Video Game Hardware Sales Flopped Mightly In November

The gaming world is really feeling the effects of Donald Trump’s reeling economy, which honestly shouldn’t shock anyone.

According to a new report from Circana’s Matt Piscatella, November 2025 was the worst for video game console dollar sales on record, since 2005. 

Physical software sales are also down, and were the worst they have been since 1995.

The news is quite eyebrow-raising because November is usually considered a good month for video game sales due to Black Friday.

The Circana report reveals that Xbox was not alone; the entire big three felt the squeeze. Xbox Series S | X consoles were down a whopping 70%; Sony’s PlayStation 5 sales were down a surprising 40%; and the Switch and Switch 2 saw their sales down 10%.

Donald Trump’s Tariffs Are To Blame, Plus Other Market Conditions

So what’s behind all of this? Well, the high prices are a direct result of Trump’s abuse of tariffs, which he proudly announces is his favorite word, and other market conditions. 

Due to the tariffs, Xbox has raised the price of both the Series S and X consoles. The Series S price jumped $400-$450, depending on which console you get, and is hilariously more than a base model PS5. 

The Series X will now cost you an eye-watering $600-$800. 

Sony eventually followed with its own price hikes, raising the price of all of its consoles by $50.

Hilariously, the PS5 Pro, which now costs $750, is a more powerful console than the Xbox Series X. 

Since launching in June, the Nintendo Switch 2 has not seen a price increase, but it did launch at a $500 price, significantly higher than the Nintendo Switch’s $300, but that didn’t stop the Switch 2 from becoming the fastest-selling console of all time. 

Games Are Not Selling Also 

As for software, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, despite all the negative feedback, was still the top-selling game in November. That marks the 18th year in a row that a Call of Duty game landed at the top of the charts after it launched. 

But there is a caveat to that news: Circan reports that Black Ops 7 saw a double-digit percentage decline in full-game dollar sales compared to November 2024.

Piscatella also believes that Black Ops 7 will eventually be dethroned by Battlefield 6, but it won’t be the first time this has happened to a COD game. 

Hogwarts Legacy, which just celebrated surpassing 40 million units sold, beat out Modern Warfare 3 in 2023, and that was no small accomplishment because the franchise was not on Xbox Game Pass yet. 

You can see some reactions to the video games’ bad November below.