PS5 unit sales in the United States climbed 22% year over year in September 2026, even as PlayStation faced criticism over its disc plans and lower-than-expected reviews for Marvel’s Wolverine. Switch 2 unit sales fell 14%, while Xbox Series sales declined 27%, according to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella.
Hardware – Total video game hardware unit sales fell 3% in September compared to a year ago. PlayStation 5 unit sales increased by 22% year-on-year, with Switch 2 unit sales falling 14% and Xbox Series dropping 27%.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-10-22T13:01:49.615Z
Hardware dollar sales rose 43% year over year, and the average selling price was $646. The 22% figure tracks consoles sold against September 2025, while the 43% figure measures hardware spending.
Hardware – PlayStation 5 hardware dollar sales grew 43% in September when compared to a year ago. Spending fell year-on-year for both Xbox Series (-2%) and Nintendo Switch 2 (-12%).
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-10-22T13:01:49.613Z
A weekly Circana index gives a closer view of the September movement. It set the week ending June 27 to 100, then approached 180 in the week ending September 19, when Marvel’s Wolverine launched. A smaller rise appeared in the week ending September 5, around NBA 2K27‘s release. Those are relative index values, not console counts.
Getting pushback on this. So, here is the US PS5 hardware unit weekly sales rate indexed to week ending June 27th.PS5 saw a small bump during week ending Sept 5th, and a larger bump in week ending Sept 19th. Other than that, the sales rate over the past 15 weeks has been pretty stable.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-10-26T14:18:40.120Z
By October 3, the index had moved back toward its earlier range. It shows no sustained climb toward Grand Theft Auto VI‘s scheduled November 19 release within the period covered. The September 15 launch of Marvel’s Wolverine also coincided with the availability of a limited PS5 Digital Edition bundle, so the chart cannot separate game-driven hardware purchases from bundle sales.
Piscatella’s monthly analysis identified Marvel’s Wolverine as the main contributor to PS5’s September increase, with NBA 2K27 and Grand Theft Auto VI likely adding to it. Ampere separately estimated that Wolverine sold roughly 2.16 million copies in September, second among PS5 games behind EA Sports FC 27.
Anyways, given weekly sales, the data suggest to me that Marvel's Wolverine was the primary driver of the PS5 increase in September, with both NBA 2K27 and Grand Theft Auto VI likely playing roles.I'm pretty easy to reach for questions too.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-10-23T16:26:02.396Z
September’s hardware figures do not show whether buyers approved of Sony’s disc plans, and the weekly timing alone cannot establish how much either game contributed to console purchases. Online criticism and sales totals can point in different directions without resolving why people bought a console.
There's the actual video game market, and the video game market as discussed on enthusiast forums and social media.These are two very different things.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-10-23T16:30:53.288Z
How much weight would you put on a launch-week hardware spike when the chart cannot separate game demand from bundle sales? For more on the PS5 figures and the games tied to September’s increase, stay connected on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
