Microsoft's multiplatform strategy is clearly paying dividends, as evidenced by their successful launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. Sony's PlayStation blog post for April 2025 highlights this success, revealing the top-selling games on the PlayStation Store.

In the U.S. and Canada, Microsoft games 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 spots. A similar trend was observed in Europe, where Forza Horizon 5 led the chart, followed by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Minecraft.

This success underscores a simple truth: quality games, regardless of their origin, will top the sales charts. It's no surprise to see these titles perform well on PlayStation, especially given the anticipation surrounding Forza Horizon 5's launch on PS5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered caters to the demand for Bethesda's immersive worlds across platforms, while Minecraft's enduring popularity has been further boosted by the viral success of the Minecraft movie.

Microsoft's gaming chief, Phil Spencer, emphasized last year that there are no "red lines" in their first-party lineup when considering multiplatform releases, including Halo. In an interview with Bloomberg, Spencer stated that every Xbox game is a candidate for multiplatform distribution. "I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say 'thou must not,'" he explained.

Spencer's strategy is driven by the need to increase revenue for Microsoft's gaming division, 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 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 said.

He emphasized the broader implications of such a move, noting that Halo is more than just a game; it's a significant piece of intellectual property. "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 suggested that this won't 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."