A new report claims that Microsoft has reassured its staff that it’ll continue making Xbox consoles despite losing the sales war to PS5. Amidst ongoing rumors that Xbox is going multiplatform, the company reportedly held an internal meeting to reiterate that it’s still in the gaming hardware business.
PS5 sales outpacing Xbox Series X|S 2-to-1, according to estimates
Report of Xbox head Phil Spencer reassuring employees of future console production comes from journalist Shannon Liao. Liao also reported that Microsoft told staff last Tuesday that its strategy involves “multiple kinds of devices.” It’s unclear if this means multiple platforms or if it’s a reference to a recent rumor that Microsoft is toying with the idea of a handheld device.
A recent presentation by publisher Take-Two Interactive estimates that at least 77 million gen 9 consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, specifically) have been sold as of December 31, 2023. Adding more context to this figure, Sony reported that it had sold over 50 million consoles by early December (doesn’t include holiday sales), which means that Xbox Series X|S has sold roughly half that amount.
Microsoft doesn’t have a policy of sharing sales figures so these are merely estimates, but they do paint a fairly accurate picture of the console market.
