Microsoft's multiplatform strategy is evidently yielding impressive results, as demonstrated by their successful launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. This insight comes directly from Sony, through a PlayStation blog post that showcased the top-selling games on the PlayStation Store for April 2025.
In the U.S. and Canada, Microsoft games dominated the top three spots on the PS5's non-free-to-play download chart, featuring The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Minecraft, and Forza Horizon 5. Similarly, in Europe, Forza Horizon 5 led the pack, followed by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Minecraft.
Adding to this success, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, backed by Microsoft for a day-one Game Pass release and featured in Xbox showcase broadcasts, ranked highly on both regional charts. Furthermore, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 from Microsoft-owned Activision and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from Microsoft-owned Bethesda also made significant appearances on the charts.
These results underscore a clear message: quality games from Microsoft or any other developer tend to top the sales charts, which is hardly surprising. It's also noteworthy that these games are performing exceptionally well on PlayStation. The PS5 community eagerly awaited a title like Playground's exceptional racer, Forza Horizon 5, making its April launch highly anticipated. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered satisfies the Bethesda craving across platforms, while Minecraft continues its reign, boosted by the viral success of the Minecraft movie.
This trend marks a new normal for Microsoft, which recently announced Gears of War: Reloaded for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, set to release in August. It appears increasingly likely that Halo, once an Xbox exclusive flagship, will also transition to other platforms.
Last year, Microsoft's gaming chief, Phil Spencer, stated there were no "red lines" in their first-party lineup regarding going multiplatform, including Halo. In a discussion with Bloomberg, Spencer affirmed that every Xbox game could potentially make the jump. "I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say 'thou must not,'" he remarked.
Spencer has indicated that Xbox's multiplatform approach is partly driven by the need to generate more revenue for Microsoft's gaming division, especially after the staggering $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. "We run a business," Spencer emphasized 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."
As former Xbox executive Peter Moore told IGN last year, the idea of bringing Halo to PlayStation has likely 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 stated.
"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 faces potential backlash from dedicated Xbox fans, who already feel the console's value is diminishing due to a lack of exclusives and Microsoft's current marketing strategies. The possibility of Halo moving to PlayStation might provoke further discontent, but Moore assured IGN that Microsoft would not let this deter them 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 pondered. "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."
