Microsoft Earns Nearly $700M from Xbox Games Sold on PS5
Microsoft’s cross-platform strategy, which once puzzled loyal Xbox fans, has proven to be a financial success according to new data. Analytics firm Alinea Analytics released a report showing that after platform fees deducted by Sony, Microsoft has generated a net revenue of $667 million (~¥4.8 billion) from selling its first-party titles on PlayStation 5. The strategy of releasing formerly exclusive Xbox games on rival hardware appeared counterintuitive at first, but the numbers tell a clear story of significant returns. PS5 players have effectively contributed close to seven hundred million dollars in pure revenue to Microsoft through game purchases.
Notably, this figure does not include revenue from two of the biggest earners in the Microsoft catalog: Call of Duty and Diablo 4. When factoring in microtransactions and sales from these titles, the total revenue generated on PS5 could easily surpass the one billion dollar mark. This suggests that the full scope of Microsoft’s cross-platform earnings is even more substantial than the initial report indicates. The data underscores how multiplatform availability has opened lucrative new revenue streams for the publisher.
Forza Horizon 5 leads the pack with an impressive 5.8 million copies sold on PS5, followed by Sea of Thieves at 2.7 million. The recently released The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered has also performed well, moving 1.2 million units. Other titles including Grounded (approximately 770,000) and Gears of War: Remastered Collection (around 700,000) posted solid numbers. Among newer releases, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Doom: The Dark Ages each surpassed 500,000 copies sold.
Starfield, despite high anticipation, sold just over 200,000 copies on PS5 due to technical issues at launch, falling short of expectations. Smaller titles like Age of Mythology: Retold (120,000) and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (250,000) saw more modest sales figures. The data confirms that while the cross-platform approach has been highly profitable overall, not every title achieves blockbuster performance on rival hardware. Exclusivity is no longer the only viable path forward, and Microsoft’s numbers serve as a compelling case study for publishers considering similar multi-platform strategies.
