New Financial Report Provides Estimated Xbox Series X|S Sales Figure As Of Late 2024

As long as they make another Xbox I'll be happy. That, PS6 and my Switch 2 will see me through as my last hardware purchases. Then I can retire from modern gaming and focus my time on my retro consoles. 🙂

I think there will be one more generation of consoles after this one. After that my own interest in gaming is likely to be diminished by the end of my life.

And let’s be fair while you are trying saying less than 30milliom, they are predicting 27-29m which can be quite a big difference you are neglecting to mention.

Let’s hope they are being conservative

Even though I'm only in my 30s the next console generation will probably be my last with consoles as I move onto PC and a handheld gaming device.

30 million consoles is nothing to scoff at, even if it seems a low number compared to PS5 sales. I’m glad MS is making another Xbox and it’s all I care about. Been having a blast since I got a Series X again and paired with an OLED monitor with Dolby Vision it’s my favourite console ever (got a PS5 as well, waiting for TLoU3 but will prolly have to get a PS6 for this lol).

@gollumb82 Same here. Partly, because of the quality of life features and enhanced and free backwards compatibility, but also because most of my favourite games are third-party or published by Xbox (Nintendo aside). 30m is not bad when is part of an ecosystem and all games are available on PC on day one. Besides, the numbers provided by Sony are shipped and not sales, while Xbox numbers come late because they are not official. Around 2:1 is not the disaster that some anticipated.

I said on a previous thread a while back that I thought they'd be fine as they would get c. 7m sales per year naturally, plus the GTA6 boom (which will obviously still increase sales), but the general lack of stock suggests that they've moved the consoles away for something else.

Wish they would tell us what!

@Coletrain On the one hand, Series X is out of stock in many regions. On the other hand, they released two new Series X models very recently. I just checked on Xbox.com and all models are available in UK, except the 2TB that was advertised as special edition. I think it's possible that Microsoft will focus on selling consoles on their website in the future, especially since some retailers don't seem to care enough to have a proper Xbox section.

This sounds quite likely, it's no secret that Xbox hardware sales is in constant decline now and probably won't ever recover

This is exactly why Microsoft are moving towards being a 3rd party publisher

@Banjo- yeah the UK stock is back, the Europe stock is out though. Which is fine, I'm just really curious as to what the strategy is (especially since the games coming out this year look like absolute bangers and could genuinely increase sales a bit)

It is what it is and you all know after purchasing all those studios and the current affairs over at Sony I would have had a fight and promoted Xbox consoles and game pass lots more and gone on a campaign.
Then focused to release next generation Xbox a year early than Sony and try to do an xbox360 on them.
But it doesn’t matter now they went the other way and Xbox consoles are where they are and probably sell less next generation.

@Coletrain Some people (@OldGamer999 right here) thought that Microsoft had given up, but the new models and restocking of the official store tell the opposite. I hope that there are enough units for those than want one. And yeah, last year was amazing for Xbox gamers and this year seems the same or better.

@Banjo- well to all intents and purposes they have given up on console sales. I'm more wondering why. Is it a cloud push? Is prime coming super early? It's all intriguing stuff...

I don’t trust these numbers. It sounds like both take two and this Arthur are just guessing and estimating. Guesstimating

Given their (quite frankly) smart shifts as of late, this is no surprise, but as it states in the article, it's not the full picture either, so we can only guesswork the slack. Either way, as said above, 30 million is nothing to scoff at - when we take the fact that a lot of their games are PC and other platforms now.

So playstation is still selling and Xbox sales are down these financial reports don't change much and probably won't anytime soon see you all on the next one I'll just copy and paste this again then!

The author of this article didn’t even do their homework. Look it’s over 30 million not under. The Xbox Series X|S has sold 31.21 million units in 49 months, while the Xbox One sold 36.06 million units. Month 49 for the Xbox Series X|S is November 2024 and for the Xbox One is November 2017. According to vgchartz

@Kaloudz Exactly 30 million is a big number it's my countries population a couple times over but gamers and some sites have the Ricky Bobby mentality!!
"If you're not first your last"🥴

@Ricky-Spanish :"If you're not first your last"

Exactly!! It's a very competitive market, it's a very saturated market, but there's room for all involved to flourish. I personally don't think (bar maybe the 360 era) that Xbox has ever been stronger!

@Ricky-Spanish Shake 'n' Bake!!

given that VGChartz is known to be liberal with its figures

Except for the increase last year of PS2 units sold, submitted by Sony themselves, I don't remember any other recent controversy related to Vgchartz, except being late with Xbox numbers because official data is not available. This article takes Sony's numbers from "liberal" VGChartz but not Xbox numbers from the same website and combine them with a deliberately imprecise estimation of the current-gen hardware sales made by an independent publisher to guess the number of Xbox consoles sold.

I wish Microsoft would just publish the numbers to satiate my curiosity, but ultimately as long as it’s selling enough to entice all third party developers to keep publishing on Xbox then that’s all that really matters. I’m concerned that the next generation might not be able to achieve that critical threshold of sales though. The real problem is that there’s no concrete way to know beforehand, so if I invest in next Xbox at launch and it sells way less than XSX|S then I’m left with a platform that potentially sees less third party support - and that’d be a major problem. It’s risky. I don’t like taking big risks when I’m spending hundreds of pounds! I just wish there was more certainty in Xbox’s future.

What I can’t understand is the fact that 30 million consoles sold is not a disaster, many other consoles have sold less than half of that lifetime… and yet Microsoft already gave up on exclusives plus more concerningly they might have stopped production and distribution of hardware, as there’s a growing global scarcity of both Series X and S on many markets outside the US.

If they keep making hardware on paper but it’s gonna be like Surface devices which are basically never available outside the US MS Store then they shouldn’t even bother, just move our libraries to PC at the very least.

This is great news for Xbox! The numbers show that Xbox is actually in better place than Ps5, since ofcourse the product that is general booring fluff is going to sell more. Its like how Mcdonalds cardboard burgers sell more than really awsome restaurant quality burgers. Xbox is superior quality in everyway compared to Ps5, but ofcourse most of the people wont understand that and instead got the inferior product!

So just how old is @Old_Man_Harper?

I'm 61 and still going strong with my gaming...

Last year was not 'amazing' for Xbox gamers, @Banjo-. Not on the first-party side it wasn't. Two games in the last 3 months, no matter how good, does not make a good year, and one of those was available at the same time on the PlayStation, and the other will be within a month or two. Yes, there were some decent third-party games, but you are way overselling how Xbox performed on the games front by calling it amazing...

Agreed, @Coletrain. It is all very confusing. And indeed, having stock in is not the same as having a lot of stock in. I mean, you could have one console in stock, and have stock in!

I said yesterday that maybe Microsoft were selling off their stock of Series consoles in order to make room for the Prime, but the thought occurred to me afterwards that that would make no sense because you have to think that any games made for the Prime would also be backwards compatible with the Series consoles, which they would probably still make for those that didn't want to purchase the Prime.

I don't profess to know how these things work, whether when the next generation of consoles are released they stop manufacturing the previous generation altogether, or whether there is a period of time during which both are made. Either way the stock situation should either have not been allowed to take place, or there was some deliberate thought process involved that we are not aware of...

@Fiendish-Beaver I'll be 62 in March and I'm still going strong.

The you officially bump me down the list of the elderlies on this side, @BleedingDreamer, because I'm not 62 until December... 😉

@Banjo- Sonys numbers are sold, not shipped.

https://gamerant.com/ps5-total-sales-november-2024/#:~:text=Sony%20has%20sold%2065.5%20million,same%20point%20in%20its%20lifecycle.

Taking december into account (3.42 million) it is now estimated to be around 71 million sold.

https://www.vgchartz.com/#:~:text=PS5%20Tops%2070M%20Lifetime%20%2D%20Worldwide%20Hardware%20Estimates%20for%20December%202024%20%2D%20Sales&text=The%20PlayStation%205%20was%20the,71.03%20million%20units%20lifetime%20worldwide.

To be clear, this isn't me fanboying (as you have said in the past) or attacking you, just a clarity that your comment it was shipped units isn't accurate.

Have a good weekend gaming. I'm finally gonna get round to cyberpunk i think.

@Fiendish-Beaver when Left4 Dead came out I use to play with a guy that was 83. I hope I live long enough and I'm healthy enough to still be alive when I'm that age. There are more elderly people playing then most people realize.

Yeah but if you count PS5 as an Xbox, that's 90 million Xboxes 🧠 big brain time Phil

@Banjo- see that i was trying to say, if they are quitting hardware, they wouldn’t have restocked

@IOI I don’t know about the rest of the world but they restocked in the uk

@carlos82 are you saying as a xbox fan, or as a sony pony?

@Coletrain also, i think they’re afraid of the pr nightmare that would occur, i mean if the media is criticizing them for their actions now, imagine what would happen if they actually announces that they’re quitting hardware, the fans would be livid and boycott them to bankruptcy. I have seen people get angry for less things

@donv2135 Restocked and released three new models a few months ago. It's impossible that they're quitting hardware, they wouldn't gain anything positive but damaging Game Pass severely and getting immeasurable backlash. It makes zero sense and it won't happen.

They have sold half as many consoles as Sony this generation, but Sony is porting their games to PC and the engagement on PS5 has been lower than expected. It's not that Microsoft has given up on console sales, but that they are no longer worried about it, but focused on expanding their gaming ecosystem, with PC and Cloud mostly, and consoles being part of it.

They are designing a new Windows gaming interface. All points at their future really being Xbox Anywhere and Beyond, maybe merging the console and PC interfaces and libraries and supporting the shared interface on all devices. This ecosystem is why third parties are supporting Xbox more than ever before and why they won't abandon it.

30 Million consoles sold roughly half way (or 3/4 depending on when the next Xbox launches) through the generation isn't THAT bad. Comparing their situation to Sega is apples and oranges. For one, the Dreamcast only sold 9 million units in it's entire lifespan. Secondly Sega did not have a service like Game Pass to generate billions in revenue.

I'm not sure what the future of Xbox as a dedicated console is, however the talking heads at Xbox have stated there will be at least one more console generation from them.

@donv2135 I don't think they're quitting hardware, I think they're reallocating the resource (cloud server blades is still my strongest guess), but yeah if they outright admitted to short-supplying Europe and Latin America they'd get a right hounding from the media wouldn't they 🤣

I'm genuinely so excited to see what next gen is for Xbox. Could be a real game changer. And hey, if not, the ps6 will be on shelves for us to buy!

@Banjo- that's sort of the metric they're looking at by the sounds of it, MAUs as they call it. I do wonder if MAUs includes when ps5 players are on live service Xbox games like sea of thieves...

I can only really speak from personal experience, but I use my Xbox way more than I ever used my PlayStations. There's something about the choice and the value and the flexibility that just keeps me playing more often

@Coletrain Sea of Thieves was well received on PS5, but nothing compared to Xbox and PC. Someone (outsider, I assume) said that Xbox is going to port the service games to PS5 because the other ported games didn't perform as well as expected, which is why they are porting Forza Horizon 5, a relatively old game (2021), but full of marketable and online content.

I'm glad you're enjoying your Xbox. I do as well and have plenty to play. The next generation of Xbox is officially guaranteed, but I don't expect it to come as soon as some think! I believe that people would jump from Xbox to PC rather than PS∞, even more now with the hybrid PCs, partly because of the flexibility you speak of.

I’m sticking with Xbox since my friends are on there as well as over a decade of games and achievements on there. If the Xbox goes away a lot of games are part of the play anywhere so I’ll still have those on PC anyway.

@Kaloudz the 360 era was peak Xbox; literally the greatest console of all time

@nomither6 Personally, I disagree. 360 is when consoles really started feeling the same. 3rd party exclusives started to become less common. I say 360 was equal with PS3. PS2, Dreamcast, and SNES were the greatest imo.

@SMJ Why are you stopping with the next gen?

@nomither6 I agree it was outstanding. For me though, the best console was the ill-fated Dreamcast

Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament!! <3

(I'd love a remaster of Q3, and UT!)

I have a ps5 and for me it's been pretty disappointed compare to ps 1/2/3 if it wasn't for PGA 2k 23 I would have traded year ago

@Fiendish-Beaver lol well done bro I just turn 50 I have no intentions of slowing down at all plus my brother 52 he still play games 🎮🕹️🎮🕹️

I bought a Series S to largely play my 360 catalogue from an SSD. The amount of ‘next gen’ titles I’ve actually bought or finished is in the single digits and all PS5 ports bar Starfield.

Will I buy another Xbox? Not likely. I’ll probably pick up a PS5 as and when Horizon 3 comes out. But the Series S is a lovely dinky console. I don’t know why Microsoft don’t market it more as a cheaper way to get into gaming.

I couldn't agree more, @Isolte. I've said the same a number of times. Indeed, I remain only 90% convinced that there will be another mainline Xbox console. Yes, we will probably see the handheld, but I am not entirely convinced about there being a NeXtBoX...

of course the xbox faithful are hoping for the best, but you have to understand that microsoft would get crucified by the media if they stop making hardware, especially since they have the money to support consoles, we shouldn’t act like we know what microsoft is going to do, yes console sales aren’t going well as xbox fans hope, and the console war mentality is console sales mean success but exclusivity isn’t working as well as it’s used to

besides game pass is a part of the console experience if they stop making consoles, they’re going to be boycotted to bankruptcy, you may think people would be mature enough to understand and move on, but we know people would have gotten angrier for less, if the xbox faithful are angry now, if they quit making hardware, they might flatout storm microsoft

@Isolte i think you underestimate how passionate gamers can be, especially its for a console they think it’s their life, it’s stupid and unhealthy but if it makes them feel better they do them

@donv2135 if they quit making hardware I think GamePass subscriptions will drop drastically unless Sony lets them put it on the Playstation. Alot of people like the ease of playing on console.

@Fiendish-Beaver Not that old yet - I’m 56, but I’m the oldest of my circle of friends, hence the name! Old enough to have played Space Invaders, Galaxian, etc. in arcades back in the day, when they were new and totally thrilling…

also 30 million sales is still a lot, it’s half of playstation but still

You do have to wonder how some people have so much faith in Microsoft's approach to consoles, @Isolte. There are some that can literally not see the forest for the trees. I cannot help but wonder what will happen when either the next generation, or the one after that fails to happen? Can you imagine having so much positivity regarding the existence of future consoles in the face of so much evidence that hardware is completely failing? I honestly do not know whether that is inspiring or... well, sad really. You cannot help but think that those people will be crushed inside, though doubtless they will also spin the outcome to some sort of positive. Such faith honestly astounds me.

I was talking on here with someone the other day that said that Microsoft had sold in excess of 35 million units, and that even if the Prime were to sell just 30 million units that Game Pass would be fine and continue as is. Now we find that in fact the Series consoles have sold sub-30 million units, probably nearer 27 million. So what does that mean for the next gen console? 20 million? Fewer? There has to be a tipping point at which Microsoft say that developing/manufacturing consoles is just not worth it any longer, and where the number of Game Pass subscribers falls to a point where the Service is unviable. I honestly think we will hit that point within the next 5 to 10 years, maybe even sooner.

What I will say though is that I think the future for Microsoft as a third-party publisher is truly bright. They have enough studios to do really well. They just need to make certain that they do not release half-baked, bug-ridden games, and preferably games that run at 60FPS because clearly 30FPS is very off-putting for many (unless that game is GTA6, that is!). If they get the quality control right, they will be massively successful.

However, once Microsoft pull out of the console space, what will Sony do? That for me is the frightening part of this equation that I don't think those with their heads in the clouds really understand. Time will tell, I guess...

Series S was my 1st and last Xbox console. Holding off finishing Halo 3 and beyond on Playstation

It's dead, Jim.

And yes I'm scoffing at 30 million after the start they had this gen. It's trending down to nothing, they blew it.

@Kaloudz lucky that you got to experience the dreamcast . i never even heard of it when it was out , just ps2 gamecube and xbox . as a kid i recall only seeing the dreamcast a grand total of one time at someone’s house 😂

@Lanmanna yes but i’m speaking mainly because of Xbox Live and just the overall collection of games that era. we still got new IPs and new ideas that were successful, xbox live arcade was revolutionary as was xbox live at the time

@nomither6 Ah man it was the best. I mean, as a kid, you think 1p a minute (the cost to play online) is cheap as chips. But, then, that's £2-3 a day, which turns to £70+ a month and an angry mother lol. That to the side though, it really was amazing.

Sword of Berserk Guts Rage, Unreal Tournament, Quake 3 Arena, Phantasy Star Online, DreamKey / Arena (the official Dreamcast chatrooms that were full of creeps lol). It was pinnacle imo. I might have to pick one up.

@Isolte "To iterate it's only Xbox that is struggling in the current hardware market, not its competitors."

Also, It's only Sony that is struggling in the current AAA First Party exclusive market, not its competitors.

I dont see next gen xbox sales falling below 20M or so in the same span of 4 years (roughly mid gen). Overall I expect a drop of same 20-30% vs series gen but even 20M should be enough to keep going. Those would be GP and brand loyalists IMO.

As of today I have more reasons to boot up my XSX than PS5 PRO. I have a literall buying remorse with my PS5 PRO. Not impressed graphically and dont like the OS and stuff. No exciting games for me personally in the coming years except wolverine

What's hilarious is that neither of these estimated figures are bad. After 4 years both consoles are doing about the same as they had last gen with PS seeing a slight uptick and Xbox seeing a slight downtick. Bad console sales looks like the WiiU which managed 13 million in 5 years. Even the GameCube stopped at 20 millionish in five years. Nintendo is still around selling hardware. It's like people forget how to think when it comes to Xbox. It is entirely possible Microsoft sees the tencent route as more profitable, but that decision won't be made based on mediocre console sales. Especially when last gen remains so sticky due to all the biggest Microtransaction games still being there. Pushing 30 million after 4 years and all the gamers still on last gen is a really solid console install base. I'd also say it's probably why, Xbox is pursuing an expansion outside of consoles and a multiplatform strategy. They aren't really seeing a significant loss in sales nor a gain in one, and that's an issue with the console market on the whole. Really, I'd be more likely to put "eh" Series console sales on the complete lack of marketing for them. It started off strong and then really slowed in 2022 and 2023 (I think Xbox even said they weren't expecting how much of a resource drain the ABK purchase would be). However, especially if they're eyeing a shorter next gen and moving forward 5ish years as said in another interview, 25 to 30 million sales in 4 years is not at all bad. Comparing them to Playstation doesn't do much when they only time Sony saw less than 100 million sales was when they idiotically launched the PS3 at $600. Nintendo on the other hand has only consistently sold a lot of handhelds and has seen every other home console have really really low sales. Xbox hardware is doing fine. Not spectacular but fine. Add that on top of them building out their cloud and PC platforms and now having the biggest multiplatform games. One comparison people keep making is Sega and like... what? Sega's last consoles sold like 10 million hardware units and now the company generates 1.5 billion (USD) in gaming revenue. Xbox is selling far more hardware than that and back before the Zenimax and ABK purchases was pulling in 15 to 16 billion (USD) in gaming revenue. And I wonder how low Series console sales were then. Xbox isn't doing poorly and isn't going anywhere unless Microsoft decides to kill hardware on a whim (again, they can do whatever, but I don't know, getting rid of a business that pulls in 15 billion+ (we'll say 10 billion+ if we assume Minecraft was like 5 billion back then) seems like a poor business decision).