Looking back at 2025, you might think it was a year where big franchises stepped to one side to give the little guys a chance. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Hades II, they all scored big with critics, but where the general consumer is concerned, 2025 was still dominated by old favourites, especially on console.
A new Newzoo report shows that revenue success "clustered around fewer high-impact releases, while engagement remained anchored in long-running live-service ecosystems." Essentially, this means that even though PC audiences were more open to trying out new games, the biggest winners were those with recognition behind them. The Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 might be one of the bigger exceptions, as indie and AA titles did better there than on other console platforms.
In looking at the data, we see that the top 10 PC games by revenue was won out by Battlefield 6, but the other top 3 spots were taken by new releases in ARC Raiders and Schedule I. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and R.E.P.O also made it into the top 10, but otherwise franchises won the day, including Borderlands 4, Monster Hunter: Wilds, EA Sports FC 26, and the returning The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster, which Newzoo says is a mark for the enduring potential of legacy IP when given proper modernisation features.
Console sees a lot of the same names pop up, but sports titles and franchises did even better. EA Sports FC 26, NBA 2K26, Battlefield 6, EA Sports Madden NFL 26, and MLB The Show 25 made up the top 5 console games. Assassin's Creed Shadows, EA Sports College Football 26, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Ghost of Yotei, and ARC Raiders filled out the rest of the top 10. From this, we can gather that console gamers really weren't up for new RPGs or flashy indies, and instead stuck to what they know.
Nintendo's data differs a bit, as Fantasy Life: The Girl Who Steals Time, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Hades II also brought in some good revenue figures. It's important to mention these games are not the top-selling titles necessarily, but they brought in the most revenue on their respective platforms. If we look at the most-played games of last year, you could probably guess half of them with Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, GTA V, and more classics still keeping audiences entertained. As we head to the future, it seems like getting attention from audiences is possible for new releases, but keeping it for years on end is becoming a tougher and tougher task.