cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1227527/playstation-sales-just-had-its-worst-may-in-25-years-and-xbox-s-was-the-worst-ever-meanw
May 2026 U.S. Video Game Market Highlights Thread from Circana - 007 First Light and Nintendo Switch 2 Drive 3% US Video Game Spending Growth in May 2026.
May 2026 U.S. Video Game Total Spending - US video game spending reached $4.2 billion in May 2026, an increase of 3% when compared to a year ago. Year-to-date spending finished May 4% higher than 2025, at $23.0 billion.
May 2026 U.S. Projected Top 10 Best-Selling Games Ranked on Physical & Full Game Digital Dollar Sales (Excludes Mobile and Digital Add-On Content)
YTD 2026 U.S. Projected Top 10 Best-Selling Games Ranked on Physical & Full Game Digital Dollar Sales (Excludes Mobile and Digital Add-On Content)
Hardware - May 2026 hardware spending grew 38% versus a year ago, to $249M. Nintendo Switch 2 offset a 43% drop in PlayStation 5 spending (and a 58% dip in unit sales) driven by recent price increases. Xbox Series hardware spending grew 7% versus a year ago, units fell by 12%.
Hardware - Nintendo Switch 2 was again the best-selling hardware platform in both units and dollars for May and 2026 year-to-date, with PlayStation 5 placing second across both measures and time periods.
Hardware - Nintendo Switch 2 finished its first twelve months in market with a 5.9M unit US installed base. It is the 2nd fastest selling video game hardware in US tracked history (tracking begins in 1995). Only the Game Boy Advance’s 6.5M units exceeds it.
Hardware - PlayStation hardware unit sales fell to their lowest May total since May 2000, while Xbox hardware unit sales were the lowest ever recorded for a May month.
Hardware - The average price paid for a new unit of video game hardware reached $502 in May, up 14% compared to a year ago ($440). May 2026 PlayStation 5 average pricing increased by 33% versus a year ago to $672, with Xbox Series up 22%, to $524.
Hardware - June data will include the Nintendo Switch 2 launch month comparable.
Content - Content spending reached $3.8 billion in May 2026, increasing by 1% when compared to a year ago. Year-to-date content spending remained 3% ahead of 2025, at $20.4B.
Content - Console drove content spending growth in May. Total spending on console content increased by 25% compared to a year ago and is now 13% higher year-to-date. PC content (+15% versus a year ago) and subscription spending (+11%) also grew in May.
Content - 007 First Light was May’s leader in full game dollar sales, debuting as the 4th best-seller of 2026 year-to-date. It also led all titles in full game dollar sales on PlayStation platforms in the month.
Content - Launch month full game dollar sales of 007 First Light were the highest for a James Bond video game in franchise history.
Content - Forza Horizon 6 was the 2nd best-selling game of the month and finished May ranked 5th year-to-date. Forza Horizon 6 ranked 1st in May full game dollar sales on both Xbox and PC.
Content - Sensor Tower reports the top 10 mobile games in May and rank change from April as: MONOPOLY GO!, Royal Match, Candy Crush Saga (+1), Gossip Harbor (+1), Kingshot (+1), Last War: Survival (-3), Whiteout Survival, Township, Royal Kingdom and Garena Free.
Content - “The top charts saw a major shakeup this month as Last War: Survival dropped three spots to #6, driven by a 30% month-over-month revenue drop,” said Bryan Isagholian of Sensor Tower. “This steep decline comes right after the publisher paused US ad spend in mid-April.”
Content - “Farlight Games’ newly debuted Clash of Critters proved to be a breakout newcomer, combining tower defense with cozy pet collection to secure a brief spot in the top 10 free casual games during its global launch in May,” said Isagholian of Sensor Tower.
Accessories - Accessories spending grew by 8% in May when compared to a year ago, reaching $168M.
Accessories - Racing Controller spending increased by 95% when compared to a year ago, fueled by the launch of Forza Horizon 6. The Logitech G29 Driving Force Racing Wheel was the best-selling Racing Controller of May in consumer spending.
I genuinely believe the switch 2 is the best bang for your buck, especially now with the way things are looking with hardware price increases. The performance is very close to PS5 (I’ve heard ranges between PS4 Pro and PS5) whilst having the capability to output to 4K when docked. For $629.96 CAD (or $699.96 CAD for the bundle), you absolutely cannot beat that price.
I’m not glazing Nintendo. Xbox Series S is $449.96 CAD including a controller and 512gb SSD, but you’d be sacrificing a lot of performance (it’s funny when they say it can go “up to 120fps” when I know from experience it absolutely does not). PlayStation 5 is $749.96 CAD for the digital edition. Looking at my options knowing what kind of performance the Switch 2 has, I would rather pay the $629.96 CAD because it has one feature that cannot be beat; it can be played handheld or docked. If you want an Xbox handheld, you’d have to look into handheld PC’s like the ASUS ROG Ally or the Steam deck. If you want a PS5 handheld you’d need a PS5 and a $319.96 CAD PlayStation Portal. For me, the price to performance of the Switch 2, and the features that come with it, is why I prefer the Switch 2.
Do not expect PS5 performance from a Switch 2. It is not close to that. PS4 Pro is much closer to accurate. It’s cheaper than a PS5 because it’s weaker.
That’s not what I’ve heard, people on Reddit have been praising its performance saying it’s close to PS5 performance; but even then, a PS4 Pro level performance for a handheld is pretty good in my books.
There are more objective measurements we can use than that. Consider any modern port that shows up on a Switch 2, like FF7 Rebirth, to be a substantial effort and not a given. Even when you do get ports like those, they’re often severely compromised in fidelity and performance.