Circana - April 2025 U.S. Video Game Market Highlights - Oblivion Remastered #1, Forza Horizon 5 #2, MLB The Show '25 #3

next gen- microsoft knows they are out of proper console business with that move so what could they possibly offer to console only players in 2027/2028?
Gamepass + Steam/Epic + legacy Xbox emulators seems like the big differentiating factors going by next gen rumors. How popular that is for the mainstream remains to be seen.

They're in the late ports phase now, I think If everything is day 1 on PlayStation with Pro upgrades until this gen ends then they'll have a mountain to climb next gen to launch a new console.

Software and services, plus whatever they do on the OS/UI side on PC, is where I see them most likely succeeding.

Hardware is going to be difficult. For example, I don't see an Xbox console with some PC Windows OS variant running regular Steam versions succeeding. Games aren't optimized to the metal on PC. Such a box would need to be much more powerful than the typical console to run regular PC versions well. And then the price will go up.
 
This has to eat MS up. They almost had the games, they almost made it, but were forced to go multiplatform right before they all came out.

They walked for 40 years in the desert only to be struck down(to 3rd party) by greed right before reaching the promised land.
It honestly wouldn't have mattered, people chose PlayStation…they aren't leaving regardless.
 
I tried this, doesn't work for me…
Might be an EU thing. We have right of withdrawal for online purchases within 14 days. I'm not sure how it works for subscriptions though. Might be too much of a hassle to work out a system where you still pay for the days that you used the service but get refunded the remaining part.
 
And Shadows still number 2 year to date

"But players, but engagement" yeah
I'd love to hear their excuse on why its still selling.

Calir Obscure: Expedition 33 had a great US launch. It ranked 19th in April MAU on Xbox and 21st on Steam (Circana Player Engagement Tracker). It also placed among the top 35 sellers of April overall and top 25 on PlayStation (Circana Retail Tracking Service, physical only). It launched Apr 24th.

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Man they really showed the whole industry, out here ranking 35 on Playstation... /s

LOLz aside, will check it out on sale or used ending of this year. (if BF doesn't release this fall)
 
But Indiana debuted at number 6 on the chart. How is this underperforming?
It's a slow month and it couldn't beat AC:S second month (and we know that AC not performing well)
It also not in top20 for the year, that indicates that real numbers are low in spite of month position.
 
Spoken like a true Fanboy *rollseyes*

The best part with all this stuff is that the actual playstation userbase clearly thinks Microsoft games are pretty great. Just look at the charts whenever a game launches.

So, in reality something doesn't add up to what a vocal minority wants us, and themselves to believe.
 
The best part with all this stuff is that the actual playstation userbase clearly thinks Microsoft games are pretty great. Just look at the charts whenever a game launches.

So, in reality something doesn't add up to what a vocal minority wants us, and themselves to believe.
I mean so far Microsoft put their best games on both the Switch and PS. I'm baffled that Pentiment went under the radar, it has a unique style (but the writing sound gets annoying after a while)
 
I mean so far Microsoft put their best games on both the Switch and PS. I'm baffled that Pentiment went under the radar, it has a unique style (but the writing sound gets annoying after a while)

Yeah, looks like plenty more to come too. Gears and soon Halo.

No way they are passing up this money after how they've seen games perform on other platforms.

Shame about pentiment though. But, it was and is a passion project by Sawer.
 
The best part with all this stuff is that the actual playstation userbase clearly thinks Microsoft games are pretty great. Just look at the charts whenever a game launches.

So, in reality something doesn't add up to what a vocal minority wants us, and themselves to believe.
Before they bought big publisher's, the same games / IP minus Forza would have shipped on PlayStation and have been successful.
 
Before they bought big publisher's, the same games / IP minus Forza would have shipped on PlayStation and have been successful.
People acting like we needed Microsoft for a new Doom or a new COD game are hilarious. We got all that shit years ago and thanks to Mr. Market, we still do.
 
The best part with all this stuff is that the actual playstation userbase clearly thinks Microsoft games are pretty great. Just look at the charts whenever a game launches.

So, in reality something doesn't add up to what a vocal minority wants us, and themselves to believe.

So the reality is when you get past the point scoring, one will realise both Sony and Xbox make great games.
 
This has to eat MS up. They almost had the games, they almost made it, but were forced to go multiplatform right before they all came out.

They walked for 40 years in the desert only to be struck down(to 3rd party) by greed right before reaching the promised land.
The only reason they have these numbers is because they bought out two massive 3rd party publishers whose games would be on PS anyway. These are "in house titles" in name only. You'll notice that Avowed and South of Midnight are nowhere to be found in any of this.

And spoiler: This still isn't enough to make them a viable 3rd party in the long run.
 
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Microsoft finally realising it's software sales potential by releasing on playstation. They'll never stop supporting this platform.
 
Microsoft finally realising it's software sales potential by releasing on playstation. They'll never stop supporting this platform.

That's a bit misleading for a couple of reasons.

Let's start with "finally", Microsoft closed on ABK on October 13th, 2023. Pentiment released on PS5 on February 22nd, 2024. So even prior to closing on ABK, Microsoft was looking at a multiplatform strategy and probably have been since the days and weeks revolving around the failure of Redfall, which had released in May of 2023. This is when Phil famously said they weren't going to out-console Sony.

Next let's talk about their software sales potential, because I find this even more interesting.

ABK was the biggest 3rd party publisher in the industry before the M&A. They were the biggest publisher on PlayStation. Zenimax was also a major publisher on PlayStation.

The amount of people showing "surprise" or pretending like it wasn't a given that Microsoft spending 80 billion dollars buying up publishers would make them a relevant publisher on PlayStation is an interesting one. Or people equating ABK + Zenimax games selling on PlayStation (which they've always done) as some sign that PlayStation consumers should have purchased an Xbox and were "holding out".

I think Zenimax is kind of the litmus test here and shows a clearer understanding of what is going on here. No one was going to buy an Xbox for Starfield for example. Could Starfield have found greater success on PlayStation? Sure, though I don't think it will be all that successful or would have even been had it launched on PS5 back in 2023.

XGS + ABK + Zenimax has a lot of games, particularly catalog titles and these games if ported or remade are going to have a lot of success. What they don't really have is system sellers, which for Microsoft was always their problem and why I felt off the bat that these acquisitions were misguided if the hopes or intentions were to sell more Xbox consoles.

In 2025, there are only a handful of companies in the world who can still really make actual system sellers, particularly with new IP which is especially challenging.

Nintendo
PlayStation Studios
T2
CDPR

Maybe FromSoftware


There's a big difference I feel in making a good selling game and a system seller and it's a matter of quality over quantity.


The only reason they have these numbers is because they bought out two massive 3rd party publishers whose games would be on PS anyway. These are "in house titles" in name only. You'll notice that Avowed and South of Midnight are nowhere to be found in any of this.

And spoiler: This still isn't enough to make them a viable 3rd party in the long run.

ProtoByte with the rare accurate post. This is correct. They bought out two of of the biggest publishers in gaming and there is going to be decline returns here. We're already seeing it.

Skyrim and Fallout remakes will have success and there will be a lot of hype around Elders Scrolls 6, but outside of that I don't see much in Zenimax's future. How far out would a new Fallout game be if the focus is on ES6? These franchises probably are more sustainable as live service games ironically.

When it comes to ABK, all of ABK has largely been in decline. The best thing they have going for them is the lack of quality competition. If the price of their games rise to 80 dollars this fall, it's going to open a huge avenue for competitors with quality products. They better hope EA can't release a competent Battlefield game early next year.

The problems facing them are pretty similar to the problems facing EA and Ubisoft long term.
 
imagine of this year was the launch of their console. They should have been hitting this kond of release schecule years ago and shit would have been completely different.

imagine, if they launched an xbox with indiana jones then a couple months after you had south of midnight...then the game of the year clair obscure as a third party banger...then you launch oblivion remaster and doom all on the first 8 months of the consoles launch. And then, these are all included in a gamepass subscription.

thats what ms SHOULD have been treating console launch years like and planning for. Not like the mess of a launch they had, hell even first 3 years of the gen.
Keep in mind, MS had to go out of their way and Buy multiple studios, including Ninja Theory (and mid gen )Bethesda and ABK to even have this level of cadence of releases.

Can you imagine how much worse it would have looked if they didn't have the entire Bethesda, Activision and Blizzard catalog to tout? Not saying I agree with those purchases.

Just pointing out their original studios (pre acquisition frenzy) releases have been absolute shit this generation.
 
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Keep in mind, MS had to go out of their way and Buy multiple studios, including Ninja Theory (and mid gen )Bethesda and ABK to even have this level of cadence of releases.

Can you imagine how much worse it would have looked if they didn't have the entire Bethesda, Activision and Blizzard catalog to tout? Not saying I agree with those purchases.

Just pointing out their original studios (pre acquisition frenzy) releases have been absolute shit this generation.

And Sony buys lots of 3rd party exclusives to improve their weak first party release schedule. Which is worse? who knows.

The complaint about MS for years is they didn't release enough high quality games. They fix that issue and there are still complaints.
 
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If you only game on one platform and call this your hobby, your a chode that deserves to feel left out.
I absolutely diseagree here, back in mid 90s i only had playstation console coz back then as a teenager couldnt afford any pc or second console, i had ps2 at launch and later xbox then proper pc but thats when i was adult(young but still an adult, i could at least get some money by then), and guess what back in the 90 with only one platform i was gaming like crazy, ppl like myself from back then(and believe me, there is plenty) absolutely dont deserve to be left out.
 
And Sony buys lots of 3rd party exclusives to improve their weak first party release schedule. Which is worse? who knows.

The complaint about MS for years is they didn't release enough high quality games. They fix that issue and there are still complaints.
It's clearly worse when you buy an entire Publisher, which houses multiple of studios and IP. Poaching entire IP is worse than timed exclusivity.

Also, In Sony's case it's not just them preventing the game from being on Xbox as those games also release on Steam and Switch. That's more of a case of the devs/Pubs not wanting to put their game on Xbox for whatever reasons.

They fixed the issue but the problem is they are not releasing must-have Bangers at a steady pace. Outside of DOOM and Indy everything else has been mediocre to just good. Then there's stuff like Fable that's still in Pre-alpha and nowhere even close to release. They just aren't good at Studio management and production pipelines.
 
I absolutely diseagree here, back in mid 90s i only had playstation console coz back then as a teenager couldnt afford any pc or second console, i had ps2 at launch and later xbox then proper pc but thats when i was adult(young but still an adult, i could at least get some money by then), and guess what back in the 90 with only one platform i was gaming like crazy, ppl like myself from back then(and believe me, there is plenty) absolutely dont deserve to be left out.
It's not 1990 anymore and you are not a teenager. But, if what you say is true. Then Sony should release their games on all platforms and I completely agree with you. People should absolutely be able to play where they want and get every game they want.
It's clearly worse when you buy an entire Publisher, which houses multiple of studios and IP. Poaching entire IP is worse than timed exclusivity.

Also, In Sony's case it's not just them preventing the game from being on Xbox as those games also release on Steam and Switch. That's more of a case of the devs/Pubs not wanting to put their game on Xbox for whatever reasons.

They fixed the issue but the problem is they are not releasing must-have Bangers at a steady pace. Outside of DOOM and Indy everything else has been mediocre to just good. Then there's stuff like Fable that's still in Pre-alpha and nowhere even close to release. They just aren't good at Studio management and production pipelines.

Publishers absolutely want to release on Xbox, just look what happens once the timed exclusive ends. You have fallen for Sonys tactics. Even death stranding released on Xbox as soon as Kojima was free from the contract clauses.
 
It's not 1990 anymore and you are not a teenager. But, if what you say is true. Then Sony should release their games on all platforms and I completely agree with you. People should absolutely be able to play where they want and get every game they want.
Like i said, ur premise is- gamer is an adult/has disposable income/lives in rich western country, there is tons of gamers around the world and huge chunk of them(hundreds of milions ez) are neither of those 3, they are by all means gamers- remember in many parts of the world salaries are much lower than US and electronics/gaming devices/games are actually much more expensive.
Hell im from poland(so member of european union) and our salaries are still in 2025 4-5x lower from salaries in the US on avg, while price of games/consoles and overall electronics(including pc parts) is higher, now imagine how it is in brazil, argentina, india, china or some african countries, to be a gamer there u really have to go tru srs hardships :>
There is a saying- priviledge is invisible to those who have it :)
 
It's not 1990 anymore and you are not a teenager. But, if what you say is true. Then Sony should release their games on all platforms and I completely agree with you. People should absolutely be able to play where they want and get every game they want.


Publishers absolutely want to release on Xbox, just look what happens once the timed exclusive ends. You have fallen for Sonys tactics. Even death stranding released on Xbox as soon as Kojima was free from the contract clauses.
I dunno man, what's the deal with SE and FF7 then? Or the developers of Wukong? Then there's Game Science that openly stated they went with Sony out of their own volition. Then there's Capcom that almost had to be shamed into putting their 2D fighting games on the platform. And not going to get into the plethora of AA Japanese devs that regularly skip releasing on Xbox.

Point is, it's not always Sony directly pulling the strings to prevent games going to Xbox. Death Stranding seems more like Kojima wanting an extra revenue stream (It was also ported to the iPhone and Amazon Luna) if anything.
 
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And Sony is making 30% of all those sales without lifting a finger, no production budgets no marketing, no nothing...

I do wonder if MS is looking at Gamepass and thinking if it's the way to go.
Of course they're not. They're selling more games this gen then they ever have, plus the cut of PlayStation and now Gamepass PC which is booming. If anything, Sony must be thinking if releasing first party on PC is the way to go as console sales have plateaued and no one on PC is making the jump to their walled garden ecosystem. The reason PlayStation first party is so dire is because without live service they cease to exist. And all their live service other than Helldivers(which is a 75/25 sales split thanks to PC) has failed.

But back to Xbox. Xbox gaming has never been more profitable. The PlayStation audience is single handily funding Gamepass to give Xbox and PC players the best value in gaming.
 
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I just don't understand the "surprise" Bethesda and ABK games have been selling well on Playstation for decades... and now that they're coming out on PS5, they continue to sell well. In just one year, we've gone from denying that those games would be coming to PS5 to celebrating their sales. That's a big change.
 
I just don't understand the "surprise" Bethesda and ABK games have been selling well on Playstation for decades... and now that they're coming out on PS5, they continue to sell well. In just one year, we've gone from denying that those games would be coming to PS5 to celebrating their sales. That's a big change.
The "surprise" just seems to be low key console warring. It shouldn't surprise anyone that popular multiplat franchises sell well on PlayStation. The only real outlier is Forza but everyone has always praised that franchise as one of Xbox's best.
 
This just shows great games don't sell, despite what some in here are saying.

Brand loyalty sells.
 
I just don't understand the "surprise" Bethesda and ABK games have been selling well on Playstation for decades... and now that they're coming out on PS5, they continue to sell well. In just one year, we've gone from denying that those games would be coming to PS5 to celebrating their sales. That's a big change.
I think some people were expecting PS users to be like "ewwwww Microsoft games, I won't purchase the new Call of Duty/the new Doom now"
 
Of course they're not. They're selling more games this gen then they ever have, plus the cut of PlayStation and now Gamepass PC which is booming. If anything, Sony must be thinking if releasing first party on PC is the way to go as console sales have plateaued and no one on PC is making the jump to their walled garden ecosystem. The reason PlayStation first party is so dire is because without live service they cease to exist. And all their live service other than Helldivers(which is a 75/25 sales split thanks to PC) has failed.

But back to Xbox. Xbox gaming has never been more profitable. The PlayStation audience is single handily funding Gamepass to give Xbox and PC players the best value in gaming.
That last sentence...how is that good in any way? So they had Gamepass for 6 years and they need Playstation to "single handly fund Gamepass"? lmao So you're saying Gamepass can't survive without Playstation? How is that a good business for MS?

About Helldivers 2 being the only live game from Sony that's a success...sure...if we don't count MLB every year (also on Xbox), Gran Turismo 7, Destiny 2, etc...
 
switch is starting to slow down aggressively like the Wii/Ds did near the launch of the new platform in the US and possibly Europe.
 
That last sentence...how is that good in any way? So they had Gamepass for 6 years and they need Playstation to "single handly fund Gamepass"? lmao So you're saying Gamepass can't survive without Playstation? How is that a good business for MS?

About Helldivers 2 being the only live game from Sony that's a success...sure...if we don't count MLB every year (also on Xbox), Gran Turismo 7, Destiny 2, etc...
It's cope.

Reminds me of another odd narrative going around.

MS strategy is a "trojan horse" strategy to take over the playstation store.

I'm sure sony will be laughing all the way to the bank with the 30% cut with no risk of development/marketing costs, and now those in the playstation fanbase no longer picking up an xbox as those games are now on playstation.

If the trojan horse strategy is to make your opponent stronger at the detriment of your self, then we need to rewrite greek mythology.
 
It's a slow month and it couldn't beat AC:S second month (and we know that AC not performing well)
It also not in top20 for the year, that indicates that real numbers are low in spite of month position.

But in an even SLOWER month......Indy debuted at 14th when it released on both Xbox and PC. So what do you think about that?
 
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