Xbox hits worst US sales month on record, PS5 drops 58%, as hardware prices soar
The average price of new games hardware is up 14% compared to a year ago
Xbox just had its worst May on record in terms of hardware unit sales, while PlayStation 5 fell to its lowest May since 2000, as consumers feel the impact of increasing prices.
That’s according to Circana’s latest video games sales report, which suggests that PlayStation 5 unit sales declined by 58% compared to last May, while Xbox Series hardware units fell by 12%.
Overall spending on game hardware actually increased by 38% when compared to a year ago ($249M), but this was propped up by Nintendo Switch 2. PS5 spending was down 43%, driven by recent price increases, while Xbox hardware spending actually grew 7% compared to a year ago.
Notably, the average price paid for a new unit of video game hardware reached $502 in May, which is up 14% compared to a year ago ($440). Last month, the average price of a PlayStation 5 console increased by 33% versus a year ago to $672, with Xbox Series up 22%, to $524.
Nintendo Switch 2 was again the best-selling hardware platform in both units and dollars for May and 2026 year-to-date, and reached the end of its first year with a US installed base of 5.9M units.
Nintendo Switch 2 is the 2nd fastest-selling video game hardware in US tracked history, behind only the Game Boy Advance (6.5M).
007 First Light was May’s number one title in full game dollar sales, debuting as the 4th best-seller of 2026 year-to-date. Forza Horizon 6 was the 2nd best-selling game of the month and finished May ranked 5th year-to-date.
In the latest big price increase for gaming hardware, Microsoft announced earlier this week that Xbox consoles will soon cost between $100 and $150 more.
Starting August 1, 2026, the cheapest Series X 1TB model without a disc drive will retail for $749.99, while the cheapest 512GB Xbox Series S model will now cost $499.99. This means that an Xbox Series X disc-drive model now costs $300 more than it did at launch in 2020, while the Series S is 50% more expensive.
In a statement, Xbox blamed the price increases on “the current components crisis” impacting the consumer electronics industry, which has seen all three major console manufacturers raise prices significantly.
“Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x, and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027,” Microsoft said.
Earlier this week, Valve confirmed its Steam Machine would retail for over $1,000 – a price point some analysts later speculated would be “the floor” for next-gen consoles expected to arrive from 2027.
