Category Interesting Facts

How many people play on Xbox? [Statistics and Facts]

Author Toni Published on 9 min read

Last modified on November 30th, 2022 at 12:11 pm

xbox-statistics-facts

Interested in learning about Xbox sales and usage?

How about some fun facts and stats on the console’s users, games and services? 

Check out these Xbox statistics to find out more. 

TOP Xbox Statistics and Facts

1. Xbox holds 47.36% of the UK’s gaming console market. 

(Statista) 

However, on a global level, PlayStation has a 52.64% share of the market, whereas Xbox is ranked second with a slightly lower stake of 48.03%. 

2. Xbox Series S and X were the most popular consoles in the UK in January 2021.

(GamesIndustry.biz) 

Gaming consoles sales in the UK witnessed an overall increase of 148% in January 2021 compared to 2020, with Xbox Series X|S taking the lead for the first time and Nintendo Switch and PS5 ranking second and third, respectively. 

In April the same year, though, Nintendo Switch managed to rise to the top as the best-selling console for the month, while the Xbox Series units came in second.

3. Microsoft’s hardware revenue increased by 172%, Q4 Xbox statistics report.

(GeekWire)

According to the latest data from the company, the Xbox division brought in $3.7 billion in revenue in the final quarter of 2021, which is an 11% growth compared to the same period the previous year.

Microsoft also saw an incredible 172% growth in revenue from gaming hardware, mostly due to the rising demand for the Xbox Series X|S. 

Xbox Usage Statistics

4. How many people play on Xbox?

(Statista)

According to Xbox demographics, 19% of British homes owned an Xbox One or an Xbox 360 in 2019. Ownership of Xbox video game consoles in Great Britain peaked in Q3 2018 when 23% of households had an Xbox in their homes. On the other hand, the ownership rate was lowest in the third quarter of 2010—only 13% of British households had an Xbox back then. 

Even some of the most popular football players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic play the Xbox as he is named one of the Xbox ambassadors.

5. How many Xbox are there?

(The Verge)

The company’s name is a brand that includes five video game consoles (as well as applications) (games), streaming services, an internet service called Xbox network, and the development arm called Xbox Game Studios. Those brands are:

  • First generation: Xbox
  • Second generation: Xbox 360
  • Third generation: Xbox One
  • Fourth generation: Xbox Series X and Series S

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6. How many Xbox players are there?

(Statista)

The number of users of Microsoft’s online gaming service, first launched in 2002, has been growing exponentially across the globe.

In fact, the most recent Xbox Live statistics reveal that there were 100 million monthly active users in December 2020, up by an incredible 35 million compared to the same period in 2019. 

Global Xbox Sales Statistics

7. The Xbox 360 sold around 85.8 million units worldwide.

(Statista) (Screen Rant) 

This gaming console was discontinued in 2017; however, Xbox 360 sales statistics confirm that it shipped over 85 million units worldwide since its release 12 years previously. This impressive number makes the Xbox 360 the sixth highest-selling gaming console in the world. 

In the UK, Xbox 360 sales peaked in 2011 when 1.54 million units were sold, after which demand started to decline, reaching an all-time low of 8,014 units sold in 2017. 

8.  As of February 2022, 50.55 million units have been sold worldwide.

(Statista) 

The Xbox One sales numbers show that out of the 50.55 million units sold across the world, 32.45 million units have been sold in North America, while the number in Europe surpassed 12.45 million.

9. The Xbox Series X and S are the company’s fastest-selling consoles to date. 

(GamesRadar+)

With 6.5 million units sold in less than a year since the launch, Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and S are selling faster than any of the previous generation models. Specifically, the number of Series X|S units sold surpasses Xbox One and Xbox 360 sales (5.7 million and 5 million, respectively) in the same timeframe.  

Xbox Sales in the UK

10. When was the Xbox made?

(Statista)

The Xbox one was released in 2013 and since then it has over 4.8 million Xbox One consoles sold in the UK.

While, 2014, i.e. a year after the release, was the most successful year for XOne in the UK. Back then, Microsoft shipped 1.07 million units to UK consumers or 614,905 more than the previous year. 

Although Xbox sales in the UK started to decline gradually after 2014, the use of the Xbox One picked up again in 2019 when 585,520 units were sold, making it the second biggest-selling gaming console in the UK that year. 

11. 600,000 Xbox Series were sold in the UK in 2020. 

(GamesIndustry.biz)

Demand was up for both the Xbox Series and Xbox One, which delivered a combined 600,000 sales.

This is an increase from 500,000, which is how many Xbox One units were sold in the UK in 2019. 

Still, Xbox sales were lower than PlayStation (PS5 and PS4 sold about 900,000 units) and Nintendo Switch (1.5 million).

12. Xbox Wireless Controller (Carbon Black) was the best-selling controller in April 2021.

(GamesIndustry.biz)

The latest data from the UK’s gaming market reveal that the Xbox Wireless Controller outsold Sony’s DualSense pad mostly due to the increased availability of the Xbox Series X|S consoles.

Overall, 600,000 accessories were sold across the country in April 2021, a 21.4% decline from April 2020. 

Xbox Software and Services Statistics

13. Revenue from Xbox content and services noted a 6% annual drop in Q4 2022. 

(Statista)

According to Microsoft Xbox content and services saw an decrease of 6% in the last quarter of 2022.

14. Xbox Game Pass has 23 million subscribers. 

(Screen Rant)

As of April 2021, Xbox Game Pass has recorded 23 million subscribers, which is 5 million more than January the same year, i.e. the last time Microsoft disclosed official data. 

What’s more, in September 2020, this subscription service counted 15 million active members, up by 50% from several months earlier. Given this rising trend, the service might well reach 30 million users by the end of the year.  

Xbox vs PlayStation Statistics

15. Xbox Series X and S sold around 155,000 units on launch day in the UK. 

(VGC)

The Xbox Series sold out pretty quickly, with the Series X accounting for two-thirds of launch day sales. On top of that, sales of the latest Xbox console beat Xbox One’s record of 150,000 sales in the first 48 hours since its release. 

As impressive as these figures are, they still can’t catch up to PlayStation 4, which sold about 250,000 consoles across the UK in the first two days of its launch. The previous record for the fastest-selling hardware in the region was also held by a Sony console—the PlayStation Portable, which sold 185,000 units in the same timeframe. 

16. Nearly half of Xbox One users also own a PlayStation 4. 

(Game Developer)

It seems gamers are not happy with just one console. Thus, 32.2% of PS4 owners also have an Xbox One, while 47.5% of households with an Xbox One also have a PS4. In addition, 27.4% of Xbox one owners have also purchased a PlayStation 4 Pro. 

17. PlayStation Plus was the most popular gaming subscription service in the UK in 2021.

(Beyondgamez)

At the end of 2021, PS Plus had over 3.2 million subscribers, while Xbox Game Pass had 2.6 million subscribers.

In third and fourth place are Xbox Live Gold, with 1.5 million, and Nintendo Switch Online, with 1.49 million subscribers.

Xbox Games Statistics

18. With more than 8.72 million copies sold across the world, Grand Theft Auto V is the best-selling game on Xbox One. 

(Statista)

Judging by Xbox One facts and figures, this action-adventure game is followed by Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (7.37 million copies sold), Call of Duty: WWII (6.23 million), Red Dead Redemption 2 (5.77 million) and Minecraft (5.43 million) as the top five best selling games on the Xbox One. 

Also read: Minecraft statistics

19. 8.6 million more people played PUBG on Xbox than on PS4 in 2020.

(GmrPC)

In 2020, PUBG sold 70 million copies around the world on multiple platforms, making it one of the most popular esports disciplines in the world.

As per PUBG stats, Microsoft’s gaming box was the console of choice—there were 16.7 million PUBG gamers on Xbox One, compared to 8.1 million on PS4.

Related: Top 10 best PUBG players in the world

20. Gamers played 3,800 different games on Xbox Game Pass in November 2020 alone. 

(GameSpot)

In a blog post, Microsoft stated that in November 2020, Xbox users spent billions of hours on the platform playing over 3,800 different games, from Tetris Effect Connected to Destiny 2: Beyond Light. 

Related: Among Us statistics and facts

Xbox Facts and History

21. Microsoft’s first Xbox sold 1.5 million units in its first season.

(VentureBeat)

The very first Xbox sold three games per box, earning $750 million in revenue for Microsoft.  Taking only 20 months from conception to launch, this console sold 1.5 million units in just the first season and 21 million over the first four years.  

22. Microsoft doesn’t make any money from the sale of Xbox consoles. 

(GeekWire)

It’s been almost 20 years since Xbox entered the gaming scene, and as unbelievable as it may sound, Microsoft has not made any money from the sale of this gaming console.

In fact, every console that has been shipped has been sold at a loss. The profit actually comes from software sales.

You might also be interested in: How many people play Roblox?

23. The warranty program for faulty Xbox 360 consoles cost Microsoft up to $1.15 billion.

(VentureBeat)

Following numerous complaints relating to hardware failures, Microsoft had to pay billions of dollars for free replacement of Xbox 360s.

What’s worse, the company’s reputation suffered greatly among gamers, almost killing any chances of the Xbox ever outselling Nintendo and PlayStation. 

24. Ten months after the launch of the Xbox Series, consoles are still hard to find. 

(The Independent)

Even though the Xbox Series S can be found at some retailers, the more powerful version, the Xbox Series X, has been sold out across the globe. Units are restocked but sold out as quickly as they show up.

25. Kinect holds the world record for the fastest-selling consumer electronics device.

(The Sydney Morning Herald) ​​(BBC)

Selling 8 million units in the first two months since its release and 24 million in total, the Kinect holds the Guinness world record for “fastest-selling consumer electronics device”. This peripheral, which accompanied the Xbox 360 and allowed a controller-free experience, sold at an average rate of 133,333 a day in the first months since its release. 

Final Words

Demand for the Xbox Series is high, and sales are likely to go up once the next-gen consoles become available again.

Hopefully, these Xbox statistics just showed you how big Xbox is in the gaming market in the UK and worldwide as well.

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