While 2026 is officially underway, an analyst has revealed the most-played games on Xbox and PlayStation in 2025. Despite only sharing the top five games for Xbox and PlayStation, the new data evidence a trend in the gaming industry: established live-service games rack up the most playtime.
The last 12 months have seen the release of some major games, both from AAA and indie developers. Titles from smaller development teams, such as Hollow Knight: Silksong and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, made a significant impact on the industry, selling millions of copies. In the case of Sandfall Interactive’s game, it even won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025. On the AAA front, games like Mario Kart World and Battlefield 6 attracted millions of players on their respective platforms. These are just the tip of the iceberg as far as popular games released in 2025. However, while last year ushered in many titles worth checking out, new data reveals that many gamers continued to play some older games instead.
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Most-Played Games of 2025 on Xbox and PlayStation (via Circana Player Engagement Tracker)
Most-Played Games on PlayStation in 2025
- Fortnite
- Call of Duty
- GTA 5
- Roblox
- Minecraft
Most-Played Games on PlayStation in 2024
- Fortnite
- Call of Duty
- GTA 5
- Roblox
- Minecraft
As revealed by analyst Mat Piscatella on Bluesky, the top five most-played games in the US on both Xbox and PlayStation were the same as in 2024. This data from the Circana Player Engagement Tracker shows that gamers on PlayStation spent the most time playing Fortnite in 2025. This was followed by Call of Duty, GTA 5, Roblox, and Minecraft. Not only were all five games the same as the 2024 list, but they were also in the identical order, suggesting that not much has changed over the last 12 months.
Most-Played Games on Xbox in 2025
- Fortnite
- Call of Duty
- GTA 5
- Minecraft
- Roblox
Most-Played Games on Xbox in 2024
- Call of Duty
- Fortnite
- Minecraft
- GTA 5
- Roblox
While the order was slightly different on Xbox, the games in its top five were the same as on PlayStation. The only change was that Roblox and Minecraft swapped spots on the list. When compared to the 2024 Xbox list, all the games were the same, with only the order switched around. When posting the information on social media, Piscatella summed up his thoughts by saying, “Things are a bit… established… at the top.” It is worth noting that the most-played games are “ranked by the percentage of active panel that played.”
Unfortunately, Piscatella only shared the top five most-played games on these platforms for 2025. However, he noted that the full US video game market results from Circana for last year will be available on January 22, which should give a more comprehensive idea of what gamers have been playing in 2025. Nevertheless, the top five show that major live-service games continue to be popular, with players returning to them year after year.
It will be interesting to see how these numbers change next year. While there is a good chance that some of these games once again make the top 5, 2026 is scheduled to be when GTA 6 launches. Given the hype surrounding the game, it will likely be one of the most popular titles of the year. Time will tell where it will land on the list of most-played games for 2026.
