EA Sports College Football 25 was July 2024’s top-selling U.S. game and, according to Circana, the primary driver of console content and hardware growth. U.S. spending across games, hardware and accessories reached $4.773 billion that month, 10% above July 2023. The game helped power the console story, but the figures do not show that it caused every category’s increase.
What “boosted all gaming sales” means
The figures refer to the U.S. video-game market in July 2024, not sales worldwide or a current market snapshot. Circana reported year-over-year increases in total spending, content, hardware and accessories. Its analyst Mat Piscatella called College Football 25 the primary driver of console content and hardware growth—not the sole cause of every market increase. GamesBeat’s report of Circana’s July results provides the category totals and rankings.
U.S. spending by category
Circana’s July totals show how the market-wide increase was distributed. Dollar changes below are calculated from the reported July 2023 and July 2024 totals.
| Category | July 2023 | July 2024 | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total video-game spending | $4.349 billion | $4.773 billion | Up 10% (about $424 million) |
| Content | $3.880 billion | $4.263 billion | Up 10% (about $383 million) |
| Hardware | $292 million | $326 million | Up 12% (about $34 million) |
| Accessories | $177 million | $184 million | Up 4% (about $7 million) |
These are Circana’s U.S. spending figures for the two Julys, reported in GamesBeat’s August 21, 2024 coverage. Content includes physical and digital full games, downloadable content and microtransactions, and subscription consumer spending across console, cloud, mobile, portable, PC and VR; mobile spending data came from Sensor Tower.
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- Standard Edition for PlayStation 5 (disc) includes the full EA SPORTS College Football 27 game.
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- MASCOT MASHUP – Play as your favorite mascot, collect 120+ icons, and compete in wild 11-on-11 matchups full of school spirit.
Why College Football 25 mattered
Circana ranked College Football 25 first among U.S. games in July and as the best-selling game of 2024 year to date through that month. The EA Sports MVP Bundle—which combined College Football 25 Deluxe Edition and Madden NFL 25 Deluxe Edition—ranked second in July and fifth year to date. These chart positions refer to dollar sales, not copies sold. The report also notes that certain games’ digital sales may be excluded from rankings; College Football 25’s entries did not carry those exclusion footnotes.
Piscatella said console content spending rose 29% year over year, while mobile spending rose 8%; a 6% decline in PC, cloud and non-console VR content partially offset those gains. He described College Football 25 as the primary driver of content and hardware growth on console platforms. That attribution supports saying the game helped lift the console market, while the broader category results include other platforms and spending sources.
Rank #2
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Console hardware spending moved in different directions
For July 2024, Circana reported these year-over-year changes in U.S. hardware spending by platform:
| Platform | Change in spending | What the figure measures |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation 5 | Up 25% | Dollar spending, not units sold |
| Xbox Series | Up 48% | Dollar spending, not units sold |
| Nintendo Switch | Down 44% | Dollar spending, not units sold |
College Football 25 was available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, the platforms whose hardware spending grew in the reported comparison. These figures do not establish how many consoles were sold or how much of either platform’s increase the game caused. Circana’s report described July as the first month of 2024 so far with growth in the hardware category.
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Rank #3
- Standard Edition for Xbox Series X (disc) includes the full EA SPORTS College Football 27 game. Not compatible with Xbox One.
- DYNASTY BLUEPRINT – Control your program’s future with recruiting, NIL, staff, facilities, and Athletic Director Expectations..
- ROAD TO GLORY – Build your player, explore new positions, earn NIL deals, chase the Heisman, and raise your Legacy Score.
- MASCOT MASHUP – Play as your favorite mascot, collect 120+ icons, and compete in wild 11-on-11 matchups full of school spirit.
What EA’s player count does—and does not—tell us
EA reported 5 million unique players during the game’s first week, plus more than 500,000 additional players through the EA Play trial, in its July 30, 2024 earnings release. Those are player counts, not copies sold: they do not reveal paid sales units or the game’s standalone revenue.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The right takeaway
College Football 25 was a major contributor to the console growth Circana observed during a strong month for U.S. gaming expenditure. Total spending rose 10% year over year, with increases across content, hardware and accessories. But the market-wide totals are not the game’s sales figures, and Circana’s attribution does not prove it alone drove every category’s growth. This is a historical account of July 2024; Circana’s monthly and year-to-date rankings page reflects later release cycles.
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Rank #4
- This video game is the world's leading football game; The Standard Edition contains the FC 25 full game
- EA SPORTS FC 25 has the best players from the biggest clubs and competitions around the globe, with match data from the world’s top leagues powering how 19,000+ players from 700+ authentic clubs move, play, and win in every match
- No matter how you choose to win in EA SPORTS FC 25, do it for the club
- EA SPORTS FC 25 gives you more ways to win for the club; Team up with friends in your favorite modes with the new 5v5 Rush, and manage your club to victory as FC IQ delivers more tactical control than ever before
- Please note that although this game is Region Free or Region Unlocked and will work on all systems, this is the international version and may differ from the local version in age rating, labeling or instructions. DLC content may not work unless using an EU Playstation account as stated this is an EU Import Region Free Version
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