Xbox And EA aren’t sharing U.S. digital sales data with Circana anymore •
As of July 2026, Xbox is no longer a Circana digital data sharing panel participating publisher •
EA also dropped its Circana membership around the time it went private •
Circana relies on publishers/platforms to share digital storefront sales; physical sales still come from retailers •
Xbox’s exit hides first-party U.S. digital sales, including Call of Duty •
It also further obscures sales for publishers not on the panel, such as Ubisoft and now EA •
Nintendo already does not share digital data; its Circana numbers are estimates •
July software charts now involve more guesswork because of the missing sources •
Remaining panel members include Bandai Namco, Capcom, Crystal Dynamics, Disney Interactive, Eidos, Konami, Plaion, Sega, Sony, Square Enix, Take-Two, and Warner Bros. •
Digital already makes up a huge share of sales, so losing digital data leaves a much weaker picture •
PlayStation is ending disc production in 2028, which would make Circana even more dependent on platforms sharing data •
Unconfirmed reports say Xbox may also have pulled out of Game Sales Data (GSD) in Europe •
Less public sales data makes it easier for companies to control narratives around hits, misses, and layoffs
