PlayStation sales just had its worst May in 25 years, and Xbox's was the worst ever

[Daniel Sims]

Winners & losers: Everyone likely knew that the damage to unit sales from recent PlayStation and Xbox price hikes would be painful, but recent US market data indicates that last month was the worst May in 25 years for the two brands. Ironically, price increases, including those that came with the Nintendo Switch 2, actually led to an overall increase in spending.

Market research firm Circana's Mat Piscatella reports that May 2026 saw the lowest number of PlayStation consoles sold in the United States during any May since 2000, a few months before the PlayStation 2's launch. Meanwhile, Xbox unit sales experienced their worst May on record.

Sony and Microsoft recently introduced sharp price hikes for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X due to rising memory costs. Sony raised prices for PS5 models globally by between $100 and $150 in March, bringing the new standard price to $549 and an unprecedented $899 for the PlayStation 5 Pro. The result was a May sales decline of 58% year-over-year and a 43% drop in dollar spending. Likewise, Xbox consoles saw two hikes last year, which collectively brought them close to Sony's current prices. However, Xbox is expected to face a third price hike in August – reportedly the steepest yet – which would raise prices by another $100 to $150.

Hardware - PlayStation hardware unit sales fell to their lowest May total since May 2000, while Xbox hardware unit sales were the lowest ever recorded for a May month.

– Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) June 26, 2026 at 9:00 AM

Costs are expected to continue rising across the consumer hardware market as AI data center construction disrupts the RAM and storage markets. Experts do not expect the situation to improve before 2028, and memory manufacturer Micron recently froze its contract prices for another five years.

Ironically, while Xbox unit sales decreased by 12% annually in May, higher prices actually increased spending by 7%. In fact, overall hardware spending rose by 38%, as the Nintendo Switch 2, which delayed a mere $50 price hike until September, covered for its rivals.

May 2026 closes out the Switch 2's first year on the market with an approximate total of 5.9 million units sold. The handheld console is the second-fastest-selling portable gaming system in the US since records began in 1995, behind only the Game Boy Advance, which sold 6.5 million units in its first year.

Piscatella predicts that May 2026 may mark the last annual increase in hardware sales for some time, as additional price hikes could discourage consumers from purchasing consoles until the holiday season, when Grand Theft Auto VI could significantly boost demand and strain supply.

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PlayStation sales just had its worst May in 25 years, and Xbox's was the worst ever

 

[Vulcanproject]

Prices go up on near six year old hardware, sales go down. They'll rebound rapidly when GTA6 arrives. Consoles are stagnant and new hardware is a bad idea anytime soon. Ask Valve.

 

[winjer]

The worst month of sales, so far....

 

[The Talking Tech]

I'm glad....

What did these companies expect?
That they can just increase prices at historic levels and they would maintain their sales numbers steady?

Of course there would be people willing to still spend the money nonsensically and then blame Joe Biden of why are their eggs so expensive.

 

[toooooot]

The next Xbox and PS are heading to have the lowest sales as well.
Actually, there is hope for PS, especially as the main partner of GTA6.
But I still think sales will decline for as long as AI fever lasts.

 

[Eldrach]

Prices go up on near six year old hardware, sales go down. They'll rebound rapidly when GTA6 arrives. Consoles are stagnant and new hardware is a bad idea anytime soon. Ask Valve.

Despite the fact that the Steam machine was underpowered for its price - it still sold out.
The Steam controller has waiting lists going into next year. Don’t underestimate fanboys

 

[Megalomaniac]

By manufacturing shortages, they are forcing us to buy up 100% of their inventory.

I was just in Walmart. They had only a Xbox S and an Xbox Ally. Bunch of Playstations however.

I'm not surprised as anyone who wanted a Playstation or Xbox should have it already.

If GTA6 were released on PC when it released on consoles, I couldn't care less about xbox or PS as they're both disappointing. My question is whether or not GTA6 will work on Xbox Ally.

 

[deathspeed]

Sharply raising prices in a saturated market when people have less disposable income led to lower unit sales? Who could have seen that coming?

 

[Subset6]

There prolly will be more price increases soon. RAM/Nvme drives are not getting any cheaper, if a base ps5 goes up another $75-100 or so I'm selling mine. Done with Sony. Yah you can keep your 30 fps GTA 6, not interested.

 

[Megalomaniac]

Update: I just went to costco and bought an Xbox X 1TB.

$599

I really didn't want to.

 

[OortCloud]

Thanks AI. Enriching our lives in so many ways.

 

[Jrfeimst2]

Despite the fact that the Steam machine was underpowered for its price - it still sold out.
The Steam controller has waiting lists going into next year. Don’t underestimate fanboys

Eh that’s only because they are making around 100,000. Just because it sells out means nothing if you aren’t making that many from the get go

 

[Rapob]

PS5 and XSX/XSS is gasping for air. 2020 devices using low-clocked Zen 2 and RDNA 2. Don't even support FSR 4. Dead in the water really.

Xbox is literally completely dead. Not even Microsoft wants to make/sell these boxes anymore. Even with hefty discounts, they don't sell well.
There is still hope for Xbox project Helix and the upcoming Xbox Handheld (the real one, not the Asus one)

PS6 and new Xbox'es next year probably. Price will be steep but it will launch anyway.

PS5 is the worst Playstation generation ever in terms of exclusives and GTA 6 is going to run so bad on this 2020 hardware but Rockstar will make people double dip, releasing a shitty current gen version with low fps and degraded visuals, and then release a remaster one year later for PS6, next Xbox and PC just like they did with GTA 5.

I bet current gen will do (up to) 30 fps only. There is slight hope for 60 fps mode (with dips) on the PS5 Pro, maybe, we will see.

GTA 5 also ran like trash on PS3/X360. PS4 and XB1 was launched the following year and GTA 5 was remastered, finally ran okay. Rockstar took notes. They love double dipping. You are 100% going to pay for the upgrade 2nd time too. If not they are going full-milk mode.

Playstation beat Xbox this generation so hard.

Sony and Nintendo is the kings of the console market. Nintendo Switch 1 and 2 = Almost 200 million units sold. Sony PS4 and PS5 = About the same, 200+ million units sold.

Xbox... Microsoft don't even want to talk sales numbers.

Xbox is nothing but a low-end PC running cutdown Windows and made for Game Pass.
Project Helix will be a fullblown Windows PC and the Xbox Handheld will run Windows too. Just look at the beta features for Windows 11 (Xbox Mode = Steam Big Picture)

Microsoft gobbled up game studios for a reason in recent years. Windows exclusivity. Game Pass. They will probably outsource Xbox hardware completely as their make far more on software. Console hardware is sold with a loss overall. They earn on subscription, software and (overpriced) accesories. Microsoft probably can't wait to get rid of making Xbox consoles. Especially with current RAM and Storage prices.