2025 Was Xbox’s Worst Year For Recorded Sales

The conversation on the current standing for consoles is already a growing talking point as the industry pushes towards digital-only means and embraces PC and mobile more & more. In November, the market faced its worst Black Friday holiday in 30 years which is already unprecedented. Additionally, the ongoing demand for RAM for AI is also reported to even push the release for newer consoles as well as increase how much to buy when they do arrive.

For Xbox, the platform continues to fall even when its already at the bottom of the totem pole. Black Friday was the first time the platform was shifted out of the top three selling consoles with the NEX Playground taking its place. What also does not help its situation is that retailers like Costco are completely removing options for the console from its shelves.

And while the firm is ramping things up for 2026 as more releases are on the way from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and Activision, the platform has suffered greatly in its sales this past year. According to The Game Business founder Christopher Dring, 2025 was marked as the worst year for Xbox hardware – at least, in Europe.

This has remained a concern as rumors did begin to swirl on Microsoft throwing in the towel for in-house consoles. While Microsoft has denounced the developing claims online, many are not convinced there is even a demand for the platform to pursue another console. According to Moore’s Law is Dead on YouTube, it was verified by an unnamed AMD engineer that work is underway for the newest Xbox console.

Furthermore, the platform has also remained adamant on shipping hardware despite the shortcoming commercially. It was reported by Reuters that the Xbox firm fixed a deal with Foxconn to work on pushing out at least 4 million units for Xbox as part of the arrangement. This could also be part of the ongoing RAM drought that has affected many industries including gaming.

The largest concern for Xbox currently is its handling. Although there are many that still regular the platform, there aren’t many who sought out for the Xbox Series X|S. This holiday proved it and what doesn’t help is the second price increase that was issued right before the rush for the holiday season. You can read the full report by heading here.

Are you surprised at all by this development for Xbox sales?