Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz / Xbox / Xbox Series X
The future of Xbox has been the talk of the gaming world since the company decided to put some of its biggest exclusives on the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch consoles. Recent console sales numbers show why Microsoft has decided to go with a multiplatform approach.
Xbox is not moving consoles. The tech giant announced in its third quarter that Xbox Series X and S revenue is down 30 percent year-over-year, and it blames the numbers on “lower volume of consoles sold.”
This shouldn’t be a surprise because Microsoft said the same thing before announcing in April 2023 that “Xbox hardware” revenue decreased 30% on a strong prior year comparable, driven by lower volume of consoles sold.”
Consoles Are Slumping, But Xbox Games Are Moving… On Other Consoles
However, if there is any caveat to take away from this, it is that Xbox games are currently dominating the PlayStation store.
The Verge reports Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella boasted about the accomplishment, saying, “Finally, we’re expanding our games to new platforms, bringing four of our fan favorites to Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation for the first time.”
He took a slight jab at his competitor, adding, “In fact, earlier this month, we had 7 games among the top 25 on the PlayStation Store, more than any other publisher.”
Nadella is referring to previous Xbox exclusives, such as Obsidian’s Pentiment and Grounded, Tango Gameworks’ Hi-Fi Rush, and Rare’s Sea of Thieves, which hit PlayStation and Nintendo Switch consoles.
Despite the sour news about hardware sales, the Microsoft-owned company is still in the console business, which is evident with the Xbox Series X refresh (codename Brooklin) still in the works and expected to arrive later this year.
But fret not. There is still Gears of War 6 to look forward to, which is rumored to be shown off at the upcoming summer showcase.