Microsoft has potentially confirmed its intention to bring more games to PlayStation in a recent third-quarter earnings call.
It’s no surprise that Xbox exclusives have made their way to PlayStation. Microsoft has always been upfront about wanting to have its games on as many platforms as possible. So, the transition to PlayStation was inevitable. Recent examples include Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, and Pentimnet, all of which have done well. However, it seems like Microsoft is intent on bringing more to the platform.
Microsoft “Committed to Meeting Players Where They Are”
On Thursday, April 25, during a third-quarter earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke about the strong success of Xbox titles on the PlayStation store. He mentioned how just this month, Microsoft had “seven games among the top 25 on the PlayStation Store,” which, as he correctly points out, is “more than any other publisher.” This, rather surprisingly, is also more than Sony themselves, who only had five games in the top 25.
More importantly, Nadella stated that Microsoft is “committed to meeting players where they are by bringing great games to more people on more devices.” Of course, this doesn’t directly mean that we’ll be seeing Halo on PlayStation any time soon. However, the huge success of games like Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, and now Sea of Thieves on PlayStation almost certainly means that Microsoft sees it as a viable platform through which to sell their games.
Xbox Games Selling Better on PlayStation Than PlayStation Games
As reported by TweakTown, Microsoft actually had more games in PlayStation’s top 25 sellers than Sony did. As of April 18, Modern Warfare 3 was number 2, Overwatch 2 was number 7, Sea of Thieves was number 12, Fallout 4 was number 16, Minecraft was number 19, Fallout 76 was number 20, and Grounded was number 23.
It’s important to contextualize these numbers, though. Both Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 existed on PlayStation before the Bethesda buyout. More importantly, they have grown in popularity due to both a recent sale, in which Fallout 4 was reduced to just £3.99, and the meteoric success of the Fallout TV show. Similarly, Overwatch 2 is a free-to-play game that was on PlayStation before the Activision Blizzard buyout was successful, and Modern Warfare 3 was discounted and on PlayStation before the buyout.
What is worth noting is the success of both Sea of Thieves and Grounded. These were both Xbox exclusives up until very recently, so their success on the PlayStation store is definitely noteworthy. Of course, finally releasing a prior exclusive to a new audience will naturally result in high sales. Just look at the success of PlayStation’s PC ports for an example. Nevertheless, it is clear why Microsoft now sees PlayStation as a viable avenue for more revenue.
What do you think about Satya Nadella’s comments? Do you think Microsoft will continue to port Xbox games to PlayStation? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to check out our Guide Hub for more articles just like this one.