Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says Microsoft is struggling to meet demand for Xbox consoles, with available inventory remaining below customer demand. The company is expanding its refurbishment program to increase hardware availability, even as its latest financial results show Xbox hardware revenue declining 14% year over year.
In a statement published on X on October 28, 2026, Sharma addressed Microsoft’s first-quarter fiscal 2027 performance and the ongoing limitations affecting console sales.
“Console sales remain constrained by supply, with more demand than consoles available,” Sharma said. “We’re working to get more consoles into players’ hands, including through our expanded refurbishment program. We’re making progress, with a lot more work ahead.”
The comments confirm that Microsoft considers limited console availability an ongoing problem. However, Sharma did not provide production figures, inventory numbers, regional availability data or a timetable for resolving the shortages.
Microsoft’s expanded refurbishment program is one response to the situation. By making more refurbished Xbox hardware available, the company aims to increase the number of consoles reaching players without relying exclusively on newly manufactured units.
Sharma did not specify how many additional consoles the expanded program would provide, which models would receive increased availability or whether refurbished inventory would expand across all markets.
The supply explanation comes alongside Microsoft’s financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2026. Xbox hardware revenue declined 14% compared with the same period a year earlier, while overall Xbox revenue decreased 2%.
Xbox content and services revenue also declined 2%, although Sharma highlighted double-digit growth in the company’s PC gaming platform revenue. She said the overall Xbox revenue decline had narrowed from 10% in the preceding quarter to 2% in the latest reporting period.
The distinction between hardware sales and hardware availability is important. Microsoft’s reported revenue decline establishes that the console business generated less money than a year earlier, but it does not independently establish how much of that decline resulted from insufficient inventory rather than changes in consumer demand, pricing or other factors. The claim that demand currently exceeds available console supply comes from Sharma’s statement.
The broader hardware market has also faced challenges. US sales data showed declining Xbox and PlayStation sales amid record console prices earlier in 2026, providing a separate indication of the pressure facing the console business.
Microsoft expects hardware revenue to remain under pressure. During its October 28 earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood indicated that Xbox hardware revenue would decline again in the following quarter. However, she projected that Xbox content and services revenue would grow by a mid-to-high-single-digit percentage over the same period.
The availability concerns also come as Microsoft prepares its next generation of gaming hardware. Sharma has outlined plans for Project Helix as a family of tenth-generation Xbox devices, including a flagship console and additional hardware aimed at players who want to game on the go.
For current Xbox Series X|S buyers, Microsoft’s latest statement indicates that refurbished hardware will remain part of its strategy for improving availability. The company has not announced when console supply will meet demand or provided specific inventory targets for its expanded refurbishment program.
