Game On: U.S. game spending in May grew 1%, says Circana

“Game On” is The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.

NEW RELEASES: This week’s most notable new release is Nintendo’s (NTDOY) 3D platformer “Donkey Kong Bananza,” which launches July 17 exclusively for the Switch 2. The game, which is being developed by the same team that made 2017’s “Super Mario Odyssey,” marks just the third Nintendo-developed title for the Switch 2 released so far, after “Mario Kart World” and “Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour.”

CIRCANA: Last week, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella (MSFT), Bethesda.net, EA App (EA), Epic Games Store, Rockstar Store (TTWO), Steam, Ubisoft Store (UBSFY) and Microsoft Store for participating panel publishers. May 2025 hardware spending fell 13% compared to a year ago, to $172M. Nintendo Switch spending fell 44% year-on-year, with PlayStation 5 (SONY) sales growing 3%. Xbox Series spending declined by 30% compared to May 2024. PlayStation 5 was once again the best-selling hardware platform in both units and dollars, while the PS5 Dual Sense Wireless Controller in Midnight Black led all accessories in both measures. Investors in Epic Games include Tencent (TCEHY), KKR (KKR), Disney (DIS), and Sony. The Fly notes that May data does not include hardware or software sales for the Nintendo Swich 2, which launched in early June.

On the software side, Piscatella said that Bandai Namco’s (NCBDY) “Elden Ring: Nightreign” was the best-selling game in the U.S. in May and the 11th best-selling game of 2025 year-to-date. It was the best-selling title across each of the PlayStation, Xbox and aggregated PC storefront platforms. EA’s 2017 title “Star Wars: Battlefront II” jumped from 135th on the monthly best-selling titles chart in April to 12th in May. It ranked 5th across the PC aggregated storefront tracking. Other top-selling games for the month of May in the U.S. were Bethesda’s “Doom: The Dark Ages” and “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered,” Microsoft’s “Forza Horizon 5,” Activision’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” Sony’s “MLB The Show 25,” Take-Two’s “Grand Theft Auto V” and “NBA 2K25,” EA’s “EA Sports FC 25,” and Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Shadows.”

ALINEA: Electronic Arts’ “EA Sports FC 25” reclaimed the top spot on PlayStation’s June 2025 game sales ranking by copies sold, according to Alinea Analytics’ Rhys Elliot. The sports title sold 905,000 units on PlayStation alone after cutting the game’s price to $13.99, while Kojima Productions’ latest adventure title “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach” debuted in second place with 687,000 copies sold in just one week of availability. Meanwhile, Kepler Interactive’s soccer sim “Rematch,” which launched June 19, took third place with 569,000 units sold on PlayStation last month.

UBISOFT CULTURE: Last week, The Guardian reported that a French court has found three ex-Ubisoft executives, including the chief creative officer, guilty of enabling a culture of sexual and psychological harassment. Former staff had said that between 2012 and 2020, the company’s offices in Montreuil were run with a toxic culture of bullying and sexism that one worker likened to a “boys’ club above the law.”

Meanwhile, the French game maker also confirmed to IGN last week that 19 workers have been laid off from its studio Red Storm Entertainment, which has worked on a number of “Tom Clancy” games and “Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR.” “Today, Ubisoft made the decision to eliminate 19 roles at Red Storm Entertainment,” the company said. “This step is part of our ongoing, targeted restructuring and global cost-saving efforts, and reflects the needs on the studio’s projects. While this was not an easy decision, it was a necessary one given our operational priorities. We remain committed to supporting those affected with comprehensive severance packages, extended health-care benefits, and career transition assistance. We deeply appreciate their hard work and the impact they’ve had on Ubisoft.”

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ROBLOX LICENSING: Roblox (RBLX) announced the launch of its new licensing platform, including the Roblox License Manager and Licenses catalog. This framework unlocks game and interactive media licensing at scale, enabling IP holders to self-serve through Roblox’s global creator community, and seamlessly integrate popular IP into games and experiences, Roblox said in a statement. Roblox is launching the License Manager and Licenses catalog with four initial partners, offering seven initial IP titles for eligible creators, and two more coming soon: Netflix (NFLX) is extending its series, starting with Stranger Things and Squid Game, on Roblox. Lionsgate (LION) is bringing franchises like Twilight, Saw, Divergent, and Now You See Me to Roblox.

MORE VIDEO GAME NEWS:

• Nintendo and Universal (CMCSA) have filed copyright information for a “Donkey Kong” film, VGC reports
• Roblox game-buying turns teens into millionaires, Bloomberg reports
• Meanwhile, Citi raised its price target on Roblox to $123 from $100 as the firm sees additional upside due to “robust” third party data