Game subscription spending hits an all-time high in the US — does it bode well for Xbox Game Pass?

Video game subscription spending reached an all-time high in the U.S. during May 2025. That's according to Circana executive director and analyst Mat Piscatella, who shared a thread on Wednesday via Bluesky with various details and insights in the U.S. video game market.

"US video game subscription spending reached an all-time monthly high in May 2025 ($0.6B), while experiencing its 3rd consecutive month of growth," Piscatella says. Notably, this comes at an interesting time, with the viability of subscription services like Xbox Game Pass being questioned in online chatter.

After a long stretch of no growth, game subscription spending noticeably increased in the U.S. following the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 into Xbox Game Pass in October 2024.

Looking at software for May, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware's Elden Ring Nightreign was the best-selling game of the month overall, as well as on Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam individually. It also instantly became the #11 best-selling game of the year overall.

Meanwhile, Bethesda Softworks and id Software's DOOM: The Dark Ages was the second best-selling game of May, and was also included at launch in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Bethesda previously shared that DOOM: The Dark Ages reached 3 million players 7x faster than DOOM Eternal, a number that does obviously includes Game Pass players.

Last month's best-selling game, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, held on as the fourth best-seller for the month, and is the second best-selling game of the year in the U.S. so far.

For hardware, spending was down, with a slight year-over-year increase in PlayStation 5 sales offset by drops in Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S hardware. PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console of the month in dollar sales and units sold. Overall, video game spending in total for the month reached $4.1 billion, up 1% year-over-year.

Below, you'll see the best-selling games of May 2025 and the year so far. As always, Circana tracks game sales through dollar amounts, not copies sold. Some publishers, like Nintendo, also do not share digital data, while developers like Larian don't share any data at all.

May 2025 Circana sales charts: Here are the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S.

1. Elden Ring Nightreign
2. DOOM: The Dark Ages
3. Forza Horizon 5
4. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
6. MLB The Show 25**
7. Minecraft****
8. Grand Theft Auto 5
9. NBA 2K25
10. EA Sports FC 25
11. Assassin's Creed Shadows
12. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017)
13. Split Fiction
14. Red Dead Redemption 2
15. F1 25
16. Helldivers 2
17. The Last of Us Part 2
18. WWE SK25
19. Capcom Fighting Collection 2
20. PGA Tour 2K25

May 2025 Circana sales charts: Here are the best-selling games of the year in the U.S.

1. Monster Hunter Wilds
2. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
3. Assassin's Creed Shadows
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
5. MLB The Show 25****
6. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
7. WWE 2K25
8. Split Fiction
9. NBA 2K25
10. Sid Meier's Civilization VII
11. Elden Ring Nightreign
12. Forza Horizon 5
13. Minecraft****
14. PGA Tour 2K25
15. Grand Theft Auto 5
16. DOOM: The Dark Ages
17. EA Sports FC 25
18. Red Dead Redemption 2
19. Madden NFL 25
20. Marvel's Spider-Man 2


*Denotes no digital sales data
**Denotes no digital sales data on Xbox or Nintendo Switch
****Denotes no digital sales data on Nintendo Switch

Xbox sees software success and likely Game Pass growth

Several of the best-selling games of the month are Xbox titles, continuing a trend from April, as the different Xbox publishing labels have an absolutely stellar year. While Game Pass isn't singled out, it seems likely that the service is also a strong component of the increased subscription spending that's been noted for the month.

This success also makes recent decisions all the more infuriating, with Microsoft conducting layoffs across Xbox and other divisions, reportedly in an effort to pay for AI development.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and play day one Xbox games whichever way you'd like, on Xbox consoles, PC, or even through the Cloud on a wide range of devices. Going with this tier means you never miss out on anything coming to the service.

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