Console News: PS5 Sales Surge, Xbox Falls (Nov 1, 2026)

PS5 Pulls Ahead While Xbox Series Sales Slide

The biggest console story this week is the growing gap between Sony and Microsoft. In the US, Xbox Series unit sales fell 27% in September 2026, the worst September on record for the platform. PlayStation 5 moved in the opposite direction: unit sales rose 22% and dollar sales jumped 43% in the same month. Simply put, Sony sold more consoles at higher prices, while Microsoft sold fewer boxes without meaningful price movement. Nintendo's Switch 2, priced at $499.99, remains the reference point for the whole market's cost conversation.

PS Plus November 2026: New Games, GTA V Leaves

Sony has confirmed its PS Plus free games for November 2026, including F1 25, Hunt: Showdown 1896, and Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2. At the same time, GTA V is set to exit the PS Plus Game Catalog on November 17. Sony's pitch to subscribers remains breadth: three games a month for a price lower than one full retail release, with PS Plus Premium costing $159.99 a year. For comparison, Game Pass Ultimate runs $22.99 a month and lists 500+ games, while Nintendo's Expansion Pack Family tier at $79.99 a year adds retro libraries including NES, Super NES, GameCube, N64, GBA, and Genesis titles.

Switch 2 Edition Upgrades: How the Rules Differ

For shoppers comparing upgrade paths across platforms, Nintendo's Switch 2 Edition system works differently than Xbox's Smart Delivery or PlayStation's upgrade offers. Neither Xbox nor PlayStation ties an upgrade perk directly to their subscription services — Game Pass and PS Plus can lower the price of a base game, which indirectly affects what an edition upgrade costs, but the upgrade mechanics themselves are separate from subscription tier.

Xbox's Big Minecraft Gamble

Microsoft is reportedly considering pulling Minecraft from PlayStation and Nintendo platforms to make it an Xbox exclusive — a move described as one of the company's biggest risks yet given the game's massive, platform-agnostic install base built up over more than a decade. The timing lines up with Microsoft's broader multimedia push around the Minecraft brand, including a theme park set to open in 2027.

Xbox Eyes Bigger Profits Than Sony and Nintendo by 2030

Microsoft has set a goal of being more profitable than both PlayStation and Nintendo by 2030, leaning on strategies beyond traditional console gaming. The company recently unveiled a new "Xbox XP" division focused on movies, TV, and live events, tied to projects like a third season of the Fallout TV series, a Call of Duty movie, and a Diablo animated series.

Why It Matters

Taken together, these stories paint a console market in transition: Sony is currently winning on hardware momentum, Microsoft is betting on content and subscriptions rather than box sales, and Nintendo's Switch 2 pricing continues to anchor cost comparisons across the industry. Subscribers choosing between PS Plus, Game Pass, and Nintendo's online tiers should weigh monthly game drops against yearly cost, since none of the three services ties upgrade pricing directly to subscription level.