Xbox U.S. Console Unit Sales Just Reached an All-Time November Low

This morning, we learned that November was a amazingly atrocious period for video crippled spending crossed the board. Hardware dollar income and carnal bundle portion income were some astatine the lowest we've seen since 1995, and each 3 large console makers were down year-on-year successful what's traditionally the biggest period for retail. But 1 console successful peculiar is really struggling, and that's the Xbox.

According to Circana elder manager Mat Piscatella speaking to IGN, Xbox Series consoles dollar income were down a whopping 70% year-over-year. That's... a immense drop. Other consoles were besides down, with PS5 down 40% year-over-year, and the newly-released Nintendo Switch 2 combined with Switch 1 down 10% from income of Switch 1 lone past year, which is beauteous shocking connected its own.

But that Xbox fig is alternatively astounding. In fact, it's an all-time debased for Xbox console portion income successful a November period successful the U.S., says Piscatella. Admittedly, Xbox has immoderate factors moving against it. As we've already laid out, it's a truly atrocious period for hardware income crossed the board. Also, the Xbox Series is present 5 years old, and with nary caller hardware refresh this year, determination are less and less reasons to beryllium getting 1 if you haven't already sprung for an Xbox. In fact, Xbox hardware income person been successful diminution for a spot present successful the U.S. astatine slightest successful the engaged retail period of November. From 2023 to 2024, Xbox Series income successful November dropped 29%, and from 2022 to 2023, determination was a driblet of implicit 20%. 2022 was the past November erstwhile portion income were up, Piscatella tells me, specifically up 11% year-over-year from November 2021.

Critically, though, for 2025, the Xbox is expensive, particularly successful the US. Piscatella points retired to america that its mean terms per portion roseate by implicit 30% year-over-year. That's due to the fact that of aggregate terms hikes successful caller years, including immoderate earnestly monolithic ones successful September that impacted each types of Xbox Series consoles, raising prices from arsenic small arsenic $20 for Series S to arsenic overmuch arsenic $70 for the Series X 2TB Galaxy Special Edition. And that's aft a terms hike successful May that raised consoles arsenic small arsenic $80 for the Series S and arsenic overmuch arsenic a stunning $130 for the Galaxy Edition. An Xbox Series S, the cheapest of each modern Xbox hardware disposable now, released astatine $300 retail, and present costs $400.

And it lone goes up from there. There are present rumors and concerns circulating that Xbox whitethorn soon rise prices yet again owed to skyrocketing prices for RAM, driven by the maturation of generative AI. The existing terms hikes are happening astatine slightest successful portion owed to U.S. tariffs imposed connected countries wherever gaming hardware is manufactured, and portion the disorder and uncertainty astir what these tariffs would really beryllium has settled somewhat, the world of the tariffs themselves has not. Nor is it intolerable that those tariffs could displacement again successful the coming months. Meanwhile, the U.S. system is conscionable mostly successful unsmooth signifier according to fundamentally everyone, with precocious user debt, precocious inflation, fewer caller jobs, and an expanding unemployment rate. If everyone is disquieted they can't bargain groceries, who's buying a console close now?

While some PlayStation and Nintendo Switch are seeing the impacts of a batch of these aforesaid problems, their terms hikes person not been astir arsenic drastic successful response. PS5s went up $50 earlier this year, and Nintendo opted to jack up prices connected its archetypal Switch and accessories portion keeping its caller console astatine the already admittedly higher-than-expected terms it was primitively acceptable at, for now. Ultimately, this puts the Xbox Series S, and the PS5 All-Digital Edition astatine $400, and the Nintendo Switch 2 astatine $450 earlier income and discounts. Is it immoderate wonderment that radical are skipping buying consoles wholly or, if they're buying 1 astatine all, they're shelling retired $50 much for the marque caller one? Or, that if they're buying for a kid, they're spending $200 connected a NEX Playground, which outsold the Xbox Series console successful November?

All this amounts to is that everyone is struggling, but the Xbox Series - a console that has mostly fixed up connected the thought of exclusives and keeps raising prices repeatedly - is struggling the most. Piscatella tells maine that Xbox's hardware income peak, astatine slightest for November, is acold down it, peaking successful November 2011, with its second-highest November ever successful 2014. If adjacent large time 1 Game Pass games similar Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 aren't moving the needle to assistance Xbox hardware regain its erstwhile glory, what will?

Xbox, astatine least, doesn't privation to springiness up connected hardware, oregon truthful it says. Just this past October, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was connected grounds fundamentally hinting that determination would so beryllium different caller Xbox console eventually, but that it would fundamentally beryllium a PC/console hybrid. At the aforesaid time, the institution is actively hoping to permission down large exclusives successful favour of a multi-platform strategy. It's already there, successful fact, releasing and announcing respective large first-party games connected PlayStation not excessively agelong aft their Xbox debuts, and pondering adjacent more. Xbox hardware income whitethorn beryllium floundering, but possibly a amended question to inquire is whether oregon not that matters to Xbox anymore.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].