Highlighting an ongoing trend, the most popular games on PlayStation and Xbox are live-service online multiplayer games that aren't necessarily “new,” at least not in the traditional sense.
Mat Piscatella Chirkana disclosed that the top five most popular games for PlayStation and Xbox in the US in 2025 were the same as in 2024, and in the case of PS5 the ranking was exactly the same.
On PS5, the top five most popular games in the US were Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA V, Roblox and Minecraft (in that order). This was the same as in 2024, according to Circana's Player Engagement Tracker, which is rated by an “active panel” of players.
On Xbox, the top five most popular games of 2025 in the US included Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA V, Minecraft and Roblox. In 2024, the ranking included Call of Duty, Fortnite, Minecraft, GTA V, and then Roblox.
Call of Duty's inclusion in the ranking is supported by the fact that several games are combined into one launcher. The COD HQ launcher currently includes the latest Black Ops 7, as well as last year's Black Ops 6, as well as the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone.
Piscatella said the takeaway here is: “Things have settled down a little bit at the top.”
This report followed Newzoo research from 2024 It showed that 60% of gaming playtime in 2023 was from games over five years old, including Fortnite, GTA V, Call of Duty, Roblox and Minecraft.
Some people call these games “black hole” games because they take up a lot of time, attention, and money, making it difficult for new players to find success.
Games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox may not be “new,” but they are live-service games that regularly receive new content, creating opportunities for people to keep coming back to play and spend money. During the Christmas holiday week in the USA One in three people who turned on a PlayStation or Xbox played Fortnite.
