Microsoft enjoyed a massive sales boost to Xbox Series X|S sales following the release of Starfield, leading to the best week of 2023 for Xbox console sales.
As highlighted by GamesIndustry.biz, GfK data revealed that sales of the two current-gen Xbox consoles increased by 76 percent week-on-week for the week ending Sept. 2.
That results in the best week so far for Xbox sales in the U.K. in 2023, with the following week (ending Sept. 9) currently standing as the second-best week of the year—and Starfield had a major part to play.
Though officially launching on Sept. 6, Starfield was available through early access from Sept. 1 for those who purchased the Premium Edition, with the standard Xbox Series X console posting a 46 percent sales increase for the week ending Sept. 2.
It serves as a major boost to Microsoft and Xbox, following a slow year that saw Xbox hardware sales down 23 percent on the year up until the end of August, with the boost also coming due to the release of a new Xbox Series S version.
The Xbox Series S 1TB edition accounted for 24 percent of sales in the week ending Sept. 2, with the new version of the console around £50 ($62) more expensive than the standard Series S model, and features a massive boost in memory.
That is particularly useful for a game like Starfield, which clocks in at over 100GB, and the sales data will be encouraging for Xbox and Microsoft in the seemingly never-ending console war.
Questions were asked as to whether the purchase of Bethesda and the console exclusivity of Starfield was worth the outlay, and whether it would lead to more players joining Xbox, and it certainly seems that is the case.
For Xbox, it’s about time following several disappointing exclusive releases, and players will hope this marks the start of a new dawn for Microsoft.
