In a gaming market that’s taken a hit, Xbox is standing out with some rare growth. While most platforms are seeing declines, Xbox’s Series X/S consoles have doubled their spending compared to last year. But don’t get too excited—this isn’t as huge as it sounds, given the rough numbers Xbox had last May.
Across the board, things aren’t looking too hot. According to Circana, video game spending in June dropped by 21% compared to last year, bringing in $4.5 billion instead of $5.7 billion. Hardware spending took a particularly hard hit, dropping by a staggering 62%. This drop is partly because June 2026 is being compared to June 2025, which was a massive month thanks to the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. In fact, the Switch 2 still leads in both unit and dollar sales as of now.
On the software side, subscriptions are the only area seeing any growth, climbing by 7% in June. Meanwhile, game content spending is down by 12%. But there’s hope on the horizon. With big titles like Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced and Palworld’s resurgence, the rest of the year could be promising. Speaking of which, did you hear that Palworld nearly hit a million players last weekend? Now that’s a game to keep an eye on!
Looking ahead, it’s worth watching how the gaming industry adjusts. With new games on the horizon, the second half of the year might just turn things around.
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