PS5 sales in the United States rose 22% year over year in September 2026, according to Circana data shared by analyst Mat Piscatella on October 22. Dollar sales climbed even faster, up 43%. That made the PS5 the best-selling console of the month in both units and revenue, and it happened during the same five-week window in which Marvel’s Wolverine launched and the hype for GTA 6 kept building.
So which one moved the needle? Probably both. The numbers give a clearer answer than you might expect, though, and they also say a lot about what November could look like for Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
PS5 Sales in September 2026: The Circana Numbers
Circana’s September period ran for five weeks, from August 30 to October 3, 2026. All figures are US-only projections, and the hardware comparisons are against the same period in 2025.
| Platform | Unit sales (YoY) | Dollar sales (YoY) | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation 5 | +22% | +43% | No. 1 in units and dollars |
| Nintendo Switch 2 | -14% | -12% | No. 2 |
| Xbox Series X|S | -27% | -2% | No. 3 |
The gap between units and dollars is the interesting part. PS5 revenue grew roughly twice as fast as the number of consoles sold, which means each buyer spent a lot more. Tech Insider, working from the Circana breakdown, puts the average PS5 price paid at about $646, up 17%. Kotaku notes that an all-digital PS5 now costs $600 in the US. People are paying more per box and still buying.
Overall US spending on games, hardware and accessories slipped 1% to $4.8 billion for the period, as Kotaku reported. Year to date, spending sits at $41.0 billion, 3% behind 2025.
Why September Is a Big Turnaround for PlayStation
One month earlier the picture looked grim. In Circana’s August 2026 report, PlayStation hardware units fell 11% and hit their lowest August since 2013, while Xbox dropped 31%, according to Gaming.net’s breakdown of Piscatella’s data. The average console price in the US was also at a record high. Piscatella said at the time that price sensitivity was becoming a real problem.
He also hinted that a major November game could partly offset the slump, as long as stock and pricing held up. Going from a 13-year low in August to a 22% gain in September is a sharp swing. It needs a reason.
Marvel’s Wolverine: The Game That Led the Charts
Marvel’s Wolverine launched on September 15, 2026, right in the middle of Circana’s tracking window. Insomniac Games developed it and Sony published it as a PS5 exclusive at $70. It finished September as the best-selling game in the US by dollar sales, ahead of NBA 2K27 and EA Sports FC 27.
Piscatella said Wolverine delivered the highest launch-month full-game dollar sales for a Sony-published title since Helldivers 2 in February 2024. That record is measured in dollars, and Helldivers 2 sold for $40, so the comparison favors the pricier game. WellPlayed pointed out that Circana released no unit figures. Even so, after only about three weeks on sale, Wolverine already ranks 11th among all games sold in the US this year.
The detail that matters most for hardware is the controller. The Wolverine limited edition DualSense was the best-selling accessory of September in both units and dollars, per WellPlayed’s report. Fans buying a themed pad were in a spending mood, and some of them were likely buying the console to go with it.
Global sales estimates vary. Alinea Analytics estimated around 1.9 million copies in the first three days, which TweakTown covered in September. Ampere Analysis later put September sales at about 2.16 million across 45 markets. Sony has not confirmed any figure. In late September we also reported that Wolverine cracked the top 10 on Circana’s US PlayStation engagement chart in its launch week, the only single-player game to do so.
Reception has been mixed. The game holds a Metacritic score in the mid-70s, and social media pushback over some design and animation choices has been loud. The sales data suggests that noise did not stop people from buying it in week one.
Was It Wolverine or GTA 6? What the Data Suggests
Not everyone credits Wolverine. Bloomberg ran the September figures under the headline “Grand Theft Auto VI Fuels 22% Jump in Sony PlayStation 5 Sales,” and Kotaku also linked the PS5 rise to the GTA 6 reveal that aired on Netflix the month before. Both readings have evidence behind them.
The GTA 6 case is strong. The Extended Look special drew more than 31 million viewers on Netflix. In the UK, NielsenIQ data showed that console sales jumped by about a third in the week after it aired, across PS5, Xbox and even Switch 2. Back in February, Circana said purchase intent for GTA 6 was the highest it had ever recorded for any game.
Here’s the catch. GTA 6 is also coming to Xbox Series X|S, yet US Xbox units fell 27% in the same period. If GTA 6 hype alone were driving hardware, Xbox should have seen at least some lift. It didn’t.
We think GTA 6 raised interest in buying a console this year across the board, and the PS5 caught almost all of it in the US because of price and momentum. Wolverine then gave PlayStation a reason to buy now instead of in November. A $600 PS5 next to an Xbox Series X starting at $750 is an easy decision for a GTA 6 buyer. Add a big exclusive and a limited-edition controller in the same month, and the PS5 wins September by a wide margin.
Xbox and Switch 2 Fall Behind
Xbox Series X|S had a rough month. Units dropped 27% and several outlets reported it as Xbox’s weakest September on record in the US. Dollar sales only fell 2% because the average price paid jumped 33% to about $663. Kotaku tied the slump to higher prices and supply chain problems. It came in the same month as Microsoft’s layoffs and studio consolidation inside Xbox.
Switch 2 units fell 14% and dollars fell 12%. That comparison is tough by design: September 2025 was only the console’s fourth month on sale, when launch demand was still running hot. Recent price increases have also slowed it down. Nintendo has new bundles rolling out in late October, so this one could bounce back quickly.
September’s Top-Selling Games Were Mostly New Releases
Most months, the US top 10 is crowded with sports games and Call of Duty. September was different. Eight of the top ten were new releases, including EA Sports FC 27, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve and The Blood of Dawnwalker. You can see how crowded the month was in our list of September’s biggest game releases.
| Rank | Game | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marvel’s Wolverine | PS5 exclusive, launched September 15 |
| 2 | NBA 2K27 | Now the best-selling game of 2026 in the US |
| 3 | EA Sports FC 27 | New release |
| 10 | Madden NFL 27 | Down from No. 2 in August |
NBA 2K27 passed Resident Evil Requiem to become the best-selling US game of 2026 so far. Circana did not publish full positions 4 to 9 in the public summary.
What This Means for GTA 6 and the Holiday Season
GTA 6 launches on November 19, 2026, for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only. There’s no PC version at launch and no Switch 2 version. If you’re still deciding on hardware, our guide on how GTA 6 will perform on PS5 and Xbox is worth a look.
September suggests the PS5 enters that launch with a big head start in the US. Two things could still get in the way. Console prices are at record highs, and Piscatella has repeatedly flagged RAM and component shortages as a risk to holiday stock. A sold-out PS5 in mid-November would cap the GTA 6 bump no matter how strong demand is.
Watch Sony’s November earnings report too. Sony usually saves first-party sales numbers for those calls, and it’s the most likely place for an official Wolverine figure to appear. Circana’s October report, due in late November, will also tell us whether this run held up with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 arriving on October 23.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did PS5 sales increase in September 2026?
PS5 unit sales in the US rose 22% year over year, and dollar sales rose 43%, according to Circana. The tracking period ran from August 30 to October 3, 2026.
Did Marvel’s Wolverine boost PS5 sales?
It likely played a big part. Wolverine was the best-selling US game in September, and its limited edition DualSense was the top-selling accessory. GTA 6 hype also contributed, but Xbox sales fell 27% in the same period even though GTA 6 is coming to Xbox, which points to PlayStation-specific drivers like Wolverine.
How many copies has Marvel’s Wolverine sold?
Sony hasn’t released official numbers. Alinea Analytics estimated about 1.9 million copies in the first three days, and Ampere Analysis estimated around 2.16 million in September across 45 markets.
When does GTA 6 release?
GTA 6 releases on November 19, 2026, for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Why did Xbox sales drop in September 2026?
Xbox Series X|S unit sales fell 27% in the US. Reports point to higher prices, with the average price paid up 33% to about $663, plus supply problems.
