Forza Horizon 5 hits 5 million sales on PS5 as Microsoft and Sony rethink console exclusivity

Sony and Microsoft Rethink Exclusives—But Analysts Say That Ship Has Sailed

Sony and Microsoft are reportedly reconsidering their exclusive game strategies, but Circana analyst Matt Piscatella argues the concept is already outdated and overvalued.

The irony is hard to miss. Both companies spent recent years dismantling platform barriers. Xbox brought Forza Horizon 5 to PS5, where it sold over 500万 copies—proof that multiplatform releases deliver real revenue. Sony followed suit by eventually launching God of War on PC, albeit with a delay. Everyone was making money, and it seemed like a win-win.

Now the narrative is shifting. Bloomberg reports that Sony has internally decided against day-one PC releases for new single-player titles from PlayStation Studios. Meanwhile, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has hinted at revisiting their exclusivity approach. The timing feels odd—why retreat just as the multiplatform model was proving lucrative?

Piscatella's take cuts through the noise: exclusives are overrated. With hardware prices climbing, most players won't buy an entire console for one game. Microsoft and Sony originally abandoned exclusives because hardware sales had plateaued. That fundamental problem hasn't changed, so reviving exclusives won't magically fix it.

Sony's pivot might be a defensive move against the Steam Deck and next-gen Xbox competition. When rivals are preparing major plays, holding back exclusives feels like a necessary counter. But Microsoft's position is contradictory—they've been building a cross-platform ecosystem, and suddenly pivoting to exclusives undermines that entire strategy.

Here's my read: exclusives aren't a winning formula in 2026. Players want great games, not platform lock-in. Forza Horizon 5's PS5 success proves the point—openness expands the pie. If Sony and Microsoft reverse course, both players and their own bottom lines will suffer.