Highlights
- Xbox UK sales fell 39% in 2025, marking the worst year on record for the brand.
- Xbox Series X|S sales dropped to about 278,500 units, down from 456,553 in 2024.
- Microsoft is banking on major 2026 releases and Xbox’s 25th anniversary to revive momentum.
Xbox console sales in the United Kingdom fell 39% year-on-year (YoY) in 2025, marking the worst annual performance on record for the brand in the region, according to Christopher Dring, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Game Business. The decline caps a year of consistent underperformance for Microsoft’s hardware business and follows an already weak holiday period in other major markets.
“Sales of Xbox consoles were down 39% in the UK during 2025, making it comfortably the worst year on record for Xbox consoles,” Dring said in a post on X, adding that the figures raise questions about whether upcoming releases can reverse the trend.
The U.K. slump comes after Xbox also recorded its worst November ever in the United States, where console sales fell around 70% year-on-year (YoY).
Xbox Series X|S UK Sales Data Shows Scale of Decline
According to estimates from VGChartz, Xbox Series X|S hardware sold approximately 456,553 units in the U.K. in 2024. A 39% drop would place 2025 sales at roughly 278,500 units. Estimates are that 226,653 units were sold through November 2025, suggesting December sales of about 51,900 units.
However, the weak hardware performance comes as Microsoft continues to push a broader platform strategy, bringing first-party games to rival consoles and promoting its “This Is an Xbox” campaign, which emphasizes ecosystem access over console ownership.
Looking ahead, Microsoft is banking on a stronger first-party slate in 2026, including Forza Horizon 6, Gears of War: E-Day, Halo: Campaign Evolved, and the Fable reboot.
The year also marks the 25th anniversary of Xbox and Halo, positioning 2026 as a critical test of whether software momentum can stabilize long-term console demand.
