Xbox One sold 26 million units lifetime by end of last year - report

Microsoft may no longer report Xbox unit sales, but thanks to a new report from SuperData, we now have a general idea of how well the latest hardware entry is doing.

According to an analysis posted by SuperData in the wake of Nintendo's Switch event last week, Xbox One currently has an install base of 26 million.

In its Q1 2017 report in October, Microsoft said Xbox Live monthly active users hit 47 million for the quarter, which is up from 39 million year-over-year, but down two million compared to Q4 2016 when the company reported 49 million. If you compare the number of Xbox Live users to the 26 million reported by SuperData, it would appear many Xbox One users upgraded from Xbox 360, retaining their current XBL accounts, not to mention any new accounts created through Windows 10 users.

Maybe. Unless Microsoft decides to change its mind regarding releasing Xbox One figures, this is just one possible conclusion.

Comparatively, the numbers indicate Sony's console has sold close to 55 million. The last figures provided by Sony were released in January, when the company stated PS4 global sales had topped 53.4 million, up from 50 million announced the previous month.

When you combine SuperData's Xbox One and PS4 figures, the install base is close to 81 million. This is in line with comments made by EA CFO Blake Jorgensen, who said in November he expected the install base to reach 80 million by end of 2016.

Global figures aside, in the US alone, Xbox One outsold PS4 from July through October 2016 before Sony took back the top slot in both November and December.

But again, without concrete figures from Microsoft, we're still left in the dark a bit.

SuperData said the worldwide market for video games is worth around $91 billion, and revenue from console sales alone generated $25 billion in 2016.