Ex-Blizzard boss and former Microsoft executive Mike Ybarra recently incited some controversy by declaring Xbox consoles "dead" while praising a recent achievement of the PS5. With two price hikes and sales continuing to plummet in 2025, Xbox's console business is the weakest it's been in years.
Microsoft's current-gen consoles, the Series X/S, were well-positioned for success back in 2020 thanks to Xbox's then-growing coterie of first-party studios, competitive pricing, and of course, the excellent value proposition of Game Pass. However, the PS5 managed to largely retain the positive momentum of the PS4, and as such, remains the highest-selling current-gen system at over 80.3 million units sold. Meanwhile, demand for Xbox consoles is so low that Microsoft has been reporting declining Series X/S sales quarter-over-quarter for well over a year now. Microsoft has even been porting Xbox games to PS5, which can be construed as indirectly waving the white flag in the console war.
Sony announced last year that at $106 billion accrued, the PS5 is the most profitable console generation in the company's history. At Tokyo Game Show 2025, Sony doubled down on the notion and provided...
