According to Circana, US Xbox sales are down 33% and PlayStation 25% over eight months, five weeks before GTA 6 arrives.
Sources univers-simu.com
Five weeks before GTA 6 launches, the US console market is in a slump. Univers-Simu, relaying figures posted on October 9 by Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, reports that Xbox unit sales fell 33% and PlayStation 25% between January and August 2026 compared with the same months of 2025.
These are units, not revenue, and they cover the United States only, so they say nothing certain about Europe. Univers-Simu adds that the average price players actually paid hit record highs, and ties it to component shortages, with AI-driven demand for memory pushing production costs up. PS5 and Xbox Series are also nearing their sixth year.
We covered another side of this problem recently with Sony's limited PS5 Pro stock expected through 2027.
That is Piscatella's hypothesis, as Univers-Simu reports it: November's big release could soften part of the decline. He warns about two obstacles, console prices and availability. Someone willing to pay the game's price may not want to add several hundred more for hardware.
Read also GTA 6 in Canada: 109.99 CAD for Standard, 139.99 CAD for Ultimate
GTA 6 launches on November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only, with no PC version announced, so anyone without a current-generation console has no other way in.
Nothing changes for the release date or price. But these figures temper the idea that the launch will automatically send hardware sales soaring. A record game with a more modest console bump is possible. Only December and January data will settle it, and again only for the US.
Sources univers-simu.com
By Gabriel Janvier · VI Countdown newsroom, OKALAM Studio
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