Xbox had no relief in 2025, which stands out as the worst year in the brand’s history, and there is little expectation that 2026 will bring any real turnaround. Microsoft’s strategic shift has had a devastating impact on console sales.

The year 2025 will go down as one of the bleakest chapters in Xbox history. Microsoft’s gaming division underwent a complete restructuring, but the short-term effects were overwhelmingly negative. Fresh waves of layoffs followed, several games were canceled, and the price of Game Pass rose sharply. Taken together, these moves led to a dramatic collapse in console sales, with at least one of the industry’s most important markets posting the worst results ever seen for Xbox hardware.

Xbox Sales Are at Rock Bottom

The data was confirmed by journalist and analyst Christopher Dring. According to figures he shared publicly, Xbox console sales fell by 39 percent in the UK during 2025, making it by far the worst year ever recorded for the brand in that market. Dring also questioned whether the return of key Xbox franchises in 2026 would be enough to deliver any meaningful improvement. The situation is particularly worrying given that the UK has historically been one of Microsoft’s strongest territories, with estimates suggesting that nearly half of all Xbox 360 and Xbox One units sold in Europe were purchased there.

From Microsoft’s perspective, this outcome was an expected consequence of its change in strategy. The company was fully aware of the risks associated with aggressive price increases and the gradual removal of exclusivity. It is this latter decision that has fueled the most pessimism around the future of console sales. A game like Gears of War: E-Day could have been a strong incentive to buy an Xbox Series X or Series S, but there is no guarantee it would not end up on PlayStation 5 a few months later, or even on the same day, as happened with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Doom: The Dark Ages.

Microsoft’s ambition is to demonstrate that sacrificing the console market was the right long-term call. In the short term, however, the situation has turned into a public relations problem that continues to damage the Xbox brand. At the same time, uncertainty surrounds the successor to the Series S and Series X. What is known so far is that next-generation hardware will prioritize power and target a smaller audience. The concept is intriguing, but Microsoft now faces the difficult task of winning back users after several extraordinarily chaotic years.

Source: 3djuegos