Switch 2 Dominates as Sales Top 20M LT - Worldwide Hardware Estimates for April 2026 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted 7 hours ago / 4,868 Views
The Nintendo Switch 2 was the best-selling console worldwide with 1,236,414 units sold for May 2026, according to VGChartz estimates. The Switch 2 has sold 20.76 million units lifetime.
The PlayStation 5 was the second best-selling console, with an estimated 389,529 units sold, to bring lifetime sales to 92.34 million units. The Nintendo Switch 1 was the third best-selling console, with an estimated 165,323 units sold, to bring lifetime sales to 154.81 million units. The Xbox Series X|S came in fourth place with 118,761 units sold, to bring its lifetime sales to 34.79 million units.
Switch 2 sales compared to the same month for the Switch 1 in 2018 are up by nearly 583,000 units, as the Switch 1 sold 653,422 units in May 2018.
PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2019 are down by over 385,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by over 127,000 units. The PS4 sold 774,636 units for the month of May 2019 and Xbox One sales were at 246,196 units.
PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 438,611 (-53.0%). Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 24,669 units (-17.2%) and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are down by 187,426 units (-53.1%).
Looking at sales month-on-month, Nintendo Switch 2 sales are up by nearly 374,000 units, PlayStation 5 sales are down by nearly 52,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are up by nearly 19,000 units, and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are down by over 34,000 units.
2026 year-to-date, the Nintendo Switch 2 has sold 5.17 million units, the PlayStation 5 has sold 2.91 million units, the Nintendo Switch 1 has sold 1.01 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 0.61 million units.
Monthly Sales:
Global hardware estimates for May 2026 (Followed by lifetime sales):
- Switch 2 - 1,236,414 (20,758,012)
- PlayStation 5 - 389,529 (92,342,944)
- Switch 1 - 165,323 (154,814,838)
- Xbox Series X|S - 118,761 (34,794,960)
- Switch 2 - 307,005
- PlayStation 5 - 113,353
- Xbox Series X|S - 80,611
- Switch 1 - 45,277
- Switch 2 - 173,785
- PlayStation 5 - 123,693
- Switch 1 - 32,521
- Xbox Series X|S - 28,674
- Switch 2 - 723,711
- PlayStation 5 - 134,624
- Switch 1 - 81,506
- Xbox Series X|S - 4,181
- Switch 2 - 31,913
- PlayStation 5 - 17,859
- Switch 1 - 6,019
- Xbox Series X|S - 5,295
Weekly Sales:
Global May 9, 2026 hardware estimates:
- Switch 2 - 280,515
- PlayStation 5 - 98,107
- Switch 1 - 48,294
- Xbox Series X|S - 26,934
Global May 16, 2026 hardware estimates:
- Switch 2 - 373,329
- PlayStation 5 - 96,339
- Switch 1 - 48,257
- Xbox Series X|S - 28,210
Global May 23, 2026 hardware estimates:
- Switch 2 - 403,750
- PlayStation 5 - 97,408
- Switch 1 - 35,881
- Xbox Series X|S - 33,899
Global May 30, 2026 hardware estimates:
- Switch 2 - 178,820
- PlayStation 5 - 97,675
- Switch 1 - 32,891
- Xbox Series X|S - 29,718
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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What did Sony expect at this point. Acting surprised? When you force these prices at current economy. When as a company who made billions of loses by targeting those live service games. When you aren't in the slightest trying to absorb some of the loses and keep the profit standards. And all they made us think that the consumers are the problem... well, bite me.
Sony has completely defeated their main competitor this generation. The ones buying a PS5 this late in the game are less dedicated and spend less money on gaming. It would not make sense to subsidize the console to a significant degree.
What they could do is to bundle a game or two as a carrot.
Those PS5 figures are just downright sad seeing how well the system had done even just two or three months ago. At this pace, PS5 would be lucky to even top 6M for FY’27… but GTAVI should give enough of a boost to send sales over 10M.
Switch 2 better buckle up… JP is already down for June and the Americas will be next come September./October.
Switch 1 comfortably outselling XBSX|S… what a weird time for gaming lol.
they finally moved on from the ps5 in mid 26, kinda like ms moved from the series consoles in early 24. they overshiped last holday and there is a limit in how many you can sell especially with the component prices being sky high. if they flood the market now they would be forced into massive price cuts.
Subsidizing the PS5 with 1 billion dollars would allow them to sell 10 million consoles cut by 100$.
As a baseline.
If I was Sony, I'd do it. Especially in the wake of GTA6, which will sell consoles, other games, subscriptions, accessoires, DLCs, etc.
Don't get me even started if they had saved approx. +4bn USD if they had not bought Bungie or developed Concord.
With the losses MS/Sony take on each system due to the component cost crisis, they're actually better off not selling consoles and just monetising the userbases they already have. It's different for Switch 2 though because they need to build a userbase. PS5 already has it's userbase and XBS consoles can't extend theirs much more regardless of price.
I agree with the PS5 point. Xbox is really between a rock and a hard place. Nintendo is taking a hit on profits to grow the user base. Sony has stopped growing the already huge user base and is profiting. Xbox is neither profiting from a reasonable user base nor are they growing.
Excluding the Switch 1, this looks like a Gen 8 month mixed up, where Switch 2 acts like the PS4, PS5 acts like Xbox One and Xbox Series takes the role of the WiiU.
Interesting, if there will be need of adjustments, and if yes, will they be down or up .. we will find out after a month and change.
With the price increase in Japan I think the Switch 2 will do 600k - 700k in June, but will increase in July due to Splatoon Raiders. The Switch 1 will see a decrease since that also saw a price increase in Japan, so about 100k - 120k in June. Playstation due to the worldwide increase will still see 300k - 400k in June. Xbox will be the same at about 100k - 120k in June.
Seeing all these consoles so high in price I wouldn't be shocked if the Switch 1 sees a resurgence in the holidays due to it's low price.
I think Switch 2 is still going to do well even when the price increases hit in September, and as I stated I think Switch 1 will get a good boost in the holidays. Playstation 5 I think is still decent since they're already over 90 million sold, while Xbox Series is still bad because they're still just over 30 million sold.
