After Rare’s Sea of Thieves Tops the PS5 Sales Chart, What’s the Next Xbox Game to Go Multiplatform?

Microsoft’s decision to release some of its Xbox games on rival console the PlayStation 5 appears to be paying off, with Rare’s pirate adventure Sea of Thieves topping Sony’s sales chart.

In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony revealed that Sea of Thieves was April’s most-downloaded PS5 game from the PlayStation Store in the EU, ahead of the likes of GTA 5 and Helldivers 2, and the third most-downloaded game in the U.S. Given Sony’s download chart does not include free-to-play games such as Fortnite, we can say Sea of Thieves was the best-selling PS5 game on the PlayStation Store in April, and right up there in the U.S.

There’s more good news for Microsoft’s controversial multi-platform push. Obsidian’s Grounded also features highly in both the EU and the U.S. Elsewhere, Bethesda’s Fallout 4 tops the PlayStation 4 chart for April in both the EU and the U.S. Fallout 4 also makes the EU top 10 PS5 list off the back of its recently released next-gen update. Fallout 4’s newfound success is of course fueled by the breakout hit Fallout TV show, but steep discounts will have helped, too.

And let’s not forget Activision’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is also an Xbox game, now Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard. Overall, four of the top 10 games in Europe are Xbox games: Sea of Thieves, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Grounded and Fallout 4.

The success of Sea of Thieves on PS5 in particular may vindicate Microsoft’s decision to bring some of its games to rival consoles, a decision that sparked much debate within the Xbox core fanbase. It seems likely Microsoft will release more of its Xbox games on PS5 and, potentially, the Nintendo Switch and its successor console. The question now is, which games are next?

Microsoft has so-far used games released over a year ago for its multi-platform push, as opposed to brand new games. With that in mind, perhaps one of the Forza games will speed onto PS5. Microsoft is heavily rumored to be ready to announce the next mainline Gears of War game, as well as a Gears collection. Could Gears Roadie Run onto PS5, too?

The most dramatic move would be to bring Halo to PlayStation. But would Microsoft actually go through with it? As former Xbox boss Peter Moore recently told IGN, Microsoft will be debating whether to bring Halo to PlayStation as we speak. Perhaps we’ll find out during Microsoft’s Xbox showcase event in June.

All this comes amid devastating cuts across Microsoft’s gaming business, and after the shock closure of Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks and Redfall studio Arkane Austin. In a recent interview, Xbox president Sarah Bond insisted the closures were about ensuring the Xbox business remains healthy for the long-term during what she called “this moment of transition.”

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.