New data shows that only 1.6 million units of video game hardware were sold in the US in November, making it the worst month since 1995

The PS5 was the best-selling hardware in both units and dollars last month for the first time since the Nintendo Switch 2 launched

18 Dec 2025, 14:15 · TechRadar

News By Demi Williams published 18 December 2025

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Hardware and physical software unit sales in November 2025 were the worst they've been in the US since 1995
Circana reports that 1.6 million units of video game hardware were sold in the US last month, which was the lowest since the 1.4 million units that were sold in the US in 1995
The PS5 was November's best-selling console in both units and dollars and Black Ops 7 was the best-selling game of the month

Video game hardware and physical software sales just had their worst November in the United States since 1995, despite the holiday season.

According to the data from Circana's latest report from executive director, Mat Piscatella, who writes on BlueSky that there was a decline across hardware, console spending, and accessories in November 2025, making it the worst November for games 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 ever since the 1.4 million units that were sold in the US in 1995.

Monthly spending for hardware last month was $695 million, a 27% drop compared to November 2024, and also the lowest hardware spend in the same month in the US since 2005.

The average price paid for a new unit of hardware last month was also $439, compared to $235 in 2019, and also 11% higher than last year, but physical software spending fell 14% when compared to a year ago, which Piscatella said is an all-time low for a November month since 1995.

Content - Sensor Tower reports the top 10 mobile games by U.S. consumer spend in Nov and rank chg from Oct 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

It's also said that total projected spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories fell 4% when compared to a year ago, to $5.9 billion, and that monthly hardware spending dropped by 27% when compared to a year ago, to $695M.

"This is the lowest video game hardware spending total for a November month since the $455M reached during the November 2005 tracking period," Piscatella said.

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