If you think the problem with video games these days is that everyone plays the same five games all the time, which makes publishers more wary of taking risks, and instead of getting new, creative and innovative games, we get more of the same, then Circana analyst and executive director Mat Piscatella just gave you some fuel for that argument, as the numbers for the top-five played games in 2025 on PlayStation and on Xbox were the same as the top-five games played on both platforms in 2024.
They’re even almost in the exact same order, Piscatella reports on Bluesky, with the top five played games in the US on PlayStation, as ranked by percentage of active players, are:
Fortnite
Call of Duty
Grand Theft Auto V
Roblox
Minecraft
On Xbox, the list is:
Fortnite
Call of Duty
Grand Theft Auto V
Minecraft
Roblox
All five games are on the list for the most-played games on either platform in 2024, with the PlayStation 2024 list not changing at all, and the only difference on the Xbox 2024 list being that Call of Duty and Fortnite swap places, as do Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto V. But it’s still the same five games, seemingly consuming everyone’s time on consoles in the United States.
Piscatella followed the news up by saying, “Things are a bit…established…at the top.” He also claimed that a more detailed report, including the top-selling games in 2025 in the US, overall and by platform, will arrive on January 22, 2026.
Any new game’s biggest competitor is Fortnite, Call of Duty, Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto V, and Roblox. Those are the five games that are dominating the industry, and the reason why new games have a tough time gaining any traction.
Those are also five free-to-play games (Call of Duty: Warzone), and as Piscatella has reported before, US consumers are likely to spend less on video games as tariffs and the rising cost of living continue to impact their discretionary spending.
2025 might’ve been the year of indies controlling the conversation and the awards, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hollow Knight Silksong, Blue Prince, etc, but those are not the games that keep the industry moving.
So if you’re the person complaining that we keep getting the same kinds of games over and over again, or that publishers aren’t greenlighting new titles for fear that they’ll get swallowed up by ‘the big five,’ then vote with your wallet where you can, and maybe spend a little more time in the ‘indies’ section of Steam instead of on Fortnite. It won’t be much, but at an individual level, it’s one of the best things you can do.
“Things Are a Bit Established at the Top”
