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

Microsoft's multiplatform strategy is clearly reaping significant rewards, as evidenced by its successful launches across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. This approach has been validated by Sony's own PlayStation blog post, which disclosed the top-selling games on the PlayStation Store for April 2025.

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

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, supported by Microsoft through 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 notable appearances.

These results underscore a simple truth: high-quality games, regardless of their origin, will dominate sales charts. It's no surprise to see these Microsoft titles thriving on PlayStation platforms. The PS5 community eagerly awaited Forza Horizon 5, Playground's exceptional racing game, which launched to great anticipation in April. Meanwhile, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered satisfies the demand for Bethesda's immersive experiences across PC and console, and Minecraft continues to surge in popularity, boosted by the viral success of its movie.

This multiplatform approach is becoming standard for Microsoft, which recently announced Gears of War: Reloaded for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, set for release in August. The move to bring Halo, once a cornerstone Xbox exclusive, to other platforms seems increasingly likely.

Last year, Microsoft's gaming chief, Phil Spencer, emphasized 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 release. "I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say 'thou must not,'" he explained.

Spencer has articulated that Xbox's multiplatform strategy is partly driven by the need to generate more revenue for Microsoft's gaming division, especially following the monumental $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, in a conversation with IGN, suggested that discussions about bringing Halo to PlayStation have been ongoing 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 remarked.

"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?

"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 must navigate potential backlash from dedicated Xbox fans, who feel that the brand's value as a console is being diminished due to a lack of exclusives and shifting marketing strategies. The prospect of Halo moving to PlayStation might provoke further discontent. However, Moore emphasized to IGN that such reactions would not 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."