Microsoft's multiplatform strategy is clearly paying dividends, as evidenced by their successful launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. Sony's PlayStation blog post for April 2025 revealed the top-selling games on the PlayStation Store, showcasing the dominance of Microsoft titles.
In the U.S. and Canada, Microsoft games swept the top three spots on the PS5's non-free-to-play download chart: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Minecraft, and Forza Horizon 5. Europe saw a similar trend, with Forza Horizon 5 leading, followed by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Minecraft.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, backed by Microsoft for a day-one Game Pass launch and featured in Xbox showcase broadcasts, also ranked high 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 strong showings.This success underscores a simple truth: quality games from Microsoft or any other developer will top sales charts. It's no surprise to see these titles performing well on PlayStation, especially given the anticipation surrounding Forza Horizon 5's April launch on PS5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered satisfies the demand for Bethesda's RPGs across platforms, while Minecraft's popularity continues to soar, boosted by the viral success of the Minecraft movie.
Microsoft's shift to multiplatform releases is becoming the norm, as evidenced by the recent announcement of Gears of War: Reloaded for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, set to launch in August. The trajectory suggests that even Halo, once an Xbox exclusive, might soon make the jump to other platforms.Microsoft's gaming chief, Phil Spencer, emphasized last year that there are no "red lines" in their first-party lineup when considering multiplatform releases, including Halo. Speaking to Bloomberg, Spencer indicated that all Xbox games are potential candidates for multiplatform distribution. "I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say 'thou must not,'" he stated.
Spencer's multiplatform strategy is driven by the need to increase revenue for Microsoft's gaming division, particularly after the $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. "We run a business," Spencer remarked 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."
He further explained, "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 long-discussed topic at Microsoft. "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 added, "I mean, you just got to go, yeah, should it be kept? It's a piece of intellectual property. It's bigger than just a game. And how do you leverage that? Those are the conversations that always happen with, how do you leverage it in everything that we would do?"
Moore acknowledged Halo's significance to Xbox's identity but noted, "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 risks backlash from hardcore Xbox fans who feel the brand is being devalued through a lack of exclusives and shifting marketing strategies. However, 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?" he questioned. "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."
