New data from Circana’s Player Engagement Tracker shows that in 2025 the five most-played games on PlayStation and Xbox in the United States were the same as 2024 for the PlayStation lineup, and closely aligned for Xbox with a notable ordering shift. On PlayStation 5, the top five remained Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA V, Roblox, and Minecraft, in that order. On Xbox, the 2025 top five were Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA V, Minecraft, and Roblox.
Circana’s rankings are based on an active panel of players, offering a snapshot of engagement rather than raw sales. The data underscore a persistent industry pattern: a core cluster of live-service, multiplayer titles keeps players returning and monetizing over time, even as new releases come and go. Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA V, Roblox, and Minecraft anchor both platforms, with Roblox and Minecraft trading places on PlayStation versus Xbox in the 2025 results.
On PlayStation 5, the 2025 ranking matches 2024 exactly, with no shuffle in the top five. By contrast, the Xbox lineup shows a different order compared with 2024, marking Fortnite’s return to the top spot ahead of Call of Duty, GTA V, Minecraft, and Roblox.
Industry analyst Circana’s Mat Piscatella noted that Call of Duty’s continued prominence is aided by its launcher, COD HQ, which bundles the newest title with older entries and free-to-play modes, consolidating access across devices. The takeaway, he said, is that “things are a bit established at the top,” reflecting how long-running franchises and live-service ecosystems concentrate attention and spending.
These patterns align with a broader 2024 Newzoo study indicating that roughly 60% of playtime in games from 2023 was attributable to titles more than five years old. Fortnite, GTA V, Call of Duty, Roblox, and Minecraft were among the titles highlighted as drivers of engagement, sometimes labeled as “black hole” games for their ability to suck in time, attention, and money over long periods. The live-service model, with regular content updates and cross-platform access, continues to reinforce this dynamic.
During the Christmas holiday week in the United States, one in three people who turned on their PlayStation or Xbox played Fortnite, illustrating the scale at which a single title can shape console-wide activity and monetization during peak seasonal periods.
Taken together, the data point to an industry where evergreen live-service games dominate the top of engagement charts, shaping publisher strategy and entry considerations for new titles. With ongoing content cadence and platform ubiquity central to retention, newcomers face a challenging landscape as they seek to displace or disrupt the entrenched leaders.
