The PS5 Just Became One of the Best-Selling Consoles of All Time
It now joins all the other PlayStation consoles on the list of most sold consoles ever.
• The PlayStation 5 has sold over 84 million units in five years, ranking among the best-selling consoles ever.
• Sony overcame chip shortages and price hikes by relying on strong exclusives and steady player demand.
• With Microsoft shifting to Game Pass and Nintendo focusing on casual gamers, the PS5 faced little direct competition.
Dear gamers, it’s hard to believe, but the PlayStation 5 just turned five. It feels like only yesterday we were all watching that first reveal, arguing over the design, and trying to figure out how long it would take to save up for one, before that $500 price tag snapped us back to reality.
Five years later, the PS5 isn’t just older, it’s a certified hit. Sony recently announced that the console has sold 84.2 million units as of September 2025, officially earning it a spot in the top 10 best-selling consoles of all time. That’s just ahead of the Xbox 360, which launched two decades ago and long held the title of Microsoft’s best-performing console.
Feel old yet?
How the PS5 Pulled It Off
The announcement came in its quarterly financial earnings reports, and only accounts for sales up until the end of September, meaning the number is probably a bit higher by now. This feat is impressive when you begin to take a look at the past and you realise the PS5 had a really bumpy start.
Between chip shortages, pandemic lockdowns, and one notable price bump (up to $550 in some regions), Sony’s fifth-generation console had every reason to lag behind its predecessors. Yet, it didn’t. In the last quarter alone, the company sold nearly 3.9 million units, riding on the success of blockbuster exclusives like Ghost of Yotei and a steady lineup of live-service titles such as Helldivers 2.
But perhaps another major reason for its steady growth is that the PS5 didn’t face much direct competition. It launched alongside the Xbox Series X and Series S, both of which have sold less than 30 million units combined, but Microsoft soon shifted its focus toward Game Pass, cloud streaming, and cross-platform releases, a strategy built more around subscription services than hardware sales. Nintendo, meanwhile, stayed comfortably in its own lane with the Switch, catering to casual and family-friendly gamers rather than chasing raw power or cinematic titles.
That left Sony as the only major player still fully committed to high-end console gaming. All it really had to do was stick to the same formula that worked so well for its predecessors. Simply deliver strong exclusives, polish the hardware, and double down on the “PlayStation experience.” And so far, that strategy seems to be working better than ever.
MORE INSIGHTS ON THE TOPIC
- Sony has sold over 30 million PlayStation 5 consoles despite being in short supply
- CHART: A Look at the PC and Console Gaming Market in 2024
- Nintendo Switch 2 becomes fastest-selling console ever
At Five Years Old, the PS5 Is Keeping Pace with the PS4
Compared to other releases in Sony's own ecosystem, you can really see this when you look at how much the PS5 sales numbers mirror those of the PS4 at the same five-year mark.
Sony’s financial data shows the PS5 at 84.2 million units sold versus the PS4’s 86 million during the same time period, a gap of less than two million. Considering the PS4 launched in a smoother market and at a lower price, that’s a remarkable recovery for the newer console.
Sony expects to move 15 million units by the end of its current fiscal year (March 2026), compared to the PS4’s 17.8 million during the same period. And while that suggests a slight slowdown, next year’s lineup, featuring Marvel’s Wolverine, Death Stranding 2, and the long-awaited and hoped-for Grand Theft Auto 6 could easily push the PS5 into another sales surge. As one industry analyst put it, “Life is good when your biggest competitor isn’t focused on hardware anymore.”
Conclusion
Zooming out, the PS5 now joins every other PlayStation console in the top 10 best-selling game systems of all time, solidifying Sony’s long-standing dominance in the console space.
While it sits just below the PlayStation 3 (87.4 million), it's still miles behind the all-time king, the PlayStation 2 (160 million).
As for Microsoft's best-selling console to date, the Xbox 360, we're not exactly sure of how many Xbox 360 units were sold since Microsoft stopped reporting console sales years ago, but, for now, it gets nudged to the bottom of the top 10.
Looking at Sony’s momentum and lineup, it’s safe to say the PS5 isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Halfway through its lifecycle, it’s already rewriting the leaderboard, one exclusive at a time.
Oluwaseun Bamisile
