Just in case there was any doubt in your mind that Monster Hunter Wilds is the biggest release of the year so far – pretty much everywhere – along comes the consumer report for the month of February.
This is Circana’s (formerly NPD) monthly games report we’re talking about here, of course, and it’s yet another shining example of Wilds’ exceptional performance so far.
We already know that the action RPG has sold over 8 million copies in just three days worldwide, so it’s not like we’re hurting for actual figures. The Circana report, however, remains an important metric that tracks one of the largest video game markets in the world.
According to February’s edition, Wilds was the number one game across all formats in February. It’s also 2025’s best-selling game so far in the US. More interestingly, according to Circana, more than half of its dollar sales were made on Steam.
The top three was made up entirely of new releases, too, which is always great to see. Wilds was followed by Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Civilization 7.
February has been an especially major launch month for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which brought in over five times more money from sales (dollar sales) than its predecessor, which also released in February (2018).
The top ten included other February releases such as Avowed at number seven, and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii at number 8. That said, video game content spending during the month fell 4% compared to the same period last year.
Hardware spending also fell by a whopping 25% compared to February last year, the lowest for a February since the heyday of 2020. PS5 was the top-selling console in unit and dollar sales. Even accessory spending dropped by 8%.
It’s all a little disappointing, considering the volume of new, critically-acclimated and seemingly commercially successful games released during the month. As the report notes, however, the industry is still trying to find growth, and it’s worrying that it may not see it until the Switch 2 or GTA 6.