Microsoft spokesperson says Xbox Series X/S supply issues will continue ‘until the second half of 2021’

A Microsoft spokesperson has reportedly said the company expects Xbox Series X/S supply problems to persist until the second half of 2021.

Speaking during the company’s recent quarterly earnings call, chief financial officer Amy Hood said Xbox Series X/S supply shortages were anticipated to continue until at least April 2021.

However, in a new interview with the New York Times, head of investor relations Mike Spencer went a step further by stating that supply of Xbox Series X/S consoles is likely to be constrained at least through June.

Spencer’s comments are in line with those of Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, which makes the chips inside Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. She said last week that AMD expects supply issues through the first half of 2021.

Sony and Microsoft have been unable to meet demand for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S since their November launches, with the consoles quickly selling out each time fresh stock is made available to retailers.

Speaking during Microsoft’s second-quarter earnings call last month, CEO Satya Nadella claimed Xbox Series X/S enjoyed a record launch.

“The launch of Xbox Series X and Series S was the most successful in our history with the most devices ever sold in a launch month,” he said.

Microsoft surpassed $5 billion in gaming revenue for the first time during the three months ended December 31, 2020.

Nadella also said Xbox Game Pass now has over 18 million subscribers, up from 15 million reported in September 2020.

Sony has also struggled to meet “unprecedented” consumer demand for PS5, which enjoyed “the biggest console launch of all-time”, according to the company.

David Gibson, the chief investment officer at financial research firm Astris Advisory, told the New York Times he believes six million PS5s and three million Xbox Series X/S consoles were sold in 2020.

“In a lot of ways, they don’t want to satisfy demand initially,” he said of Sony and Microsoft. “They want to have an ongoing gap between supply and demand. They want to have buzz and excitement around it for a longer period of time.”

Xbox Series X/S and PS5 shortages have been exacerbated by scalper groups using software to automatically buy consoles as they come in stock, before reselling large quantities online at significant mark-ups.

Further reading

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Spencer says Xbox is ‘working as hard as we can’ to make more Series X/S stock

Exec reveals he asked AMD if it can increase production