According to a report published by Circana United Sensor Tower, the total expenditure on the United States video game market (including hardware, content and accessories) increased by 11 per cent to $4.7 billion in August 2025. The growth was driven mainly by the early launch of NBA 2K26 in August (in September last year), a 6 per cent increase in expenditure on mobile games and the continued strong market performance of Switch 2 in Nintendo.
Hardware monthly expenditure increased sharply over the same period by 32 per cent to $312 million, with Switch 2 sales fully offsetting the decline in both figures of PS5, Xbox Series and old Switch. The cumulative sales of Switch 2 were 2.4 million for three months, 5 per cent ahead of the previously recorded PS4 (three months as of January 2014) and 77 per cent higher than the original Switch during the same period. Hardware expenditure has so far increased by 20 to $2.9 billion, with sales increasing by 6.5 per cent over the same period and average sales prices rising by 12.3 per cent to $453 per unit. The total expenditure on United States-wide game content in the first eight months of 2025 was $32.85 billion, the same as in the same period last year. Content market expenditures increased by 11 per cent to $4.2 billion in August, non-mobile-end game subscriptions increased by up to $500 million over the same period, and cumulative expenditures increased by 20 per cent this month. NBA 2K26 became the best-seller-paying game in August, dropping fifth on the 2025 sales list, with the top PS and Xbox platforms on the monthly sales list. Madden Football 26 ranks second on the monthly sales list and is now in the tenth year. This was also included in the eighth-ranked “EA Sports MVP Bled” and ninth “EA Sports Opening Bled”.
In August, Sensor Tower announced the top 10 rolls and changes in the ranking of U.S. mobile games:Go!
Royal Match.
Last War: Survival
Sweet Legend.
Royal War (↑2)
“The Dream Go”
Kingshot (↑1)
Unfinished Winter Day (↓3)
Free Fire (↓3)
Royal Kingdom (↓1)
Sensor Tower’s senior insight analyst, Sam Own, said: “The top 10 U.S. mobile game markets are coming up with a whole new pattern. New and sharp works such as Kingshot, Royal Kingdom, continue to attack the city, while Playrix, Dream Garden, Dream Home, and others have fallen to the top 10 and ranks around 20.” The return of old games like the Royal War, Free Fire, which is of particular concern – This was its first anti-Mission Callers Tour on the United States market since 2022. The Monopoly Go! is still at the top of the list, but its lead is far less than in early 2024. Despite the pessimism of some practitioners towards the maturity of mobile games, there are opportunities for market growth.”