Xbox Series X/S sales figures updated with new Holiday 2023 results

The latest forecasts put Xbox Series X/S sales at nearly half as high as the PlayStation 5.

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Since Microsoft stopped giving Xbox console sales data years ago, analysts have to make their own predictions and try to fill in the blanks. Sony, on the other hand, takes every opportunity to tout PS5 sales. In late 2023, Sony confirmed that PlayStation 5 sell-through reached 50 million. That means 50 million PS5 consoles have been sold to consumers (the other metric, sell-in, refers to shipments made to retailers).

What about the Xbox Series X/S? Thanks to a minor presentation slip-up at the BIG Festival in Brazil, we know that the Xbox Series X/S had a 21 million+ installed base as of July 2023.

That number could be as high as 27 million today. This number comes by way of a recent investor briefing in which one of the biggest publishers in the gaming world included a small tidbit about 9th generation consoles.

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"77 million gen 9 consoles outstanding worldwide as of December 31, 2023," reads slide 9 of Take-Two Interactive's Q3 investors report.

77 million minus the PS5's 50 million would leave 27 million Xbox Series X/S consoles. Furthermore, this could indicate that Microsoft sold +6 million Xbox Series X/S consoles across two quarters, the bulk of which likely came from the steep price discounts throughout the holiday season.

The source of the data is is a mix of top analyst firms--IDG Consulting, the ESA (of which Take-Two is a member), and Newzoo.

Other firms like Ampere Analysis estimate that Microsoft sold 7.6 million Xbox Series X/S consoles throughout calendar 2023, compared to Sony's estimated 22.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles. This would mean the PS5 is outselling the Xbox Series X/S by nearly 3:1.

Sony will announce new PlayStation 5 shipment figures on February 14.