The narrative of the “console generation war” has long dominated headlines, with Sony’s PlayStation often cited as the victor over Microsoft’s Xbox in terms of hardware sales. However, recent data from Circana analyst Mat Piscatella suggests a fascinating shift in the landscape, indicating that Microsoft may be quietly winning a different, yet equally crucial, battle: pure game sales, particularly on rival platforms.
According to Piscatella’s Q2 2025 US sales data, a surprising revelation has come to light: six of the top ten best-selling games on PlayStation platforms were published by Microsoft. This includes major titles like Forza Horizon 5, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Doom: The Dark Ages, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Minecraft. Notably, Forza Horizon 5 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered held the second and third spots, respectively, with Elden Ring: Nightreign from Bandai Namco taking the top spot.
This data, which encompasses both physical and full digital game sales, paints a compelling picture of Microsoft’s evolving strategy. While the company may not be leading in console hardware sales, its aggressive push to bring its first-party and acquired titles to other platforms, including PlayStation, is clearly paying dividends. Piscatella himself noted the “wild times in the console market these days,” musing on how “unthinkable” such a sales chart would have been in 2015, when console exclusives were fiercely guarded.
This multi-platform approach appears to be a calculated move to maximize reach and revenue, allowing Microsoft to tap into a much larger player base beyond its own Xbox ecosystem. The success of these titles on PlayStation demonstrates that even without owning the console hardware market, Microsoft can still dominate the software charts, leveraging its strong portfolio of popular franchises. This pivot highlights a potential future where the “console war” becomes less about which box sits under the TV, and more about which company’s games are being played across all devices.
