2025 has been the worst year on record for Xbox console sales in the UK.
That’s according to The Game Business’ Chris Dring, who reports Xbox console sales were down 39 percent in the UK, “making it comfortably the worst year on record”.
By contrast, sales of Sony’s PS5 system are down around 12 percent in the UK across the same period.
Dring didn’t share his workings or comparative data for elsewhere in the world, but it’s broadly in line with other data shared across the year. While all three major hardware manufacturers – Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft – have reportedly seen year-on-year (YoY) declines, Xbox sales in the US are allegedly down a whopping 70 percent, according to IGN, thanks in no small part to two price hikes in quick succession.
Of course, we’ve long known that profits are tight in gaming hardware, and it’s software and games that typically make money. That currently seems to be Microsoft’s focus: bringing its first-party games and its Game Pass subscription service to hitherto rival systems to maximise reach and sales.
Nonetheless, it’s a sobering read, especially for fans who have committed to Microsoft’s console.
It’s been a tough year for Xbox, with thousands of layoffs, cancelled games, including The Initiative’s Perfect Dark, Rare’s Everwild, and an unannounced ZeniMax MMO, flagging hardware sales, and even its tentpole shooter, Call of Duty series, is struggling. In fact, marketing budget constraints were rumoured to be the reason why Xbox may have been the only company on the planet not to release a “2025 wrapped”-esque summary of the year.
Microsoft’s president of game content and studios, Matt Booty, however, reports, Xbox will be hosting one of its Dev Direct streams later this month, claiming “we’ve got more stuff coming up than we can fit in one show”. That means we can probably expect updates on the upcoming Fable game and the Forza Horizon series, and perhaps a couple of updates from other games that come under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella.