The team over at Circana (NPD) has been revealing May 2024's sales data from the United States over the past couple of days, and we've learnt a few interesting things about the Xbox Series X|S and Hellblade 2 in the process.
Let's start with the console data. According to the report, "all current generation hardware platforms are showing double-digit percentage declines year-on-year in 2024". In terms of May 2024 alone, PlayStation 5 led the market in terms of unit and dollar sales, while Xbox finished second for dollar sales and the Switch for unit sales.
As things stand, Xbox Series X|S trails Xbox One by 13% in the US for unit sales, and sits slightly behind the Xbox 360:
When it comes to Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, we mentioned recently that the game struggled for sales in Europe during its launch month, although it apparently fared better in the US, coming in at #37 for "full game dollar sales". That ranking takes the whole market into account - it finished at #21 for just Xbox Series X and Series S.
Of course, the big argument surrounding Hellblade 2 is that Xbox isn't necessarily trying to attract purchases because of its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass. With that in mind, it ranked at #12 for engagement on Xbox in May, which put it ahead of the likes of Star Wars: Jedi: Survivor, Apex Legends and Forza Horizon 5.
There are all kinds of ways to analyse these statistics - we'll let you read into them however you like. Ultimately though, there's nothing too unexpected here in our view, and it's a relief that Hellblade 2 fared better in the US than Europe!
What are your thoughts on these Xbox stats? Tell us down in the comments section below.
Comments 49
Game Pass Games are more about getting people in, getting people playing and recommending to friends with maybe sales coming much later down the line when games become 'unavailable' on Game Pass.
IF MS wanted Sales, they could remove games from GP to encourage Gamers to buy (or risk losing access) but maybe GP won't be as attractive a subscription without 'big' games in it...
well yea xbox consoles are doomed. all xbox games on pc day one plus non stop pc talk from phil. they doing the same with sony now. few xbox games go to ps then just put it all on ps day one.
they pumped up game pass, its all we heard about for years only for xbox to load it down with cild cartoon games. and team xbox seem clueless why gp is flat lined(i bet its going down).
I just never seen a game like HellBlade being a massive title. It’s got it appeal and of course art style. But it’s not mainstream in the slightest. But Xbox has got to get some banger titles out that move some console units. They aren’t ever going to outsell PS worldwide. But they need to be competitive here in the U.S.
I've said it before but console sales aren't that important a metric for Microsoft. They are spread out now across Xbox, PC, Cloud etc. that looking at just 'consoles sold' isn't that helpful.
Of course there is a low threshold whereby major third parties might start to stop development for Xbox (we already see it with a few smaller games/studios), but I don't think we are close to that so far. As log as they stay over that threshold things look bright. If you look at other metrics like revenue and profit Xbox/Microsoft Gaming is doing great.
Personally I think they are pretty well positioned for the future.
Is it possible that Xbox might drop it all together in Europe @FraserG ? Marketing is non existent here now.
@MjJmediablogger What, drop Xbox? Seems unlikely to me. They've just paid a huge amount of money to buy Activision Blizzard.
Consoles have their place and for MS, its an optional piece of Hardware designed to play games at a certain 'price' point. The Series S is the 'entry' tier hardware for those that maybe aren't bothered about or need 'PS5' equivalent performance the Series X offers.
However, the 'entry' tier doesn't even require a Console - and now you can stream games directly to your TV/Fire Stick. Don't need a Series S/X 'upgrade' either if you have an XB1S/X as they can still use Cloud streaming to play games not natively released on their hardware - and in some cases may provide a 'better' experience - 60fps streamed over 30fps native, 1080p vs 720-900p etc...
But anyone with a gaming PC isn't likely to buy an Xbox when buying a Playstation/Switch has exclusives not on PC day 1 but Xbox games release day 1 on PC anyway. Unless it offers some situational advantage - like saves transferring, it maybe better to invest in a new GPU, CPU or RAM instead of buying an Xbox.
Some may just be happy to subscribe and play whatever games are in Game Pass Cloud - whether on PC/tablet/mobile, Xbox (last gen hardware) or Firestick for example so won't buy a Series S/X, others may have some Gaming PC set-up (Handheld, Laptop or Desktop) so don't need/want a console that has the same Day 1 'exclusives' as their PC..
That leaves a 'small' segment of Gamers that want the 'hardware' tier experience (above Cloud) in a simple 'plug/play' box so Series S/X makes sense. Its not like PS5 where you either buy the Console or 'miss out' on some Day 1 games that may come to PC in a year or 3, don't buy an Xbox, you can still play Starfield or Forza
Find it interesting that so many times these articles really show, time and time again, that game pass actually hurts sales.
Guess they have decide, want sales, or want players.
@rustyduck LOL so you're suggesting that one of the biggest companies in gaming which owns many valuable IPs like COD, Elder Scrolls, Halo, and Minecraft is doomed? Hell, the Activision games including COD aren't even on the service yet.
And guess what, Sony is also putting their prior exclusives to PC, including the upcoming God of War Ragnarok, because they know that the console exclusivity model is dying, which is why the PS5 has less than 15 console exclusives while barely making profits in game sales due to their costly development. And they already saw billions wiped from their stocks due to a decrease in sales forecast.
It is evident that for Microsoft game consoles are no longer a priority, the decisions made in the last half year are disastrous if we think of Xbox as a game console, although perhaps logical if we think of Xbox as an ecosystem.
I think that from a business point of view I think it may make sense, but the truth is, as an Xbox Series user I am very saddened by the direction the company is taking.
Although, the truth is, they are not bad sales considering the decisions they have made and the feeling they have caused. I think the Xbox Series will end up as the third best-selling Xbox console, behind the XOne and above the OG Xbox.
@GuyinPA75 And yet Game Pass saved me hundreds in purchasing games and helped me discover many that I would have never purchased. And I don't know why you're so obsessed with sales considering that most games these days make their profit from DLC and microtransactions.
@rustyduck It's really not even cartoon games as majority of games on Game Pass are level of quality of game boy games. I stopped jumping over lava pits in 8 bit graphics over 20 years ago. Game Pass made Series X the equivalent of buying a Lamborghini to only drive in school zones.
@PKDuckman Who ever said I was obsessed with sales?
GameFly saved me thousands in purchasing games and many that I never would purchased. I'm even able to get current big releases and if want, can get new release movies.
@GuyinPA75 Are we even subscribed to the same service? You reckon Diablo 4 is a SNES platformer? Control? Lies of P? Yakuza Like a Dragon? All of which would cost hundreds if bought from a physical store?
And sales is not the same as profit, which is why the games that make the most profit are F2P mobile games packed with microtransactions.
For most people why buy a game full priced digitally when they can get it on subsidized gamepass. Then move on quickly if it’s not their taste.
My only hopes is that Microsoft still makes strong console hardware. As long as they have a strong PlayStation console equivalent with physical media, I’ll be a customer.
So in the US Xbox Console sales aren’t as atrocious as some media narrative’s would have you believe.
Thats also not a bad return for a niche game like Hellblade 2, given it was on Game Pass as well.
@GuyinPA75
They want subscribers and sales, I thought that was pretty obvious by now.
“ majority of games on Game Pass are level of quality of game boy games”
I genuinely snorted at that. Well played.
Xbox consoles even getting spanked by over 2:1 in the USA by the PS5.
Once Switch 2 turns up it will get even worse percent wise, on console sales.
It would be a nice welcome surprise if Xbox release a next generation home console, I just can’t see them putting the costs and effort in.
And even though they have created the poor console sales situation themselves I would agree with them, why bother with another console next generation. I hope they do though.
And it’s all about the games and brand momentum and advertising and having years of engagement with the general public and gamers which Xbox brand doesn’t have.
Just look at the below poll from a multi platform site, it says it all games wise.
Most wanted 2024 second half.
Astro Bot
117 42%
Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection
11 4%
Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
65 23%
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
13 5%
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
15 5%
Mario & Luigi: Brothership
20 7%
Avowed
9 3%
Lego Horizon Adventures
7 2%
Star Wars Outlaws
5 2%
Metaphor: DeFantazio
19 7%
281 total votes.
@OldGamer999 to be fair you probably have more ps/nintendo fans on sites (simply due to the numbers over Xbox)
I think if you see Xbox start to deliver consistent 9/10 games, releasing in a good state then more people will be excited about the upcoming releases.
Im always constantly amazed by the number of PlayStation fanboys on the purexbox site
@PsBoxSwitchOwner
I totally agree let’s hope they deliver this year.
And if it increases console and game pass yield then maybe.
But if not or maybe not by much then those 9/10 games could sell millions more on PS5 and Switch 2 as well. Like the new Doom will.
Time will tell but I do really hope we get a full next generation Xbox home console.
People keep forgetting, console makers make most of the revenue in software sales, for example a gamepass subscriber can subscribe to the service for a monthly fee, no console required, want a dedicated console instead , Microsoft has a console, other example , call of duty black ops 6, Microsoft will make revenue from the following sources.....gamespass subscribers including Microtransactions from people who will play on gamespass...game sales on xbox, playstation, steam / pc and Nintendo in the future, including Microtransactions,...fees from licences from other cloud service providers Microtransactions included,..as long as Microsoft continues to make consoles the gaming division as a whole will continue to be profitable , specifically after the aftermath of all the studio purchases fully start pulling revenue from new ips and new installments of pre existing ips like Doom...
Ooof, those industry-wide console sales.... Gaming is ducked. Hardware is down, hardware is down below last gen, game sales are down, devs going bankrupt. GPUs at LOL$$. Absolutely brutal time for the entire medium. Some of it is economy, some if it is greed putting everyone off, some of it is F2P mobile games eating the lion's share...but something else is just wrong in gaming right now. Even AMD showed a, what 43%? 47%? decline in gaming revenue? Although most of that probably correlates to the drop in console sales/production for PS/XB considering AMD only makes up something like 3% of GPUs according to Steam, so PC gaming isn't really a slice they have anyway, that's 97% NVDA.
@GuyinPA75 I don't think anyone needed articles to "prove" subscription "hurts" "sales". Subscription is an alternative payment method to "sales", of course it "hurts" the sales, it's supposed to - it's an alternate payment plan. That's like saying 12 month 0% financing hurts single-month TV sales revenue. Of course it does. It's supposed to. It was factored into the pricing. It's $216 a year. $1300 over a 6 year console generation assuming naively no price increases over 6 years. Plus DLC and addons still. That's more games than the normal console buyer actually buys. It's not hurting overall anything unless one wants to pedantically compare individual game sales SKUs (cue Tango conversation.)
@OldGamer999 I think that poll referenced is HIGHLY biased. The massive Astrobot response, and honestly, inflated M&L response for a series that sells pretty poorly in general, is a giveaway. There's a particular brand of internet forum gamers that are excited about that game (Astrobot). Heck, Metaphor even appearing on the list at all tells us that's not a poll for the mass market, but merely internet dwellers like us. Looking at the performance of Sackboy, the general market on PS is not particularly interested in such games like Astrobot and Sackboy (unfortunately. The PS market is no longer the FF and Jak market, it's now the GTA & Fortnite market.)
@BAMozzy you believe a game where 90 percent of Xbox players don’t complete is a driving force ??? I checked steam count and it was under 70…..game is a flop but many want to be Phil sheep so bad they can’t call it what it is . Had it gone god of war or assassin creed while keep the puzzles to cater to a bigger audience it would’ve been a bette game
@GuyinPA75 but 90 percent of Xbox players don’t finish the game .. that’s alarming and the steam count currently is the nail in the coffin
@NEStalgia
I get it’s us internet dwellers but it still shows even with internet dwellers what has the most followers in term of numbers.
Doesn’t make a great game of course but shows how many are following what brand of console.
It’s just like for whatever reason good or bad the PlayStation and Nintendo brands keep getting very high popularity and Xbox brand seems to slowly slide down hill. Especially if recent consoles sales are anything to go by for June 2024.
Don’t get me wrong it’s not always deserved and I think Xbox deserves better, but they never gonna break the others popularity, maybe in the past but it’s all to far gone now I’m afraid.
@OldGamer999 Yeah, I mean at this point the real issue is just hive mind and marketing. People, weirdly, don't like choices, they just want to chose between "the right answer" and the "bad answer." And whatever most other people already picked is the obvious right answer. I'm convinced most of the western world would have been happiest in 1980's Russia. It's their Eden.
At this point the "right answer" is PS because everybody else chose it and nobody would dare choose different than everybody else, and that means no other option can ever succeed unless PS throws itself off a cliff. (And seemingly, even that doesn't do the job.)
I'd say it's the same scenario in PC gaming where everybody choses Nvidia to the point that AMD basically doesn't exist, but that's actually a different situation where even that absurd prices nvidia is charging, when performance is compared dollar for dollar, they actually still end up the better value of the two poor value choices, where for the same money they tend to run a bit faster, cooler, and with less power, so they get away with murder because their nearest competitor can't compete.
@NEStalgia
Think you are spot on there, Sony not having a vintage year in 2024 but they just sort of March onwards to some success.
My favourite console is the series x, due to form factor and I so enjoy quick resume and full VRR at LFC levels, it’s a smart console. The GUI leaves a bit to be desired though.
Baring a miracle I don’t think it matters what Xbox do the hive mind is strong now. Some promotions and advertising might help but that budget will all go on COD this year.
@PKDuckman This is exactly what they (Microsoft) are trying to do as they have seen sales of games decline for full software vs PS/Nintendo. Smart in some ways, but for the Xbox player it's more annoying that a "whole package" experience is becoming less and less likely these days. Well unless it's like say DQ3, MGS∆ or DRDR, which are all remasters/remakes. The brand new game experience like those bigger games is frankly disappearing on Xbox the longer we go on. Really depressing. I guess we have Indiana Jones and Perfect Dark coming 🤷
There is a new Xbox home console on the way, I don't know what it will be like, but we know it exists.
We also know that there is something like a portable console somewhere.
There are going to be more Xbox consoles, after all the Xbox Series is selling "well." But Microsoft has eliminated the need to sell consoles to make a lot of money, now Xbox is everything (smartphones, smartTVs, PCs, the cloud...), I think that is the main enemy of Xbox consoles, now they are no longer necessary for the business, but like the physical format, they will continue making them while a few of us continue buying them.
I think this is going to happen with consoles in general, I don't think we will massively play on consoles in 10 years, but Xbox always leads the way with these things, which I don't know if it's good.
And I think Sony follows the same path, although they still depend a lot on the console, they need to sell many units and spend on marketing. However, something feels "strange" about Sony, PS5 is its worst desktop console, with a new first party library unexpectedly empty, as if the investment were weaker. In this sense I have to praise Microsoft, I don't like their policies, but right now the Xbox first party library is much more promising.
For Xbox, the console is increasingly becoming less and less important to them and is now effectively just an option to play their games.
As for Hellblade, well it was never a "big" game and I've got to be honest, it's also the worst game I've played this year
Going forward though, there are some very promising games on the horizon with Indiana Jones in particular later this year
@HonestHick
What’s the USA like Xbox advertising on sort of main tv?
The UK which is the strongest European Xbox territory has absolutely zero Xbox main tv advertising, as where we get some Nintendo and PlayStation adverts at certain times of the year.
You would think Xbox doesn’t exist in the main stream.
@NEStalgia
Talking hive mind as you did.
June 2024 sales just come in for the UK.
Series consoles moved to second place now above the Switch.
But the PS5 outsold both the Switch and series s and x all combined together.
I can’t remember that ever happening before or in the past console generations in the UK.
I wonder how long Ninja theory has in this world
I buy all the consoles and have a gaming pc(and a steamdeck), but my goto is always the xbox. Its just a more streamlined platform. Gamepass ultimate is a great choice for me because i get 2 for 1 with pc and xbox.
MS will continue to make consoles until it doesnt make sense to do so. I dont need a box under my tv if streaming to a handheld or tv is an equivalent experience. The keyword is equivilant though. Not there yet, but getting close.
As for hellblade 2, its a solid if not short game. Played it via gamepass, never would have bought it outright but now im intrigued by the game and will play the first.
Side note, the ps portal is where i play 99% of my ps5 games. Its so convienent when you have a family and a demanding job, but love games.
@OldGamer999 well i might not be the best American to answer that question because i don’t watch much TV outside of Sports. But whenever the TV is on and i do play some attention to it, i see some Xbox on there. They aren’t completely not advertising here like they are in other regions were they are selling poorly. I would say it could be better and i know it could be better where you are cause you have been making that point for a few years now. Mainstream consumers have to be told what to like and buy. That how dumb TV shows even exist. It’s not the quality of content for sure HAHA, same can be said for music and movies etc etc. MS is just not pedal to the floorboard aggressive with Xbox as they needed to be coming off the Xbox One. It’s like they threw in the towel but don’t want to tell us they are going to show us.
Always here for the comments. 😂👍
MS needs a console but doesn't really care about sales metrics since they lose money on every console sold. (The new in house portable could definitely change things up.) Sony also takes a loss, but has a broader hardware division. As time goes by Sony ends up making small profits on hardware sales.
We all know the disastrous XOne release set Xbox back almost a full generation. Exclusives were lacking and Sony gobbled up market share. MS is well aware of this and fast maneuvering to take back some of that market share. Why do you think Sony fought the AKB merger so desperately?
Nvidia is much more likely to be MS's future competition.
Besides the type of game it is I mean the Gamepass versus regular digital sales/purchases model speaks for itself how people choose to use them.
I don't care for 2017+ Sony anyway (besides what Dreams, Knack 2, Gravity Rush 2, Astro............ Ratchet/GT haven't impressed me) so regardless to me the IPs mean nothing, sort of same problem with Xbox many of the games just don't appeal to me gameplay wise, they have variety to a degree which Sony hasn't been offering, but they just aren't grabbing me (South of Midnight is at least and the kind of action adventure game I find good enough then others being too cinematic or too generic, it isn't much but good enough, then the rest being RPGs, well known IPs I 'may give a go at their latest entries' like Gears/Perfect Dark/not into Fable to play but respect/own all but the Kinect title which I want to get to experience more 360 Kinect as new to it) compared to their 360 ones or a disappointing circuit racer or others) other than back compat at this point and a blu-ray player for aniem/Soundcloud listening device alongside a game I'm playing.
Yet they push more storage upgrade consoles too and a fair Fire Stick ad yet no news on non-Samsung TVs (not fussed just pointing out).
@Pabpictu issues are while Xbox caters to its competitors Sony and Nintendo won’t give back and if they do it’ll be a crappy franchise or times release .. Phil lost his vision in the game pass mess and needs to keep competition going and the brand strong this whole talk about uniting gamers it bs if that’s the case we just need one car brand or one tv brand or one streaming service why do we have Hulu and Netflix … he needs to wake tf up and remember that feeling of why we love Xbox
@TheSimulator Yet research found that only 10-20% of gamers finish the games they purchased
https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/03/17/gdc-most-players-donat-finish-games
Gamepass would be much stronger if it was tied into streaming for movies and music like if Microsoft purchased lionsgate films and tidal for music
@PKDuckman Spider-Man - Over half of players have completed the main story — 58 per cent to be precise
More Than 50% of People Who Own God of War Have Completed the Game’s Story
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 22%
Far Cry 5 | 35.8%
Yet hellblade 2 current steam is 42 and Xbox stats aren’t good or uk monthly sales so what are you defending just be honest and say it didn’t do well even red dead has over 23k current on steam
If steam or Xbox stats aren’t good what are we talking about
@TheSimulator And how does personal completion of a game matter? The publishers already got their money. I already posted a link before which showed that the majority of players don't finish their games. Even highly acclaimed games like the Arkham trilogy only has 30-40% completion. Dark Souls 3 has 23%, the Dishonored games has 37-41%, and the new Hitman games has 16-22%.
https://deathisawhale.com/2021/01/20/how-many-players-actually-finish-games/
Even on the Sony side you have games like Ghost of Tsushima at 38% and Horizon Zero Dawn at 34%.
https://www.ungeek.ph/2020/09/the-last-of-us-2-has-one-of-the-highest-completion-rates-of-any-ps4-game/
@PKDuckman so hellblade is selling dark souls numbers ? Lmao you missing my point hellblade did ***** numbers and has a small player count facts are facts it’s not even in top Xbox games played bro
It really wasn’t that great of a game. I’m glad I rented it because if I bought it, I would have felt ripped off.
The first Hellblade was something original. The gameplay was okay, but the narrative was unique in how it handled Senua’s psychosis and was something a lot of gamers hadn’t experienced before.
Her story was also nicely finished as well. Hellblade 2 was a very unnecessary sequel. Long bouts of just pushing forward, uninspired combat and boring puzzles don’t help it.
It’s a beautiful tech demo for UE5, I’ll give credit where it’s due, that being said, playing it with headphones is unlike anything else even though the novelty was gone after the first one, but the gameplay brought nothing to the table.
@trev666 it’s almost like people can own more than one console and be critical of the companies that make them, weird.
@trev666 In all fairness there also seems to be an increase in articles on purexbox casting Xbox in a less favourable light. So it ends up being like light to flies.
@TheSimulator Who's comparing Hellblade 2 to Dark Souls other than you? Even the first Hellblade is noted for being a short single player narrative adventure. Completion rate means jack, because it says nothing about development costs or revenue, especially considering that AAA games these days need more than 10x the development expense and 10x the sales compared to a decade ago to break even.
May I also remind you that Sony's own Stellar Blade didn't exactly set the charts on fire? It quickly dropped out of the top 50 after two weeks.
@PKDuckman yea but Sony isn’t desperate like Xbox right now .. it’s brand isn’t failing like Xbox so whatever anyone says is irrelevant at a time Xbox needs a clear direction to help the brand
If you think the releases put Xbox in a good position then idk what to tell you because it’s obviously panic mode
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