2025’s top played Xbox and PlayStation games paint the same old picture — and show again why Steam player counts don’t always tell the story

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2025 has come and gone, and like always, we spent a lot of time playing video games. It was a year of ups and downs – some parts were great, and others not so much.

This isn’t focused on how much games cost or any disagreements surrounding them. Instead, it’s a first look at the most popular games played on Xbox and PlayStation last year.

According to Mat Piscatella at Circana, the latest game sales figures aren’t unexpected. The five most popular games on each platform are the same as last year, though their order has changed.

— @matpiscatella.bsky.social (@matpiscatella.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-01-07T15:13:54.177Z

On Xbox, Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto V became more popular, while Minecraft and Call of Duty saw a decrease in players. PlayStation’s trends were similar, with the most popular games remaining consistent.

Fortnite remained the most popular game on PlayStation, with Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto V, Roblox, and Minecraft rounding out the top five.

Despite being made by Microsoft, two of their most popular games are still frequently played on PlayStation. Plus, games that were originally exclusive to Xbox, like Forza Horizon 5, have also found success on Sony’s console.

It’s worth noting that ‘Fortnite’ actually includes all of its different game modes, not just the popular battle royale version, and everything is free to play.

The Call of Duty franchise includes all games accessed through its launcher, such as Black Ops 6, Black Ops 7, and Warzone. Currently, this also includes Modern Warfare 3, but that will change around mid-year.

These figures are a good reminder that while Steam player counts can be interesting and helpful, they don’t always give a complete picture of what’s happening overall.

For instance, three of the games listed aren’t on Steam. While Steam is a major force in PC gaming and its data is helpful, it doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s not a perfect measure of everything happening in the PC gaming world.

Call of Duty hasn’t been very successful on Steam lately, and many online are quick to point that out. Interestingly, the same people don’t seem to be talking about the much larger drop in players for Battlefield 6.

As a researcher looking into player experiences with Call of Duty, I’ve consistently found that Steam isn’t the preferred platform. While the game is available on Xbox and Battle.net, Steam seems to have performance issues compared to those other options. A major complaint I’ve heard from players is the disruptive Tuesday maintenance, which often kicks them out of ongoing matches. This has definitely led some players to switch to Battle.net instead.

Generally, things seem to be continuing as normal in the gaming world. I believe only Grand Theft Auto 6, if released this year, has a chance of disrupting the current top games by 2026. Even with a limited release window, its popularity should easily place it within the top five most played games.

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2026-01-07 18:39