Assassin’s Creed Shadows Tops March 2025 Sales Charts as Hardware Spending Hits 6-Year Low
- Sagar Mankar
- Apr 24
- 3 min read
Assassin’s Creed Shadows claimed the top spot on U.S. game sales chart for March 2025, as per the latest data from market research firm Circana.
Meanwhile, overall video game spending dropped year-over-year, particularly in hardware, which saw its lowest March total since 2019.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: A Strong Debut
Ubisoft's latest entry in the long-running franchise topped March's software chart, becoming the second best-selling game of 2025 so far—just behind Monster Hunter Wilds. According to Circana, Assassin’s Creed Shadows ranked:
Circana analyst Mat Piscatella noted that the game had the third-best launch month in series history, trailing only Assassin’s Creed III (2012) and Valhalla (2020).
Other new entries in March's top five include:
Lower on the list, anime adaptation Bleach: Rebirth of Souls debuted at #9, and Nintendo’s physical-only remaster of Xenoblade Chronicles X landed at #17.
The Suikoden I & II HD Remaster from Konami also entered at #18, reflecting steady demand for legacy JRPGs.
Overall Spending Slows, Hardware Sales Drop 25%
Despite the strong lineup, total U.S. video game spending in March declined 6% year-over-year, dropping to $4.7 billion.
Year-to-date, consumer spending sits at $13.7 billion, down 12% from 2024.
The steepest fall came in hardware, which dropped 25% compared to March 2024. Spending on consoles totaled just $286 million, the lowest March figure since 2019’s $279 million.
Breakdown by platform:
PlayStation 5: Down 26% YoY, but still led in both unit and dollar sales
Xbox Series X|S: Down 9% YoY, maintained second place
Nintendo Switch: Down 37% YoY, a likely result of anticipation for the Switch 2, expected to launch in just over a month
Digital-only console sales are surging, with 75% of Xbox Series and 50% of PS5 units sold this year lacking disc drives, signaling a clear shift in consumer buying habits.
Accessory sales followed suit with a 11% year-over-year drop, driven by a sharp 19% decline in headset sales. Still, the PS5 DualSense Midnight Black controller remained the best-selling accessory, with the black PS5 Portal ranking fourth—down from its previous chart-topping position.
March 2025: Top 20 Best-Selling Games (Feb 2–Mar 1)
Assassin's Creed Shadows [New Entry]
MLB: The Show 25 [New Entry]
Monster Hunter Wilds [Down from #1]
WWE 2K25 [New Entry]
Split Fiction [New Entry]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 [No Change]
PGA Tour 2K25 [Down from #4]
NBA 2K25 [Down from #5]
Bleach: Rebirth of Souls [New Entry]
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II [Down from #2]
Minecraft [No Change]
Grand Theft Auto V [Down from #9]
EA Sports FC 25 [Down from #12]
Red Dead Redemption 2 [No Change]
Madden NFL 25 [Down from #10]
Elden Ring [Up from #18]
Xenoblade Chronicles X [New Entry]
Suikoden I and II HD Remaster [New Entry]
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 [Down from #13]
EA Sports College Football 25 [Down from #16]
Year-to-Date 2025: Top 20 Games So far This Year (Jan 5–Apr 5)
Monster Hunter: Wilds [Stayed at #1]
Assassin's Creed: Shadows [New Entry]
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II [Dropped from #2]
MLB: The Show 25 [New Entry]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 [Dropped from #4]
WWE 2K25 [New Entry]
Civilization VII [Sid Meier's] [Dropped from #3]
NBA 2K25 [Dropped from #5]
PGA Tour 2K25 [Dropped from #6]
Split Fiction [New Entry]
Grand Theft Auto V [Dropped from #8]
Minecraft [Dropped from #10]
Madden NFL 25 [Dropped from #7]
EA Sports FC 25 [Dropped from #9]
Red Dead Redemption II [Dropped from #11]
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 [Dropped from #12]
EA Sports College Football 25 [Dropped from #14]
Hogwarts Legacy [Dropped from #16]
Elden Ring [Climbed from #20]
Avowed [Dropped from #13]
With major launches like the Switch 2 & GTA 6 on the horizon, and strong showings from franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Monster Hunter, the remainder of 2025 may still hold a turnaround—especially if hardware spending rebounds alongside new tech releases.
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