Microsoft Reveals Xbox One Console Sales Were Awful Compared to PS4

Microsoft’s attempts to finalize its Activision Blizzard acquisition have inadvertently revealed how poorly the Xbox One console in all its forms sold.

As Game Luster reports(Opens in a new window), Microsoft needs to get the sign-off for its $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition from competition authorities around the world. One of those is Brazil’s CADE competition authority.

An official court document(Opens in a new window) (in Portuguese) submitted by Microsoft includes the claim that (Google translated), “Sony has surpassed Microsoft in terms of console sales and install base, having sold more than twice as many [than] Xbox in the last generation.”

Sony no longer reports PS4 console sales, but the last official total reported earlier this month was 117.2 million units. It means that Microsoft didn’t manage to sell more than 58 million Xbox One consoles over its lifetime. And if Ampere Analysis’ data(Opens in a new window) is accurate, Microsoft sold a grand total of just 51 million consoles. For reference, the Xbox 360 achieved 85.8 million units(Opens in a new window) over its lifetime.

Ampere also believes that Sony will have a substantial lead this generation by the time we reach 2024. PS5 console sales are expected to top 67.3 million, while Xbox Series X and Series S combined will manage 44.3 million.

Microsoft is taking a different approach this generation, with the emphasis shifting to hardware sales combined with subscription gaming through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. We won’t know how well that works until much later in this generation of hardware, and just as importantly, if it works even with a much smaller installed user base then your main competitor if Ampere’s predictions are to be believed.