Research looking into player engagement trends for US Xbox and PlayStation players in 2025 reveals that they apparently spent the majority of their time playing the same five games that they did in 2024. Despite a number of hugely successful games launching last year like Hollow Knight: Silksong and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, people spent most of their console playtime immersed in well-established titles.
Circana's player engagement tracker surprises no one with the news that Fortnite was (according to the "% of active panel that played," Circana's Mat Piscatella says) the most played game of 2025 on both PlayStation and Xbox in the US. Call of Duty came in second on both platforms, though it should be noted that these figures have always been tracked as a series. It doesn't matter if you're playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, all playtime registers under the series banner.
Grand Theft Auto 5 coming in third might be surprising to some, but its playtime isn't just down to people yearning for the series' next entry following the second delay. This figure includes people playing Grand Theft Auto Online, which continues to support a thriving community.
Roblox comes fourth on PlayStation's list and fifth on Xbox's. Don't worry, they don't diverge too much as conversely Minecraft appears fourth on Xbox's list and fifth on PlayStation's. The data suggests that when it comes to the amount of time people sink into digital worlds, they gravitate towards their online community of choice.
It's no surprise that these games are some of the most popular console games around, but it is surprising just how much our playtime has stagnated at the top. The five games featured on these lists are exactly the same as those of 2024, and in PlayStation's case, they are even in the identical order.
Xbox has switched things up somewhat with Call of Duty topping the 2024 list. However, all of the names remain the same throughout with Fortnite in second, Minecraft third, GTA 5 fourth and Roblox following up in the back. With such long-established games, it feels like a monumental task for anything else to break into the top.