"Xbox Games Outsell PS5 Titles: Oblivion, Minecraft, Forza Lead"

Microsoft's multiplatform strategy is clearly yielding impressive results, as evidenced by their successful launches on the PlayStation 5, alongside Xbox Series X and S, and PC. This was confirmed by Sony itself in a PlayStation blog post detailing the top-selling games on the PlayStation Store for April 2025.

In the U.S. and Canada, Microsoft's games dominated the PS5's non-free-to-play download chart, with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Minecraft, and Forza Horizon 5 claiming the top three spots. A similar trend was observed in Europe, where Forza Horizon 5 led the chart, followed by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Minecraft.

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, backed by Microsoft for a day-one Game Pass launch and featured in Xbox showcase broadcasts, also ranked highly on both charts. Additionally, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 from Microsoft-owned Activision and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from Microsoft-owned Bethesda made significant appearances.

What does this signify? Simply put, quality games, regardless of their origin, will top the sales charts. It's no surprise that these titles are performing well on PlayStation. The PS5 community eagerly awaited Forza Horizon 5, a phenomenal racer from Playground Games, and its April launch on the console was met with high anticipation. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is fulfilling the demand for Bethesda's signature experiences across PC and console, while Minecraft continues to soar in popularity, boosted by the viral success of the Minecraft movie.

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This trend is becoming the new norm for Microsoft, which recently announced Gears of War: Reloaded for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, set to release in August. It seems inevitable that Halo, once an Xbox exclusive flagship, will follow suit.

Microsoft's gaming chief, Phil Spencer, emphasized last year that there are no "red lines" in their first-party lineup regarding multiplatform releases—including Halo. In an interview with Bloomberg, Spencer stated that every Xbox game is considered for multiplatform distribution. "I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say 'thou must not,'" he remarked.

Spencer has also indicated that Xbox's multiplatform strategy is partly driven by the need to generate more revenue for Microsoft's gaming business, particularly following the massive $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. "We run a business," Spencer said in August. "It's definitely true inside of Microsoft the bar is high for us in terms of the delivery we have to give back to the company. Because we get a level of support from the company that's just amazing and what we're able to go do. So I look at this, how can we make our games as strong as possible? Our platform continues to grow, on console, on PC, and on cloud. It's just going to be a strategy that works for us."

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Former Xbox executive Peter Moore told IGN last year that bringing Halo to PlayStation would have been a topic of discussion at Microsoft for some time. "Look, if Microsoft says, wait, we're doing $250 million on our own platforms, but if we then took Halo as, let's call it a third-party, we could do a billion… You got to think long and hard about that, right?" Moore explained. He highlighted that Halo is more than just a game; it's a valuable piece of intellectual property. "It's had its ups and downs, but look, Xbox wouldn't be what Xbox is without Halo. But yeah, I'm sure those conversations are happening. Whether they come to fruition, who knows? But they're definitely happening, I'm sure."

Microsoft does face potential backlash from hardcore Xbox fans who feel that the brand is being devalued through a lack of exclusives and shifts in marketing strategy. The possibility of Halo moving to PlayStation could provoke further discontent, but Moore believes this won't deter Microsoft from making strategic business decisions. "The question would be, ultimately, is that reaction enough not to make a fundamental business decision for the future of not only Microsoft’s business, but gaming in itself?" Moore said. "Those hardcore are getting smaller in size and older in age. You've got to cater to the generations that are coming through, because they're going to drive the business over the next 10, 20 years."