After months of debate about Xbox’s future as some of its big console exclusives jumped ship to PlayStation 5, we have our clearest evidence yet of why Microsoft is experimenting with a new multiplatform approach: fewer and fewer people are buying Xboxes.

In the past, console sales trends like these would have been the sign of a hardware maker's wider struggles to stay afloat in the gaming business. However, in today's gaming market, Microsoft is in a place where console sales are not strictly required for overall success.

Sales of Xbox hardware continue to shrink as the console’s latest iteration enters its fourth year on shelves. Hardware revenue for the Xbox division was down 31% in the most recent quarter due to lower sales.

Microsoft got a 31% decline in sales of its Xbox gaming console in this quarter, which was far compared to its last quarter with only $779 million, while a year ago, the amount was $1.1 billion from this quarter.