Switch 2 Best-Seller, PS5 Sales Fall Again - Europe Hardware Estimates for May 2026 - Sales

by William D'Angelo , posted 8 hours ago / 3,459 Views

The Nintendo Switch 2 was the best-selling console in Europe with 173,785 units sold for May 2026, according to VGChartz estimates. The Switch 2 has sold 4.61 million units lifetime.

The PlayStation 5 was the second best-selling console with an estimated 123,693 units sold to bring lifetime sales to 32.61 million units. The Nintendo Switch 1 was the third best-selling console with an estimated 32,521 units sold to bring lifetime sales to 39.81 million units. The Xbox Series X|S came in fourth place with 28,674 units sold to bring its lifetime sales to 8.63 million units.

Switch 2 sales compared to the same month for the Switch 1 in 2018 are down by nearly 16,000 units as the Switch 1 sold 189,412 units in Europe in May 2018.

PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2019 are down by over 223,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by over 41,000 units. PS4 sold 347,183 units for the month of May 2019 and Xbox One sales were at 69,889 units.

PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 159,952 (-56.4%). Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 12,143 units (-29.8%) and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are down by 59,841 units (-64.8%).

Looking at sales month-on-month, Switch 2 sales are down by nearly 8,000 units, PlayStation 5 sales are down by over 18,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are up by nearly 6,000 units, and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are up by nearly 2,000 units.

2026 year-to-date, the Nintendo Switch 2 has sold an estimated 1.02 million units, the PlayStation 5 has sold 0.90 million units, the Nintendo Switch 1 has sold 0.17 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 0.12 million units.

Monthly Sales:

Europe hardware estimates for May 2026 (Followed by lifetime sales):

Switch 2 - 173,785 (4,608,393)
PlayStation 5 - 123,693 (32,609,328)
Switch 1 - 32,521 (39,808,527)
Xbox Series X|S - 28,674 (8,627,841)

Weekly Sales:

Europe May 9, 2026 hardware estimates:

Switch 2 - 43,442
PlayStation 5 - 30,949
Switch 1 - 8,339
Xbox Series X|S - 6,227

Europe May 16, 2026 hardware estimates:

Switch 2 - 43,602
PlayStation 5 - 30,950
Switch 1 - 8,012
Xbox Series X|S - 6,404

Europe May 23, 2026 hardware estimates:

Switch 2 - 43,862
PlayStation 5 - 30,863
Xbox Series X|S - 8,735
Switch 1 - 7,960

Europe May 30, 2026 hardware estimates:

Switch 2 - 42,879
PlayStation 5 - 30,931
Switch 1 - 8,210
Xbox Series X|S - 7,308

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.

5 Comments

Panicradio (7 hours ago)

Man, it's so sad for the PS5.

It had such good momentum since 2024.

But May's US and Europe 2026 sales literally tanked compared to year-on-year and to PS4.

What's also sad about it is that PS5's sunset lineup is a pretty strong one, too. Wolverine, Phantom Blade Zero, GTA6, God of War Laufey, Intergalactic and maybe some still TBA.

I can't imagine where sales could have been if no price increases would have happened, at all. Thankfully though, they should still reach the 100 million milestone. But I assume PS5 could have surpassed the PS4 easily if nothing after COVID had followed.