You may have missed it, butForza Horizon 5just set a huge record that could indicate major changes soon to come to the video game industry. TheForzafranchise, a series of realistic racing and car customization games, has historically been associated with the Xbox console line - after all, it was originally an exclusive. That includes theHorizonsubseries, a somewhat more arcade-y variation on theForzaconcept with an open-world map. The most recentHorizonentry, though,bucked trends by coming to PlayStation 5- albeit four years after its initial launch.
Lots of PS5-owning gearheads are likely thrilled to haveForzafinally available on their preferred home console, and justifiably so. Despite thelack of a physical edition,ForzaHorizon 5looks, feels and plays great on the PS5. More important than the game’s actual quality, though, ishow it’s performed on the PlayStation Store, and the precedent that sets for future (possible formerly) Microsoft exclusives.
Forza Horizon 5 Topped PSN’s May 2025 Charts
Forza Is Selling Well On PS5
According to the officialPlayStation Blog,Forza Horizon 5was the top-selling game on the PS5 in May 2025across both the US and the EU. It’s actually the second month in a row thatForzahas dominated the EU charts, and it’s not alone at the top.
In fact,several Microsoft-owned games have quickly become bestsellers on the PSN store, especially in the last few months. In third place this month stateside (second place in the EU) isClair Obscur: Expedition 33, withDOOM: The Dark Agesright behind.Oblivion Remasteredwas a chart-topper in the US last month, andMinecraftis a mainstay on PlayStation’s monthly list of best-selling games.
Many of these games were alsoday-one releases on Game Pass.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise - these games are all popular, and got at least decent,if not excellent, reviews. They were bound to be bestsellers either way. Still, there was a time (and not so long ago, either) whengames like these would’ve been Microsoft exclusives, coming out only on PC and Xbox consoles. Now, though, the tide of console exclusivity is changing.
Microsoft Games Are A Big Part Of PlayStation Now
Cross-Console Releases Are More Common
The industry’s now at a point whereMicrosoft’s games make up a big part of the PlayStation library. There are a few potential reasons for this, but certainly a major factor is the simple truth that Microsoft owns a large share of the game development industry today. From big-name studios like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard to debut devs like Sandfall Interactive, many game studios fall under Microsoft’s umbrella. Although this was somewhat unthinkable a few years ago, Microsoft has kept releasing these games on the PlayStation line instead of making them exclusives. The more they sell, the more Microsoft makes.
In general,Microsoft seems to be moving away from the hardware market, and towards game distribution. Compared to the PS5 and the Switch, the Xbox Series X/S has undersold this console generation. Microsoft has a much smaller share of the market when it comes to console sales alone, and it seems to be leaning into that. Now, you don’t even need an Xbox to play Game Pass - cloud streaming lets you play on your phone, your PC, your smart TV, or your handheld. Meanwhile, new Game Pass releases keep stacking up.
While we can’t predict Microsoft’s future, it certainly seems to be distancing itself from the competition with Sony, focusing instead on putting out a solid library of games on various platforms. PlayStation, meanwhile, has had a much slower pace of game releases. Although Sony’s studios have had a couple of hits this generation (Helldivers 2andAstro Bot, perhaps most notably), overall,they haven’t put out quite as many games as Microsoft’s.
Now more than ever, the volume and diversity of the PlayStation library is dependent on its third-party developers.
Now more than ever, the volume and diversity of the PlayStation library is dependent on its third-party developers. And, strangely enough, Microsoft now numbers among them. And evidently, the fans like it -Microsoft’s games have consistently sold well when they come to the PS5. That could signal a major change to the industry in the very near future.
What The PS5 Library Could Look Like Going Forward
Xbox And PS5 Could Work Together
Again, I can’t predict the future, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if Microsoft decided to skip the next console generation, or tolean on its rumored handheldand cloud streaming services, all the while picking up lots of new games to distribute. We’re at a point now wherethere’s scarcely any hardware difference between consoles, at least in terms of capability; what really determines most players' preferences is the library of exclusives on either platform. And with Xbox moving away from exclusivity while PlayStation continues to embrace it, you really get the best of both worlds with a PS5.
So really, in the next generation, Xbox exclusivity could become a thing of the past. I could seeSony and Microsoft working together to put out a solid, diverse library of games as a joint effort, releasing their games on a variety of different platforms. Withthe Switch 2’s stronger hardwarenow in play, PlayStation and Xbox games could even go Nintendo’s way. Lots of former PlayStation exclusives and day-one Game Pass releases are already confirmed for the Switch 2, includingYakuza 0andKunitsu-Gami.
To some extent, this is just my pie-in-the-sky dream. I’ve always thought console exclusivity was a little silly; it’s an outdated relic of the past that we should’ve left behind us last generation. It causes good games to underperform, and forces players to choose arbitrarily between two pieces of hardware with roughly the same capabilities.
So, you might think that Microsoft’s games topping PlayStation’s charts signals the end of an era, and to some extent it is. Sony’s not really the game-producing powerhouse it once was, but that’s okay: when it does put out games, they tend to do well, and Microsoft has the rest covered. Hopefully,Forza Horizon 5’s excellent performance on the PlayStation signals that we’re at the start of a new era, where console exclusivity is a thing of the past.
