Microsoft's multiplatform strategy is evidently bearing fruit, as demonstrated by its 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, highlighting Microsoft's dominance in both the U.S./Canada and Europe.
In the U.S. and Canada, Microsoft titles claimed the top three spots on the PS5 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 appeared prominently.
This success underscores a simple truth: quality games from any developer, including Microsoft, dominate sales charts. It's no surprise to see these titles thrive on PlayStation, especially with the PS5 eagerly awaiting a game like Playground's exceptional Forza Horizon 5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered satisfies the demand for Bethesda's RPGs across platforms, while Minecraft's popularity has soared even further thanks to the viral success of the Minecraft movie.
Microsoft's shift to a multiplatform approach is becoming the new norm, as evidenced by the announcement of Gears of War: Reloaded for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation in August. It seems inevitable that Halo, once an Xbox exclusive, will follow suit.
Microsoft's gaming chief, Phil Spencer, emphasized last year that there are no "red lines" in its first-party lineup when considering multiplatform releases, including Halo. Speaking to Bloomberg, Spencer noted that every Xbox game could potentially go multiplatform, stating, "I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say 'thou must not.'"
Spencer has explained that the multiplatform strategy aims to boost Microsoft's gaming revenue, especially following the $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 the idea of bringing Halo to PlayStation has likely been discussed 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.
"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 hardcore Xbox fans, who feel the console's value is being diminished by the lack of exclusives and Microsoft's marketing strategy. However, Moore emphasized that such reactions might not deter Microsoft from making strategic business decisions for the future of its gaming business.
"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."
