among the best-selling games on Xbox in the U.S., highlighting a mix of long-running and newer releases.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 led U.S. Xbox sales for November.
- Sports franchises remained strong performers.
- A mix of older and newer titles filled out the top ten.
Nintendo Platforms
On Nintendo platforms in the U.S., rankings followed a different pattern shaped in part by digital sales exclusions. Pokémon Legends: Z-A finished November as the best-selling premium game, followed by Kirby Air Riders and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.
Other Nintendo-associated titles, including Donkey Kong Bananza and Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2, also ranked highly. While Nintendo digital sales are not included in Circana’s reporting, physical rankings still showed strong franchise performance.
TL;DR:
- Pokémon Legends: Z-A led U.S. Nintendo platform sales in November.
- Franchise titles dominated the rankings.
- Nintendo digital sales are not included in the data.
PC Platforms
On PC in the U.S., Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 finished November as the top-selling premium title. Battlefield 6 followed closely, with The Outer Worlds 2 and Ghost of Tsushima ranking among the platform’s best sellers.
The U.S. PC charts featured a mix of recent releases and established titles, reflecting varied purchasing patterns compared to console platforms.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 led U.S. PC sales in November.
- New releases and older titles shared space in the top ten.
- PC purchasing patterns remained varied.
Accessory Spending Declined, Led by Controller Sales
Accessories followed the same downward trend seen in hardware across the U.S. market. Accessory spending fell 13 percent year over year in November, reaching $327 million. Controller sales declined 19 percent, driving much of the drop.
Year-to-date U.S. accessory spending through November finished 7 percent lower than last year, totaling $2.3 billion.
The PlayStation Portal Midnight Black was November’s best-selling accessory by dollar sales in the U.S., while the PS5 DualSense Midnight Black controller led in units sold.
TL;DR:
- U.S. accessory spending dropped 13 percent in November.
- Controllers were the biggest driver of the decline.
- PlayStation accessories led sales.
A November Shaped by Shifting Spending Patterns
November 2025 reflected a U.S. market that felt more in transition than in trouble. Hardware and accessories had a rough month, especially with fewer high-priced purchases, while game spending stayed steady thanks to subscriptions, mobile, and familiar franchises people keep coming back to.
Call of Duty once again sat at the top of the charts, live-service games continued to hold attention, and mobile provided a steady baseline. Looking at the data as a whole, it clearly shows where spending slowed and where it stayed consistent.
From a gamer’s point of view, November didn’t feel all that surprising. Games were still being played, shared, and talked about across platforms, even if fewer people were buying new hardware. It felt more like people were sticking with what they already had rather than pulling back entirely.
These numbers are still just a snapshot of the U.S. market at one point in time. November shows how people chose to spend and play during the month, offering useful context without trying to tell the full story on its own.
- November spending was pressured by hardware and accessory declines.
- Games, subscriptions, and mobile helped keep content spending steady.
- The data shows spending declines in hardware and accessories alongside steadier content spending.