US Gaming Market Hits Historic Lows in November 2025

The US gaming market experienced a significant downturn in November 2025, with both hardware and software sales reaching record lows, as reported by Circana. Hardware revenue declined by 27% to $695 million, the lowest since November 2005. A total of 1.6 million hardware units were sold across all platforms, marking the lowest November sales figure since 1995. The PlayStation 5 led console sales, surpassing the Nintendo Switch 2 for the first time since its launch in June. The Xbox Series X|S and NEX Playground followed. Circana's Mat Piscatella noted that Xbox sales dropped 70% year-over-year, an all-time low for November. The last increase in Xbox sales was in November 2021, with an 11% year-over-year growth. Despite ranking first and second, PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 sales fell by 40% and 10% year-over-year, respectively. Physical software sales also declined by 14% year-over-year, another record low since 1995. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was the top-selling game in November, marking the franchise's 18th consecutive year at No.1 during its release month. However, the franchise saw a double-digit percentage decline in sales compared to the previous year. Overall, US content spending rose by 1% year-over-year to $4.8 billion, driven by a 16% increase in subscription spending and a 2% growth in mobile sales, which offset declines in console and PC content spending.