Xbox sales show no signs of recovery, game developers reassess the console's viability

Xbox sales have been consistently low over the past few years, with PlayStation, Nintendo, and PC emerging as the preferred gaming platforms. If we look at the Xbox vs PlayStation sales, the former has sold just 180 million units, while the latter has sold over 506 million units.

Even though Microsoft doesn’t officially share Xbox sales figures, it comes to public knowledge sooner or later.

Xbox sales have fallen by over 50% in Europe, a region where PlayStation commands more than 80% of the market. Europe has never been a favourable territory for Xbox. In the US, PlayStation has a 57.5% share compared to Xbox’s 42.5%. Worldwide, PlayStation stands at 70% while Xbox is at 30%!

Owing to the increasing losses, game developers have started reassessing their investments in a console that ranks fourth in terms of the user base, after PlayStation, PC and Nintendo. Why pump millions into a game for Xbox when the user base is dwindling, right!

Why are Xbox sales declining?

Xbox isn’t what it used to be. Microsoft’s plans to release Xbox-exclusive titles on other consoles affected the sales. More so, Xbox hasn’t had any significant developments in the console segment.

Besides, in the past few years, PCs emerged as a preferred gaming platform, which led to a decline in Xbox sales. Compact gaming laptops became the go-to device for gamers!

When Chris Dring, Head of GamesIndustry.biz, talked about the recent GDC (Game Developers Conference) in a podcast available on YouTube, he discussed the apprehensions game developers have towards Xbox.

The phrase one major company who released a big game last year said [was], ‘I don’t know why we bothered supporting it.’ […] Now you’ve got third-party publishers going, ‘we’re putting in a lot of effort trying to create a Series S version and an X version of a game when, to be honest with you, for us the market is PC and PS5′.

When asked about the recent decisions at Xbox and the console’s future, Chris said,

I thought it would be fine, but then I didn’t really factor in that some developers and publishers might just go, ‘yeah I don’t, you know, is there any point?’ And that is when you can lose it.

Experts across the industry believe that if Xbox couldn’t turn the tables in the next few years, it would be too late to recover. Sony and Nintendo are already beating Xbox, and at this rate, Xbox may be out of the picture in a decade or two!

What’s next for Xbox?

As was expected, Microsoft plans to bring AI to Xbox after successful integration across its native products. Recent reports also suggest that Microsoft is working on an AI chatbot for Xbox that is capable of customer support and dealing with refunds.

This may help Xbox recover after a prolonged period of declining sales, but a lot more needs to be done!

For instance, Xbox should plan a well-timed release of a new console, just as the PS5 Pro launch coincides with that of GTA 5. Besides, AI should be employed in the content moderation system. The recent banning of Xbox accounts through Minecraft makes it amply clear!

As for the future, leaked images hint that the next Xbox console will be all digital and won’t feature a disc drive. This, too, was expected, given that 90% of game sales last year were digital.

Xbox’s future does look uncertain but the possibility of it going obsolete is bleak. In the last few months, Microsoft may have been more devoted to game development and publishing after acquiring Activision Blizzard. While this signals a shift in approach, Microsoft wouldn’t concede this early in the console war!

What do you think about the decline in Xbox sales? Share with our readers in the comments section.