Hardware sales data for the U.S. market in September, released by Circana, shows that Xbox Series console sales fell 27% year-over-year, hitting the lowest September level in the history of the Xbox brand and surpassing the previous low set a year ago.
Performance across platforms diverged significantly during the same period. PS5 sales increased by 22% year-over-year, with revenue up 43%, allowing Sony to dominate the console market for the month. However, as the current price of the PS5 is higher than it was a year ago, the revenue increase cannot be entirely attributed to sales volume growth.
Switch 2 sales declined 12% year-over-year, indicating a slowdown in the rapid growth seen since its launch in June 2025. However, it still significantly outperforms the original Switch at the same stage, maintaining its status as Nintendo's fastest-selling console.
Regarding the decline in Xbox sales, GameSpot analysis suggests that Microsoft's recent emphasis on cross-platform releases for first-party games, cloud gaming, and the brand philosophy that "any device can be an Xbox" may have weakened consumers' necessity to purchase living room consoles. This remains media analysis; Circana's data only confirms market outcomes and cannot alone prove a causal relationship between these strategies and the sales decline.
Xbox is currently attempting to re-emphasize console-exclusive content and plans to extend the product cycle for the Series X|S, while also preparing for the higher-priced Project Helix console. Related operations are undergoing adjustments under the leadership of new Xbox head Asha Sharma, accompanied by layoffs.