New data shared by Christopher Dring of The Game Business has shed fresh light on how Forza Horizon 6 may have helped boost Xbox Series X|S sales in the UK. It also highlights a significant 50% drop in PS5 sales during May, though that decline may well reflect the recent hardware price increase.
What's particularly interesting is just how close the two platforms ended up. According to Dring, Xbox came within just 400 units of PS5 sales in the UK during the month, with Forza Horizon 6 seemingly helping drive interest in Microsoft's consoles.
Here's what Dring had to say on X: “In the UK, PS5 sales fell 50% in May. It only outsold Xbox Series S/X by 400 units (which saw a 12% rise, helped by console exclusive Forza Horizon 6). Switch 2 was easily No.1 (NielsenIQ).”
It feels like you can't go long without exclusivity being brought up when it comes to Xbox, especially with recent talks on competitors' logos being shown within Xbox’s June Showcase. While I believe exclusives are one of the few ways Xbox can remain competitive in the hardware space long term, I also admit it's unlikely the company will ever fully return to exclusives as we once knew them.
Still, it's nice to see Forza Horizon 6 perform well enough to give Xbox hardware sales a boost here in the UK. Growing up, Xbox was everywhere. These days, you're lucky to see it mentioned at all, which is a real shame.
That said, I think Xbox's bigger issue is Microsoft itself, plus its marketing. The company often struggles to put its products in front of consumers in the same way Nintendo and PlayStation do, whether that's through advertising, retail presence, or simply staying part of the wider gaming conversation, and I hate that as an Xbox fan.
With all that said, let me know your thoughts on Xbox's improved hardware sales in the UK and PlayStation's sizable dip in May. Do you think exclusives still sell consoles, or are other factors at play? Leave a comment below and be sure to take part in our poll!
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