Video Sport Gross sales Had been In The Bathroom In November, Thanks To Trump Tariffs
2025 turned out to be one of many worst years on report for online game {hardware} gross sales in November.
That’s actually surprising, as November is often when players do their most video game-related procuring forward of the vacation season, due to Black Friday.
Sadly, that wasn’t the case with Circana’s Matt Piscatella, who reported it was the worst November for online game console greenback gross sales on report since 2005.
Based on the report, the large three, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo, all felt the sting. Xbox console gross sales had been down an abysmal 70%, PlayStation 5 gross sales had been down 40% and the Nintendo Swap and Swap 2 gross sales dropped 10%.
Console Costs Jumped
The primary offender, in fact, is Donald Trump, and his blatant abuse of tariffs, plus different market situations. Xbox was the primary firm to boost the value of its console.
The Xbox Collection S jumped to $400-$450, relying on the mannequin, pushing the value of the lower-power console about the price of a base-model PS5.
The Xbox Collection X worth, which has ballooned to $600-$800, which is hilarious as a result of the console now prices greater than a PS5 Professional.
Sony raised the value of the PS5 by $50 in October because of Trump’s tariffs. Nonetheless, in contrast to Xbox, it reduce $100 off the console in the course of the vacation procuring season, which additionally doubtless helped it turn into the best-selling console, even forward of the Nintendo Swap 2.
Talking of the Nintendo Swap 2, it didn’t see a worth improve; it launched at $500, a lot increased than the unique Nintendo Swap’s $300 launch worth.
Regardless of the upper worth, the Swap 2 was nonetheless the fastest-selling console of all time.
Video games had been additionally affected, with titles like Name of Responsibility: Black Ops 7 seeing a double-digit proportion decline in full recreation greenback gross sales in comparison with November 2024.
Yeah, 2025 was a tough one financially for the gaming business, and actually, 2026 shouldn’t be trying like it is going to be any higher, sadly.
Xbox Had One other Dangerous 12 months
Xbox had one other dangerous yr, however at the least we all know the corporate is all in on being a multiplatform firm.
Whereas that was a great enterprise determination for the corporate, it additionally had Xbox Collection X and Collection S house owners their consoles and questioning why the hell they personal them.
In 2025, we noticed Xbox lastly wave the white flag within the so-called console wars and start porting its beloved console exclusives, corresponding to Forza Horizon, Halo, Gears of Warfare, and Microsoft Flight Simulator, to the PS5.
That wasn’t the one dangerous signal for the corporate; experiences of Cotsco yanking the large black field off the cabinets and not promoting started to flow into, main many to consider the entire “This Is An Xbox” marketing campaign, pushing the narrative that something that makes use of Xbox Sport Cross is now an Xbox, additionally led to the console’s poor exhibiting.
Microsoft’s ROG Xbox Ally & ROG Xbox Ally X Each Arrived
But it surely wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Microsoft-owned firm; they nonetheless had the brand new handheld units they partnered with ASUS on, the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X.
Each units bought properly, and we had the chance to evaluation the ROG Xbox Ally, the cheaper of the 2, costing $599, which sacrifices some energy for affordability. We weren’t dissatisfied with the expertise, however felt it nonetheless wants extra time to reside as much as its full potential.
In our evaluation, we wrote:
It has respectable battery life, a pleasant display (despite the fact that it’s not OLED), and the flexibility to leap proper into the Xbox app is a welcome function, together with a button that takes you to your library of video games from the Xbox, in addition to the opposite storefronts featured on the gadget.
We’re intrigued to see what Xbox has in retailer for 2026.
We Misplaced Two Giants In The Business
In much more unhappy information, the gaming business misplaced two giants.
The gaming world was shocked to study in regards to the tragic passing of the co-creator of the Name of Responsibility: Fashionable Warfare franchise, co-founder of Infinity Ward and Respawn Leisure, and the present head of the Battlefield, Vince Zampella.
Zampella and an unknown passenger perished in a automobile accident after dropping management of his Ferrari when popping out of a tunnel on California’s Angeles Crest Freeway. Zampella died on the scene, whereas the passenger handed away on the hospital.
The information of his passing despatched shockwaves by means of the gaming world, as everybody, from the businesses he labored for to the folks he labored with, fondly remembered their interactions with Zampella over time.
We’re gonna miss you, Vince. Your legacy will reside on eternally by means of your contributions to the gaming business.
The identical can be mentioned in regards to the legendary Tomonobu Itagaki, who handed away in October. Itagaki was finest identified for bringing us the Useless or Alive combating recreation franchise and for reviving the Ninja Gaiden collection, which, mockingly, noticed two new entries this yr with Ninja Gaiden 4 and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound.
Everybody from Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon to Tekken creator Katsuhiro Harada paid their respects to Itagaki.
RIP to each of them.
Generative AI Is The Rising Steriods Situation For The Video Sport Business
Synthetic intelligence or AI, because it’s generally referred to, is right here, and it’s not going anyplace. The online game group resoundingly denounced studios’ use of generative AI to make their favourite titles. Nonetheless, it’s beginning to look like online game studios aren’t on the identical wavelength relating to the expertise.
As video video games turn into greater and push the boundaries of the consoles they reside on, they’re additionally turning into dearer and taking longer to make, which understandably is one thing players hate to listen to. Simply take a look at how lengthy it takes to make a Grand Theft Auto recreation.
Some studios have begun utilizing generative instruments to streamline workflows and, within the course of, reduce the event time of their titles by dealing with extra tedious work.
Whereas on paper, that seems like a great use of generative AI, some individuals are balking as a result of they really feel it’s taking away jobs from proficient recreation builders and different artists within the business.
Now, if you happen to’re a studio that occurs to get caught utilizing it, you’ll get known as out and, in some instances, stripped of accolades, harking back to athletes who get caught utilizing steroids or different efficiency enhancement medication.
A Dangerous Precedent?
One studio that f**** round and came upon was indie Sandfall Interactive, builders of what’s simply known as the very best recreation of the yr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
The Indie Sport Awards (IGA) gave Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Debut Sport and Sport of the 12 months awards on Dec. 18, solely to announce two days later that it might be stripping the title of these accolades.
In an announcement on BlueSky, The Indie Sport Awards elaborated additional on its determination, citing its guidelines stating that video games “developed utilizing generative AI are strictly ineligible for nomination.”
Whereas they’ve the best to their determination to take again the awards, it is a slippery slope as a result of Sandafall Interactive shouldn’t be the one studio utilizing generative AI; different legends within the recreation like Hideo Kojima are seemingly embracing it by stating that it’s right here to remain and that “we are able to’t return.”
We positively agree and are intrigued to see how it will play out in 2026.
HHW Gaming’s Sport of The 12 months: Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance
2025 turned out to be the yr of the ninja, and we now have no complaints relating to that. We picked up the sticks and handheld gaming units for a bevy of titles that includes historical Japanese warriors, all of them good. Nonetheless, one recreation stood out from the pack, and it’s none aside from Lizardcube’s tackle Sega’s iconic online game franchise Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance, which has earned our annual recreation of the yr honor.
In our preliminary evaluation of the sport, we wrote:
Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance is an distinctive six-hour expertise from Lizardcube that’s an absolute pleasure to take a seat down and get misplaced in. For followers of Shinobi, that is the sport that you’ve been eager for, and for individuals who have by no means performed a Shinobi recreation earlier than, it is going to be the definitive expertise for them. It’s attractive, and we don’t use the phrase evenly. Joe Musashi has by no means regarded this good since 1993’s Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Grasp on the Sega Genesis console. The gameplay has no flaws, the motion is extremely satisfying, the controls are seamless, and the story rocks. You’d be hard-pressed to search out one other $29.99 recreation so well-developed exterior of The Sport Kitchen’s Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. Lizardcube snapped, understood the project, and has a STRONG contender for Sport of the 12 months with Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance.
That continues to be the case; we felt strongly about this recreation because the second we previewed it, and it didn’t allow us to down as soon as we bought our palms on the ultimate product.
Lizardcube put out a recreation with few if any flaws, and that may be loved by gamers a number of instances, and the very best half, it solely prices $29.99.
Congrats to Lizardcube and Sega.
There have been different video games we loved this yr as properly, or as you’ll name them, honorable mentions.
You possibly can see them beneath.
