PS5 Best-Seller as Sales Remain Flat YoY - Europe Hardware Estimates for December 2025 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 22 January 2026 / 8,590 Views
The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console in Europe with 1,380,805 units sold for December 2025, according to VGChartz estimates. The PS5 has sold 31.71 million units lifetime.
The Nintendo Switch 2 was the second best-selling console with an estimated 807,570 units sold to bring lifetime sales to 3.37 million units. The Nintendo Switch 1 was the third best-selling console with an estimated 215,177 units sold to bring lifetime sales to 39.61 million units. The Xbox Series X|S came in fourth place with 82,049 units sold to bring its lifetime sales to 8.50 million units.
Switch 2 sales compared to the same month for the Switch 1 in 2017 are down by nearly 202,000 units as the Switch 1 sold 1,009,224 units in Europe in December 2017.
PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2018 are down by over 18,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by over 568,000 units. PS4 sold 1,399,011 units for the month of December 2018 and Xbox One sales were at 650,418 units.
PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 8,813 (-0.6%). Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 82,087 units (-50.0%) and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are down by 689,611 units (-76.2%).
Looking at sales month-on-month, PlayStation 5 sales are down by nearly 475,000 units, Switch 2 sales are up by nearly 359,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are up by nearly 19,000 units, and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are up by nearly 101,000 units.
2025 year-to-date, the PlayStation 5 has sold an estimated 6.98 million units, the Nintendo Switch 2 has sold 3.37 million units, the Nintendo Switch 1 has sold 1.18 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 0.61 million units.
Monthly Sales:
Europe hardware estimates for December 2025 (Followed by lifetime sales):
- PlayStation 5 - 1,380,805 (31,713,419)
- Switch 2 - 807,570 (3,374,249)
- Switch 1 - 215,177 (39,608,464)
- Xbox Series X|S - 82,049 (8,495,700)
Weekly Sales:
Europe December 6, 2025 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 274,561
- Switch 2 - 165,897
- Switch 1 - 40,920
- Xbox Series X|S - 15,525
Europe December 13, 2025 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 265,323
- Switch 2 - 175,726
- Switch 1 - 41,683
- Xbox Series X|S - 16,524
Europe December 20, 2025 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 297,618
- Switch 2 - 189,271
- Switch 1 - 48,481
- Xbox Series X|S - 18,233
Europe December 27, 2025 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 349,852
- Switch 2 - 212,820
- Switch 1 - 59,452
- Xbox Series X|S - 21,907
Europe January 3, 2026 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 193,451
- Switch 2 - 63,856
- Switch 1 - 24,641
- Xbox Series X|S - 9,860
VGChartz Methodology: Hardware estimates are based on retail sampling and trends in individual countries, which are then extrapolated to represent the wider region. This typically allows us to produce figures that end up being within 10% of the actual totals.
This data is regularly compared against official shipment figures released by the console manufacturers and figures estimated by regional trackers with greater market coverage than ourselves. We then update our own estimates to bring them into line with those figures. This can result in frequent changes often within a short space of time, but we feel it's important to prioritise accuracy over consistency.
Note that our estimates are based on sell-through data (units sold to consumers). In almost all cases the figures released by console manufacturers are based on shipment data (sell-in), where as soon as a device has left the factory and entered the supply chain for delivery it is considered a sale. This is why there is always a difference between the companies’ figures (sell-in) and VGChartz estimates (sell-through), even after we’ve made adjustments. The one exception to that is when a console has been discontinued and the remaining stock has finally sold out – at that point the figures will match.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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Still very impressed that the high priced PS5 is still selling very well. Congrats to Sony and Nintendo.
“ PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2018 are down by over 18 units”
So, 19 units?😅
Whoops that was meant to be 18,000. I've fixed the typo.
«PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2018 are down by over 18,000 units. PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 8,813 (-0.6%).»
Probably the most important figures, especially in Europe.
That's just great!
Taking into the equation that, potentially, 2026 is shaping up being on-par with 2025 in terms of great games getting released, or maybe even slightly better, PS5 should be in a very good spot with these numbers in order to;
• keep racing against aligned PS4 sales
• crossing 100M even before December 2026
«Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by over 568,000 units. Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 82,087 units (-50.0%).»
Oh how I wished we, at some point, would get a leak of Microsoft's (or AMD's) real numbers.
Looking at their announcements at their Developers Direct just hours ago, then from what I've read every game is going to be released simultanously on PS5, except FH6.
I just can't imagine yet what this is going to do with X|S hardware sales throughout 2026, ay, ay, ay.
Flat YoY seems pretty good considering its year 5, xbox' current plan and the price of the nsw2.
Europe is now highest selling region for PS5 surpassing the US (31.67M) with 31.71M.
The release of GTA 6 will boost PS5/PS5 Pro sales like crazy, as it will be the best platform to play the game. The high-end PCs are way too expensive now with the DDR5 prices. You can buy a PlayStation 5 Pro for less than the price of 64 Gb DDR5 .
