Video Game Insights: The Top PC & Console Games of 2025 (So Far)

Earlier this year, we announced our acquisition of Video Game Insights, adding PC and Console data to our flagship mobile gaming insights. Today, we’re rolling out our expanded Console insights, now covering every available game across XBox and Playstation.  While Steam continues to be the largest PC/Console platform in the world, PlayStation and Xbox still command  significant market share. Leading games need to understand the strategies to win on each platform – perhaps most easily understood  through the top games by downloads in 2025 (YTD). 

Top Games By Platform: Indie Hits, Sports Behemoths, and Modernized Classics

Steam’s top game by downloads this year so far is R.E.P.O., a $10 indie viral hit that took the streaming world — and many a friend group —  by storm. R.E.P.O.’s chaotic co-op gameplay (inspired by horror mainstay Lethal Company) and general air of silliness provide a wealth of entertaining content for streamers, fueling its rapid success. Steam continues to be the top platform for indie games like R.E.P.O., giving smaller developers and publishers reach they don’t find elsewhere.

PlayStation’s top game by downloads YTD is EA FC 25. PlayStation has historically been strong in Europe and Latin America — key markets for EA FC. In comparison, Xbox has tended to focus more on the US. Additionally, PlayStation offered EA FC 24 for free on PlayStation Plus last year, attracting more EA FC players to the platform. Both of these factors contribute to more EA FC players on PlayStation.

Xbox’s top game by downloads is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, which modernized a Bethesda classic and distributed it for free to Xbox Game Pass subscribers. On other platforms, the game’s price tag was $50.

So far this year, Capcom’s latest entry in the beloved Monster Hunter franchise, Monster Hunter Wilds, has been the top AAA premium game launch, with the other top AAA launches being sports games in EA SPORTS FC 25, NBA 2K25, and UFC 5. In the mid-range, which includes AA, remastered, and DLC games, critically acclaimed turn-based RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads the pack, followed by unique co-op action-adventure Split Fiction, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, and DLC ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN, a unique co-op addition to Elden Ring with roguelike elements. In the indie space, R.E.P.O. is the top seller, but drug empire builder Schedule I isn’t far behind, and at double R.E.P.O.’s price point.

Free Games That Players Flocked To 

On the free-to-play side, NetEase’s Marvel Rivals has been dominating the space with overthree times more downloads than the closest competitor. Marvel Rivals took the hero shooter formula created by Overwatch and effectively applied the Marvel IP. Marvel Rivals is the most downloaded PC/Console game of the year so far across free-to-play and premium games, with no other free-to-play game in the top ten. It’s the most downloaded game on Steam and the #2 downloaded game on both PlayStation and Xbox. It is by far the most successful PC/Console live ops game launched in recent memory.

Also deserving of a mention is tactical shooter Delta Force, which is the #2 free-to-play game by 2025 YTD downloads. The game has yet to launch on PlayStation and Xbox yet: it’s only been released on Steam and mobile devices so far. It’s far more popular on mobile so far, having been downloaded 46 million times as of writing Tencent has been emphasizing the shooter genre in 2025, with the launch of Delta Force, roguelike co-op shooter Terminal Brigade (revealed at SPARK 2025), as well as existing shooters like PUBG, CrossFire Legends, and Arena Breakout seeing growth this year.

Steam Wishlists Reveal Consumers’ Most Anticipated Game

Looking forward to the rest of 2025, the most anticipated game has to be Hollow Knight: Silksong, the #1 game by Steam wishlists at the moment. However, by tracking Steam wishlists over time, we can see which games drove the most growth in interest recently. In the past month, Summer Game Fest was the catalyst for half of the top ten by change in Steam wishlists, with Resident Evil Requiem, the headline announcement at Summer Game Fest, quickly becoming one of the most eagerly awaited unreleased games. The lack of E3, the annual gaming industry trade event that was discontinued in 2022, has the games industry wondering what, if anything, will fill the gap for marketers. Summer Game Fest’s success in driving interest to the games it features positions it as a potential successor.

Franchise Spotlight: Call of Duty Live Ops Strategies

Zooming in on Call of Duty across mobile and PC/Console, we can see the difference in live ops strategies. Updates Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 3 Reloaded both launched 4/2/25, with a corresponding surge in active users. One highlight of this round of updates was the return of original Warzone map Verdansk, which was a huge nostalgia draw for Warzone players. In contrast, Call of Duty: Mobile and Warzone mobile active users seem quite steady. This can be attributed to the faster live ops cadence on mobile. CoD: Mobile has a new season each month to keep players engaged, while Black Ops 6 and Warzone’s new seasons drop every other month. It’s natural to see PC/Console players flocking back to the game when it’s been longer since new content dropped. (By the way, the mobile live ops insights here come from Sensor Tower’s newest acquisition, Playliner!)

Transmedia Strategies and Tencent Shooter Success 

Another fascinating insight is the effect the Minecraft movie had on the flagship games. While Minecraft mobile’s daily active users look fairly steady over time, console saw a sharp spike in players as the movie hit theaters, with around 2 million players returning to the game on console. Console Minecraft daily active users are  still higher than they were pre-movie release.

For our last case gaming trend, let’s take a look at Tencent’s new shooter, Delta Force. Comparing Delta Force’s launches on mobile in China, on mobile globally, and on Steam,we can see that the international global market is the strongest for Delta Force. Still, China remains the #1 country by total downloads on mobile, followed by Brazil and the US. Looking at download curves, it seems that regardless of the market, Tencent believes in splashy launches, with huge launch days followed by a decline to steadier daily downloads.

These insights were powered by Sensor Tower’s Video Game Insights. To learn more about our PC and Console data, request a demo.