Xbox has shrunk within Microsoft.
The division's revenue fell 2% between July and September 2026, with declines in Game Pass and consoles, and accounted for less than 6% of company revenue, as Jogometria reported.
But the earnings report tells only part of the story. Signs that the green side of the console market is losing momentum also appear in consumer interest, console prices in Brazilian stores and the tone of social media conversations.
PS5 catches up with Xbox in Google searches in Brazil
In Brazil, interest in Xbox usually exceeded interest in PS5 for most of the search series analyzed. In the third quarter of 2026, PS5 took the lead.
Between July and September 2026, searches for PlayStation 5 were 16% higher than searches for Xbox, according to Google Trends. In the same period of 2025, PS5 had 77% of the interest in the rival brand in Brazil. In 2023, it had 45%. In a console-to-console comparison, interest in PS5 was about six times that of Xbox Series X and S.
Google search interest in Xbox and PlayStation 5 topics, Brazil, by quarter
PS5 overtakes Xbox in Google searches in Brazil
Source: Google Trends · Index from 0 to 100; average of weeks in each quarter (Q1 = Jan-Mar).
Interest in the PS5 topic in Brazil rose from 21.6 in late 2021 to 78 in Jul-Sep 2026, while Xbox ranged from 53.3 to 78.6; Xbox scored 67 in Jul-Sep 2026.
| Quarter | Xbox (index) | PS5 (index) |
|---|---|---|
| Q4/21 | 61.3 | 21.6 |
| Q1/22 | 65.3 | 23.7 |
| Q2/22 | 66.4 | 21.8 |
| Q3/22 | 67.8 | 22.1 |
| Q4/22 | 74.8 | 31.1 |
| Q1/23 | 71.8 | 26.0 |
| Q2/23 | 65.5 | 25.2 |
| Q3/23 | 71.9 | 32.5 |
| Q4/23 | 78.6 | 54.3 |
| Q1/24 | 65.2 | 39.8 |
| Q2/24 | 61.1 | 34.5 |
| Q3/24 | 60.8 | 40.7 |
| Q4/24 | 58.8 | 57.2 |
| Q1/25 | 53.3 | 41.8 |
| Q2/25 | 57.5 | 47.2 |
| Q3/25 | 56.8 | 43.9 |
| Q4/25 | 62.0 | 68.6 |
| Q1/26 | 55.9 | 59.1 |
| Q2/26 | 63.5 | 57.5 |
| Q3/26 | 67.0 | 78.0 |
Source: Google Trends
Note: Index from 0 to 100; average of weeks in each quarter (Q1 = Jan-Mar).
The shift is recent. Measured by the words people type, the terms "ps5" and "xbox" were virtually tied for the quarter, and PS5 matched or exceeded Xbox in 9 of the 21 weeks since June. Previously, this had happened only during the weeks of Black Friday 2025.
Worldwide, the shift has already happened. Global searches for "ps5" have exceeded those for "xbox" since late 2024 and were 16% higher in the third quarter of 2026.
Game Pass is moving in the opposite direction to its competitor. Searches for the service in Brazil fell 26% year over year between July and September, to their lowest level for that period since 2022.
The recent series peaked in the week of the October 2025 price increase, when the Ultimate plan became 50% more expensive in the U.S. In April 2026, Microsoft cut the monthly price from US$29.99 to US$22.99. In June, Xbox itself acknowledged that the service had lost millions of subscribers after the increase.
Series X becomes 38% more expensive in a year
Xbox Series is becoming harder to buy. On price comparison site Buscapé, the monthly median of the lowest daily price for the 1 TB Xbox Series X was R$5,139 in November 2025. In October 2026, through the 29th, the median reached R$7,070, up 38%. On October 29, the lowest price found was R$7,359. Prices are in Brazilian reais.
On June 25, Microsoft announced a worldwide console price increase effective August 1, its third since 2025. According to the report, the company attributed the increase to higher memory and storage costs. The announcement had not yet detailed new official prices in Brazilian reais.
The PS5 Pro also became more expensive, but by less. Over the same period, the median price of Sony's most powerful console on Buscapé rose from R$5,849 to R$6,799, up 16%. As a result, Series X, which cost 12% less than PS5 Pro in November 2025, became 4% more expensive based on the October 2026 median.
Median lowest daily price on Buscapé, Brazilian reais, Nov/2025 and Oct/2026
Series X becomes more expensive than PS5 Pro
Source: Buscapé · October 2026 through the 29th. Medians of monitored offers; Amazon excluded.
The 1 TB Xbox Series X rose from R$5,139 to R$7,070 (+38%); the 2 TB PS5 Pro rose from R$5,849 to R$6,799 (+16%).
| Console | Nov/2025 (R$) | Oct/2026 (R$) |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X 1 TB | 5,139 | 7,070 |
| PS5 Pro 2 TB | 5,849 | 6,799 |
Source: Buscapé
Note: October 2026 through the 29th. Medians of monitored offers; Amazon excluded.
Negative mentions dominate social media
Worldwide on social media, Xbox attracted more attention but did not win over the people discussing it. Weekly brand mentions between July and September 2026 were 1.7 times the level of the final quarter of 2025, according to Jogometria's analysis using Brandwatch.
Excluding neutral mentions, negative mentions were roughly twice as common as positive ones during the period analyzed, from September 22, 2025, to October 29, 2026.
The worst month was July 2026, with around three negative mentions for every positive one. It followed the announcement of console price increases and was the month when the gaming division began cutting around 3,200 jobs. The best month was December 2025, with 1.4 negative mentions for every positive one.
Xbox brand health on social media
Index measures positive mentions as a percentage of comments
Source: Brandwatch · Percentages of positive and negative mentions; neutral mentions excluded. Worldwide; Oct/26 through the 29th.
Positive mentions ranged from 24.2% in July 2026 to 42.1% in December 2025; in October 2026, they stood at 34.1%.
| Month | Positive (%) |
|---|---|
| Oct/25 | 28.8 |
| Nov | 31.1 |
| Dec | 42.1 |
| Jan/26 | 28.7 |
| Feb | 26.4 |
| Mar | 32.2 |
| Apr | 38.2 |
| May | 32.2 |
| Jun | 27.7 |
| Jul | 24.2 |
| Aug | 37.6 |
| Sep | 33.1 |
| Oct/26 | 34.1 |
Source: Brandwatch
Note: Percentages of positive and negative mentions; neutral mentions excluded. Worldwide; Oct/26 through the 29th.
That contrasts with early June. During the week of the Xbox Games Showcase, conversation about the brand was almost evenly split, with positive mentions accounting for 47% of mentions expressing an opinion, the year's highest share. Three weeks later came the announcement of console price increases.
October shows some recovery, with positive mentions reaching 34% of mentions expressing an opinion. Even so, the balance remains negative, and the conversation has not returned to the tone seen at the end of last year.