- Sales of physical units of hardware and software in November 2025 were the worst in the US since 1995
- Circana reports that 1.6 million units of video game hardware were sold in the United States last month, the lowest number since the 1.4 million units sold in the United States in 1995.
- The PS5 was the best-selling console of November both in units and dollars and Black Ops 7 was the best-selling game of the month
Sales of physical video game hardware and software just had their worst November in the United States since 1995, despite the holiday season.
According to data from Circana’s latest report from CEO Mat Piscatella, who writes at BlueSky, there was a decline in hardware, console spending and accessories in November 2025, making it the worst November for gaming in terms of hardware units and physical software sales in the US in 30 years.
Piscatella reports that 1.6 million units of video game hardware were sold in the US last month, compared to 3.9 million units in November 2019, and that last month’s results were at their lowest level since the 1.4 million units sold in the US in 1995.
Monthly hardware spending last month was $695 million, a 27% drop compared to November 2024, and also the lowest hardware spending in the same month in the US since 2005.
The average price paid for a new hardware unit last month was also $439, compared to $235 in 2019, and also up 11% from last year, but spending on physical software fell 14% compared to a year ago, which Piscatella says is a record low for a November since 1995.
Content: Sensor Tower reports the top 10 mobile games based on US consumer spending in November and ranks the change since October as: MONOPOLY GO!, Royal Match, Last War: Survival, Candy Crush Saga, Clash Royale, Kingshot, Gossip Harbor, Whiteout Survival (+1), Pokémon Go (+5), and Township.
— @matpiscatella.bsky.social (@matpiscatella.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-12-18T14:15:53.483Z
Total projected spending on video game hardware, content and accessories is also said to have fallen 4% compared to a year ago, to $5.9 billion, and monthly hardware spending has fallen 27% compared to a year ago, to $695 million.
“This is the lowest total spending on video game hardware for a month of November since the $455 million reached during the November 2005 tracking period,” Piscatella said.
Still, the PS5 was the best-selling hardware in November in both units and dollars, which is “the first time this has happened since the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2,” while the Switch 2 took second place.
Interestingly, NEX Playground ranked third in hardware units sold during November, and the Xbox Series ranked third in dollars.
In terms of software and despite the bad month in general, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was the best-selling game of November, making it the seventh best-selling game of 2025 so far. However, Piscatella said that Obligations The franchise “experienced a double-digit percentage decline in full-game dollar sales compared to November 2024.”
The game was followed by Battlefield 6which has done very well in the first-person shooter (FPS) genre this year, surpassing Black ops 7 in terms of simultaneous players on Steam.
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