Sales of Xbox consoles dropped to the lowest they’ve ever been in the UK, according to an industry analyst. 

Editor-in-chief and co-founder of games industry reporting site The Game Business, Christopher Dring, posted on X last week that the sale of Xbox consoles dropped 39% in the UK throughout 2025. That includes the sale of the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles.

According to Dring, these sales figures are ‘the worst year on record’ for Xbox.

The news arrives after what seems to have been a mixed year for Microsoft. Despite strong performances from DOOM: The Dark Ages and the Oblivion Remaster, the publisher also saw plenty of struggles with the rest of its launching library.

Microsoft also raised the price of its Xbox Series X and S consoles in April 2025, seeing them rise by £50-£75 at most retailers. Xbox Game Pass also saw a hefty hike, rising from £14.99 to £22.99 in October of last year.

Despite the sales numbers looking disappointing on paper, some gamers claim that it’s actually all part of Microsoft’s plan. Windows Central editor Jez Corden replied to Dring’s post, saying: “nope and it’s intentional.”

There’s some truth to this. Since the end of 2024, Microsoft has been going hard with its renewed tagline of ‘This is an Xbox’.

The thought behind this is that Microsoft is bringing its games to where its audience is rather than the other way around. That means players can now access Xbox games on devices they already own, like their mobile phones, tablets, and even TVs without the need for a dedicated console.

The company is still providing the hardware for those that want a dedicated machine, and it even launched its own handheld with the Xbox ROG Ally in late 2025. However, its strategy does seem to be pivoting more towards software than the traditional dedicated console.

On the other hand, there’s clearly still a big market for console players. PlayStation 5 sales are slowing at a much slower pace compared to Xbox, down by 12% year-on-year in the UK according to VGChartz.

The Nintendo Switch 2 also comfortably outsold the Xbox Series X|S offerings, with it estimated to have sold over 10 million units in its first four months on the shelves.

Still, we find ourselves heading into uncertain waters when it comes to video game hardware. With the price of components skyrocketing thanks to AI data farms hoarding all the resources, hardware manufacturers are warning that the prices of electronics are only set to get higher.

It could also mean that brand new consoles like the potential PlayStation 6 end up getting delayed by a year or two – although some gamers don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.