Sea of Thieves Sold Nearly 2 Million on PS5 While Other Xbox Exclusives Show Mixed Results on PlayStation

Xbox games on PlayStation are showing varied levels of success, according to new data from Alinea Analytics.

Sea of Thieves is leading the way with about 1.8 million copies sold on PS5. Rare’s pirate adventure has become the standout Xbox title on Sony’s platform since its April 2024 release.

Grounded takes the second spot with roughly 432,200 copies sold. This is pretty impressive for Obsidian’s survival game, especially considering it was developed by a small team.

However, other Xbox titles haven’t quite hit the same heights on PlayStation. Hi-Fi Rush has reached around 137,000 sales, while Age of Mythology: Retold sits at about 41,000 copies – though it only arrived on PlayStation recently. Pentiment, despite being a fantastic game, has struggled with just 14,000 copies sold.

The numbers suggest PlayStation gamers are more drawn to multiplayer experiences. Alinea’s data shows there’s a growing group of “Xbox-curious” PlayStation players, with 29% of those who bought Grounded also picking up Sea of Thieves.

Looking ahead, Microsoft has more Xbox games heading to PlayStation soon. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 are coming in April, and they’re already doing well in pre-orders. They are even outperforming some PlayStation exclusives like Death Stranding 2 in pre-order charts.

We’ve seen this pattern before. Sea of Thieves had strong pre-orders before topping the PS5 download charts across the U.S. after its release. Circana data showed it reached the number one spot in Europe and North America for May 2024. By August, Jez Gordon of Window Central claimed it had sold over a million copies on PS5 alone.

Given these results, Forza Horizon 5 is expected to perform particularly well, potentially becoming the best-selling Xbox game (not counting Call of Duty) on PlayStation. This strategy gives Microsoft additional revenue alongside its Xbox Game Pass service.

The results so far hint that Microsoft might be better off bringing multiplayer games to PlayStation, while smaller single-player titles might not be worth the effort if they arrive much later than their Xbox releases.

PlayStation owners can expect more Xbox games down the road. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 and The Outer Worlds 2 are both set for multi-platform launches later this year.

According to Alinea Analytics, Microsoft’s PlayStation strategy is part of a bigger plan. With their “Windows of gaming” approach they want to position Xbox as a more versatile gaming brand that isn’t tied to just one platform.