Microsoft Games performs well on the PlayStation Store, publisher top booking chart

Microsoft's strategy to release first-party Xbox games on PlayStation seems to be working as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced on its earnings call for the third quarter fiscal 25th fiscal year, the company was recently the top publisher of the PlayStation Store.

Nadella mentioned the period from January to March 2025, when he said Microsoft ended the quarter with pre-orders and pre-installs on Xbox and PlayStation.

Other statistics highlighted by Nadella include PC Game Pass revenue up 45% year-on-year, while Xbox hardware revenue dropped 6% from the previous year, gaming revenue increased by 5% and Xbox content and services revenue increased by 8%. Nadella said the numbers are attributed to the growth of Xbox Game Pass, Call of Duty and Minecraft.

As for the Xbox games available on PlayStation that resulted in so many pre-orders, Microsoft had several large titles shortly after the time period Nadella quoted. Indiana Jones and The Great Circle released on April 17, becoming the best-selling PS5 game In that week (even if not in the top 15 most popular games). Forza Horizon 5 released for PS5 Shortly after April 29 (or April 25 people who buy the premium version). last but not least, Doom: The Dark Agesto be released on May 15, may also push Microsoft's reservations on the Sony platform.

Although Nadella did not mention it on the investor call, she announced Microsoft the next day Xbox console price risesaccessories and games. All Xbox series consoles (including the X series) cost up to $100, while controller prices rise between $5 and $10. Microsoft announced that featured first-party games will begin this holiday season, but no specific titles are named.

According to Microsoft, the price increase is through “careful considerations regarding market conditions and rising development costs.”

Microsoft has not recently cited U.S. tariffs as a specific reason for the price increase, but this is not the first video game publisher to be affected. Nintendo delayed the switch 2 reservations to assess the impact of the tariffs, announced a few weeks later that the price of Switch 2 accessories (but at least at the time of release) will be increased in a few weeks due to “market conditions”.