PS5 Outsells Switch 2 - Worldwide Hardware Estimates for September 2026 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted 9 hours ago / 5,375 Views
The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console worldwide with 1,111,344 units sold for September 2026, according to VGChartz estimates. The PS5 has sold 96.10 million units lifetime.
The Nintendo Switch 2 was the second best-selling console, with an estimated 802,620 units sold, to bring lifetime sales to 24.17 million units. The Nintendo Switch 1 came in third place with 169,892 units sold, to bring its lifetime sales to 155.63 million units. The Xbox Series X|S came in fourth place, with an estimated 128,236 units sold, to bring lifetime sales to 35.45 million units.
Switch 2 sales compared to the same month for the Switch 1 in 2018 are down by nearly 133,000 units, as the Switch 1 sold 935,567 units in September 2018.
PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2019 are up by nearly 38,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by over 249,000 units. The PS4 sold 1,073,805 units for the month of September 2019 and Xbox One sales were at 377,731 units.
Switch 2 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 230,793 (-22.3%). PlayStation 5 sales are down by 373,072 (-25.1%), Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 51,401 units (-28.6%) and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are down by 169,937 units (-50.0%).
Looking at sales month-on-month, Nintendo Switch 2 sales are down by over 51,000 units, PlayStation 5 sales are up by over 326,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are up by over 22,000 units, and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are up by nearly 37,000 units.
2026 year-to-date, the Nintendo Switch 2 has sold 8.59 million units, the PlayStation 5 has sold 6.59 million units, the Nintendo Switch 1 has sold 1.72 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 1.21 million units.
Monthly Sales:
Global hardware estimates for September 2026 (Followed by lifetime sales):
- PlayStation 5 - 1,111,344 (96,095,161)
- Switch 2 - 802,620 (24,173,325)
- Switch 1 - 169,892 (155,631,057)
- Xbox Series X|S - 128,236 (35,453,533)
- PlayStation 5 - 331,510
- Switch 2 - 280,880
- Xbox Series X|S - 79,370
- Switch 1 - 50,568
- PlayStation 5 - 430,681
- Switch 2 - 209,126
- Xbox Series X|S - 37,492
- Switch 1 - 36,328
- PlayStation 5 - 315,710
- Switch 2 - 270,125
- Switch 1 - 76,482
- Xbox Series X|S - 4,786
- Switch 2 - 42,489
- PlayStation 5 - 33,443
- Xbox Series X|S - 6,588
- Switch 1 - 6,514
Weekly Sales:
Global September 5, 2026 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 210,875
- Switch 2 - 139,234
- Switch 1 - 38,714
- Xbox Series X|S - 26,717
Global September 12, 2026 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 193,570
- Switch 2 - 151,987
- Switch 1 - 34,231
- Xbox Series X|S - 25,360
Global September 19, 2026 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 273,255
- Switch 2 - 181,504
- Switch 1 - 30,839
- Xbox Series X|S - 24,546
Global September 26, 2026 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 211,303
- Switch 2 - 169,136
- Switch 1 - 32,074
- Xbox Series X|S - 24,253
Global October 3, 2026 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 222,341
- Switch 2 - 160,759
- Switch 1 - 34,034
- Xbox Series X|S - 27,360
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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PS doing bigger numbers than I thought it would. The entire boycot thingy was around this time too right? the no disc no buy ect stuff?
PS is a juggernaut
are they? with the xbox sales tanking sony should be blowing past the PS4
Wow!!!
9:1 in PS5 favor over Xbox!!
I think all the GTA VI 6~8:1 in Playstation favor might be true!
So for PS5, that's 3.9 million units left for October, November and December to reach the 100M milestone.
In other words: if PS5 would 'only' sell September worldwide units from now on, they would miss 100M by only ~600K. Which should be easily achievable to gather these additionally needed units from October to December.
Overall, very healthy sales estimates for PS5, even above PS4.
And another astonishing ~9:1 versus Xbox Series even globally.
Bogus to see Playstation beating Xbox 9:1!
I mean, the US is Xbox's strongest market so if it at a record low while PS5 is up on last year... I mean as much as we want all to succeed, we can't make people buy the thing.
PS5 will hit 100 million before the year is done huh?
Video discussing the latest VGChartz estimates is now live - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbPeJh7L814
That is a very impressive number pulled by the PS5 in September factoring in the super high entry price and online sentiment!
Wolverine launching and GTAIV looming definitely had a positive effect on sales of course.
Gta is cominggg
PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2019 are up by nearly 38,000 units
So The Road to 117.2m+ for PS5!??😲
It's called GTA hype. Temporary phenomenon. After the holidays GTA hype will be gone and the PS5's too high price will again dominate consumer decisions on the system.
So here is the thing... At one point, Sony thought it was gonna be cheaper to produce the PS6... before the Ram crisis. Cost went from about $150 to about $700 in a year and a half. So... the PS5 may be produced long after this year for that reason. If that is the case then 117 million is in the bag.... if by some miracle the cost of NAND drops in the next 6 months (it wont( then we can see a future where the PS5 stops around 110m or 115.m
Switch 2 would have done so much better this month if it didn't have a price hike. -_-
Not to be a party pooper, but PS5 doesn't have any competition and people are still debating whether it will outsell the PS4, which ultimately means that this will be the third consecutive PlayStation console that will sell tens of millions less than the PS2.
Is a platform considered a success if it doesn't have any competitors and still can't outsell a 25-year-old product?
Why Switch 2 doesn't do better numbers ?
GTA VI
But it's not on Xbox it seems...
People lost trust in Xbox. The platform is mostly dead outside USA.
the actual truth is the switch 2 numbers are stalled by the zelda edition which wont have its numbers added till november
