May 2025 sales figures are out, and, to say the least, it’s a month like no other for Xbox. Circana janitor-turned-magic-show-now-justice-system NPD claims that there were some really wild shifts last month in the USA gaming market, with Elden Ring: Nightreign grabbing the top position for best selling game. The real drama, then? Xbox Series X|S sales nosedived by around 30% year-over-year. Ouch.
Now, the winners! Elden Ring: Nightreign, said to be a new expansion on FromSoftware’s huge pre-existing hit, held the chart-topper for a while. Doom: The Dark Ages and Forza Horizon 5 came just behind in sales. PlayStation 5 sales went up another 3%, maintaining its lead in the console race. Nintendo Switch, with rumors almost claiming that it is near death, still managed to outbrag Xbox on sales with a drop of 44%. Yes, Xbox got a third-placed finish once again.
The interesting part is now sales on Xbox split were 51% disc to 49% digital on PS5, whilst on Xbox, the digital side alone accounted for 79% of the sales. That is a huge gulf, and it almost makes sense when one considers how much Co-head of Microsoft has pushed Game Pass and digital-only game models. But for it to even appear that Xbox hardware sales would plummet to such depths really is worrying. Just what is going on here? Are there no Xbox consoles being sold at all? Or does everybody just want to hang on for another big announcement?
Subscription spending hit an all-time record of $600m with all the subscription services in action right now. Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, whatever it is Nintendo is doing—subscriptions are in the spotlight. Speaking of accessories, Dualsense Midnight Black for PS5 was the bestselling controller, and honestly, it does deserve it for looking so good.
The strangest thing about this report has got to be Star Wars: Battlefront II climbing back up the charts on the fifth-best PC seller. What? That game came out in 2017. Did EA drop a surprise update or what? Or did people just suddenly decide to revisit it? Either way, it’s a strange twist to an already chaotic sales report.
Reactions online have been… well, let’s say they haven’t amused any Xbox fans. Somebody said, “This is a certified -30% moment,” while another put in that it’s so wild that the Switch still outsells Xbox despite being ancient nowadays.” And then, the usual back-and-forth about digital versus physical started, with some arguing that Xbox’s nearly all-digital inception is rampaging over physical sales, while others say it’s just the natural transition for the industry.
So what does this all mean? Well, PlayStation is still king, Nintendo is somehow holding on, and Xbox… well, Xbox might need to rethink some things. With rumors of a next-gen Xbox in the works, maybe this is just a temporary slump. Or maybe Microsoft is fully committing to a future without hardware. Either way, May 2025 was not Xbox’s month. At all.
And if that means you’re still grinding Battlefront II in 2025… respect. That is dedication.
