Microsoft Published 6 of the Top 10 Best-Selling Games on PlayStation in Q2 2025 in the US - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 30 July 2025 / 7,665 Views
Executive Director & Video Game Industry Analyst at Circana (NPD) Mat Piscatella has revealed the top 10 best-selling games on PlayStation platforms ranked by dollar sales in the US in Q2 2025 (April 6 to June 5).
Six of the top 10 games were published by Microsoft, including the top two games.
The best-selling game on PlayStation platforms in the US for the quarter was Bandai Namco's Elden Ring: Nightreign.
The best-selling Microsoft published game was Forza Horizon 5 in second place, followed by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered in third place.
The other Microsoft published games include Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in fifth place, Doom: The Dark Ages in sixth place, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in eighth place, and Minecraft in ninth place.
There were two Sony published games in the top 10 and that was MLB: The Show 25 in fourth place and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach in seventh place.
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Shadows came in 10th place.
Here are the Q2 2025 US best-selling title rankings for PlaySation (revised from yesterday, oops), Xbox and Nintendo platforms. Ranked on dollar sales, physical and digital from participating publishers (see my pinned).
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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They bought their way to the top. Good job on them for rent-seeking, I guess.
shareholders dont seem to be complaining
They are, why do you think Xbox is going the way of Sega?
i never thought that, im thinking Microsoft is more invested in the future.
Shareholders aren't being reminded of how much money those 3rd party companies cost them every month.
Has the ABK acquisition been fully paid off yet?
im sure it will take years to pay of the ABK purchase
MS bought their way to the top. Sony went on downward spiral of DEI... but also bought some IPs and studios.
Sony could have bought Bethesda and Mojang. But they had their eye on Bungie. insert laugh emote
No, they couldn't. You think Sony has 8 billion to burn on Bethesda (which btw would be 5 billion more than any other purchase Sony corp has ever made) and they certainly didn't have a spare 2.5 billion in 2014 to buy 1 game studio.
It's actually scary that people say things like this unironically.
Sony has cancelled like 5 GAAS from veteran and newly established teams, closed Japan Studios and other AA studios and you blame Diversity and Inclusion? Be for for real lmao
Some of you really need in touch with reality
This is why I don't like Microsoft's acquisitions. They just buy already talented studios. Nintendo and Sony on the other hand spend decades fostering a partnership and helping developers grow. Without Sony there would be no Insomniac, Guerilla, Sucker Punch, or Naughty Dog as we know them. Sony gave these studios money and guidance needed to make good games. Without Nintendo there would be no Retro Studios, Gamefreak, or NDCube as we know them. These devs would all exist but would be stuck making shovelware.
It makes sense for Sony to buy Insomniac after decades of working with them to make 1st party games. It makes no sense for Microsoft to buy Actiblizz. Hell, it made no sense for Activision and Blizzard to be allowed to merge. So now we have one company that is the size of five different publishers and I guess regulators are okay with them buying up even more studios.
Genuine question. What's the worst that could happen with MS being the largest publisher?
Nothing. There is nothing bad that can happen.
Everything becomes digital-only with a ton of microtransactions. Everything is soulless AI and real devs get fired. Games die as an art form.
The majority of Sony studios are bought so not sure what why you giving them a pass. That is what business do especially when they enter a mature market.
Bought after spending decades working with them and building them up from nothing vs bought and closed down. Why do you support Laissez-faire capitalism and pretend that it's "just how modern businesses work"?
Where are you seeing this laissez-faire capitalism? I see these companies jumping through massive regulatory hurdles, which is the opposite of laissez-faire.
6 of the top 10, yet 5 of them became succefful without MS, aka MS is just freeloading on these games reputation / someone else's effort..
They may own these IPs now, but they didnt make them. Therefore, I do not consider them MS games.
MS bought its way into the charts, when their own studios failed to achieve anything with lasting impact (for the most part)
If I understand what you are saying, MS was smart to purchase these companies because their games sell thus improving them as one of the biggest publishers in the market. I thought the same thing about Sony for all the companies they purchased because those studios are making great games.
Smart as a soulless money-over-everything corporation, yes, just as leaving the hardware business is smart too since no one cares about Xbox anymore. But the acquisitions are terrible for the consumers and for the industry in general.
It reminds of the time of when I started to see Sega games, including Sonic, running on Nintendo platforms. Kind of surreal.
What's going to be weird is when we see Master Chief on PlayStation.
oh boy that will be weird
Just wait until you see Master Chief on the Switch 2...
Top 10 not including Expedition 33 is sad. Come on people.
Also, only one of these games was "published" by Microsoft but guess that doesn't count when you just buy up the biggest publishers.
But it's an odd thing to think about that your rival in console manufacturing is now your biggest publisher of games... a sense of control, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with.
The reality is PS has always relied on 3rd party publishers to make money. Those same publishers are relying on Sony as well. You really think MS isn't relying on Sony to sell COD? The sales split for the last game was huge in favor of PS. If they cut off all those sales they would lose hundreds of million of dollars not just in, initial sales but in MTX as well. Both of them would lose in that scenario and it's clear as day that MS is not willing to lose one more dime because of Xbox.
Oh, for sure but with many 3rd party games it was mutually beneficial. Sony did argue about the revenue CoD generates for them when discussing the ABK buyout after all and in the end, when it looked like things weren't going to be stopped, they too signed the 10 year deal. Kinda had to else fear of losing that income but MS were never going to pass up that revenue, especially in the short term.
Yet, if Sony rely too much on one 3rd party publisher, then it becomes and problem when said publisher also owns a rival platform and certain deals are nearing their end (or no deals are in place) and Sony or other 3rd party don't have games that generate anywhere near the same type of revenue.
There was no "10 year deal" put in place for the Bethesda buyout, it was up to MS 's discretion to do what they wanted with their games and their first 2 major releases after the buyout both went to Xbox (even if one is now on PS), if certain things had gone their way, would we have seen Doom? Doom might have even been locked to Xbox only, not even steam.
I agree except that MS isn't a rival platform anymore. The last sales data we got they were outsold by everyone including the original nintendo switch in their biggest market. It's not like MS is going to reverse course and suddenly make all their games exclusive again and only on their platform. The amount of revenue they will lose while hoping people come back to Xbox would be massive. MS is all about AI right now and they don't give a damn about Xbox or gaming. They aren't going to let that division cost them anymore money.
So I do agree that what if scenarios of what MS could have done with more time/money and not porting their games is certainly something to think about. Those days are gone and at this point they are just as reliant on Sony as Sony is on them. I do expect MS to leverage all their games to try and get a higher percentage from the sales though. Maybe 20% instead of 30. If they haven't already done that.
Even if we think they aren't, while they still produce a console and an economic infrastructure to buy games, they should be.
It's not really "about hoping to come back", it's more how fortunes can change (simply look at Nintendo after the Wii) and all it takes is for a big publisher (one that might be responsible for upwards of 20% or more of your entire revenue) to just say "Nah, you don't get our games anymore, gamers have to come to us." and suddenly it's a different situation. We know that if Xbox and PS were on a more level playing field, no new Bethesda game would be on since buyout (again, we've see their first 2 games go there at first) because not only would have their player base be okay already but would bring some people over as well because in that case it's seen as worth it.
It's part of why the whole idea of MS just buying their way into the industry by buying up publishers was always dubious. Sony isn't reliant on MS, it's reliant on 3rd party and MS bought the 3rd parties. Even you are suggesting MS start trying to strike deals to get a better deal for themselves now they control so much.
How long before it comes more of an ultimatum? "Lower your commission or we'll go costing you even more."
I agree with this for the most part except that IMO all these scenarios of MS leaving PS or threating to leave are just fantasies. Sure it's possible it could happen just like it's possible MS could say we are done with gaming and start selling off everything so they can reinvest it into AI.
I don't think people understand how critical AI is to MS right now. They don't want to get left behind again like they have so many times. They wont allow Xbox to drag down their financials anymore by trying to start up some console war with PS again.
I think they will negotiate for a better deal and will most likely get it (if they haven't already) but any threats of them leaving aren't realistic IMO. They can't afford to do that anymore that much is clear. They are laying off people like crazy and more lay offs are coming next month.
Oh, on the first paragraph, very true but that's the point of speculation. We can clearly see how things have changed and not even like 2 years ago would anyone here have thought that not only would MS not add games to PS but Sony wouldn't add games to both Nintendo and Xbox (which they have and will do soon).
And I think that if MS do try and get a better deal, Sony should just say stand firm and say "No, it's 30% whether you're our biggest publisher or our smallest." MS can't afford to remove the games from PS but that also means they shouldn't have the right to demand lower commission just because they bought up half the industry.
Xbox in the end is just a side business for MS, while for Sony PS is it's bread winner and for Nintendo they are only gaming (well, that and toys). MS has less to lose by pressuring other companies and Sony and Nintendo have a lot to lose by trying to negotiate as best scenario they get a worse deal, worse scenario they lose all those games.
Can't disagree on the whole AI thing because of this. MS just needs to play ball and get as much as they can, right? And that means not messing about too much.
Let me ask you a question, how many Sony Studios were purchased. You talk about MS purchasing everything but seem to forget that the majority of studios that Sony own were all purchased successful studios. The only difference between Sony and MS is Sony has smaller pockets.
40% of Sony studios apparently they founded, not too dissimilar to MS if you don't include Bethesda and Activision but that defeats the point of the conversation. I have no issue with the MS bought studios, I have an issue with MS bought publishers. The 2 things have vastly different effects on the industry.
Isn't Expedition 33 not included because the publisher doesn't share digital sales with Circana?
Oh, if the case, didn't know this and thanks for the information. :)
Only publishers signed upto the agreement share data(almost all big publishers, excluding Nintendo) and I don't think Kepler interactive are a particularly big company. I'll see if I can find the list.
Edit: Yeah, they're not on the list
Yeah. For me, it needs to be organic to count. Simply buying out companies isn't enough, because you had almost no hand in those games being made.
But it is what it is, and we all need to get use to it. Microsoft is reverting back to its pre-2001 self. They are a publisher now, and we're going to see more and more of their games on our two systems.
There is no such thing as organic unless you only talking about Nintendo. I asked this before but will ask you as well, how many studios has Sony purchased compared to being home grown.
I never mentioned Sony's name, and my definition of organic is my own.
Yeah, must be awkward for Xbox. To pay 30% fee to Playstation, to let go of exclusives and give It all to Playstation.
It's the reality of Xbox, they Lost the choosing Power and Control. They need Playstation, or they will never see a ROI for the +80Bn they put behind gaming.
Playstation won, they Control this portion of consoles market now.
That's not how business works. They traded cash that devalues over time for an asset that makes money. It's that simple.
Your basically just saying that the money they spent is irrelevant because it would've just devalued anyway? Strange argument
No, anyone with half a brain cell could see the point of trading lump cash that constantly devalues for an asset that constantly generates revenue is a good thing but I get it, unless a post does nothing but crap on xbox or worships sony then you just don't get it.
Don't need to crap on Xbox. They've already pretty much left the market so you don't even have to acknowledge it at all to be honest
Which is why sony are spending money porting games to Xbox...
Leaving the traditional console market doesn't automatically remove the 32 million XBSS/X consoles from existence. May as well take advantage of the 32 million for no extra cost to Sony
I'm impressed by the level of denial here.
It’s not that simple, there is an opportunity cost associated with the purchase. If they didn’t buy ABK they would have used that money for something else. The easiest way to make money is by having money, so even safe investments would be making like single figure percentage growths on that money each year.
They wouldn’t just keep it around as cash. Even a US treasury bond is almost 5% interest rate(If they’d invested $75b in US bonds in January 2022 they’d now have almost $90b). So, they’re looking at their investments to generate waaaay more than that in the long term.
This list shows why Sony looking to do what Xbox is doing. Too much revenue for Sony to ignore
We will see. I think people are overreacting to that job posting. Even just last month the CEO told the investors they aren't doing that. So he lied to investors? Seems unlikely. I do think they will start porting all GAAS games though. Bungie already is, MLB the show already is. So they might be thinking why not just do all GAAS games.
Stands to reason you need someone to handle that side of things if more games, whether you want them to or not, appear on other platforms. MLB, Destiny and the soon to be Helldivers 2 will be on Xbox. Licenced games like Everybody's Golf or Patapon on Switch and then their ongoing PC thing will need oversight.
So Sony should print a list of the top 3rd party games sales and purchase the publishers of half of them like MS did?
No different to paying them off to have exclusives for few years
No different? Really? Do you actually believe that?
It's useless to talk to him.
He is the type that will say things like:
"Sony buying Naughty Dogs in 2001 is the same as MS buying Zenimax. Both buy IP and Studios..."
Unfortunately it's not even the same as MS buying Rare, because Naughty Dog at least got shit done under Sony.
This is why MS is okay with releasing games on ps5. Easy money for them. By the end of the year, I expect 10 or more of the 20 top selling games on ps5 to be MS titles.
It's easy money but comes at the cost of their platform and users. It was a needed pivot for them though because hardware sales were dropping so fast.
That's because Epic has greatly neglected the user experience of its store. Personally I was annoyed by Epic's moneyhatting at first, but I was willing to give them a chance if they actually do not. They did not, so now I'm just annoyed, and Epic has no chance anymore. Epic was all talk and moneyhatting. Besides that, there's very little reason for anyone to use Epic's platform.
And MS hasn't? The MS store is hated on PC. I literally had to reformat my HD because it refused to delete uninstalled games. Yes, they fixed that issue now but it's to little to late. I don't know anyone on PC who likes that MS store. I wont even get into the issues with the PC store having outdated versions of games that are fully updated on Steam. Devs are literally releasing a game on the Xbox PC store and then never going back to update it.
At least Microsoft hasn't done much to piss off PC gamers in a long time. I think either all or most of their games are available on Steam as well, so there's options, and the Microsoft Store doesn't seem to be particularly geared for gaming at the moment. That said, I don't see it could without a serious revamp.
I guess my original main point was that Epic has actively pissed off gamers, and giving out free games simply isn't enough to counter that. Microsoft hasn't done that, but frankly they haven't done much else either to challenge Steam. It's a bit of a clean slate for them if they decide to try something at some point, but it doesn't really seem like they're even trying at the moment. But if Microsoft actually invested in stuff gamers want, I don't see why they couldn't do better than Epic, because Epic's been epic only at failing.
The hardware will cost about 1000$ at minimum. It's not designed to be compared to Sony and Nintendo consoles like the XBSS/XBSS is
What sources do you have that the next MS made Xbox hardware will be $1000? Or is this the usual drivel.
The rumoured prices of the Xbox Asus handheld are very high.
Well known leakers have already stated as much. Also the rumored specs for the next Xbox are very high. It's going to be expensive and it has to be because they will now allow you to use Steam. The leaker who first came out and said MS is going 3rd party confirmed it's going to cost a lot.
Not to mention they literally just raised the prices of their consoles to crazy prices. Even with tariffs not really going to into effect they haven't brought them back down.
The Xbox Ally is going to cost close to $1000. It's a rebadged ROG Ally. The Switch 2 has nearly outsold the entire handheld PC install base combined in just a month, and 4 million of the 6 million handheld PCs out there are Steam Decks. The Xbox Ally is not a serious competitor, nor is it meant to be.
New hardware is coming and it's going to be very expensive. One of the top leakers already said it's well known MS doesn't expect it to sell high. They want to keep the 20-30 million users they can though while they slowly transition to PCthirdparty. They've already said windows is where they want to the best experience to be not even Xbox.
10 is probably quite ambitious when you consider that many of these 6 games will likely not make the top 20 by year end. Doom and Indy seem very unlikely. I guess Minecraft probably has enough legs to make it.
There will be a new CoD. What else?
I can see Doom and Indy not making the top 20, but the rest should make it. 10 is probably too high but 7 seems likely.
Gears Reloaded(likely), Ninja Gaiden 4 (maybe), Outer Worlds 2 (maybe), Black Ops 7 (guaranteed).
Its so over for Xbox. They will probably sell to EA or something.
Crazy to think that one of the studios responsible for that success has already been gutted by layoffs and the rest are probably terrified that their next release might not live up to expectations.
Which dev you referring to?
Turn 10?
Horizon is not made by Turn 10
As Mach pointed out. Horizon is made by Playground Games.
"It's just good business." - Cutler Beckett
Im sure Sony have seen this and figured they can do the same. Probably why they are also opening up to multiplat releases.
Everyone wins
When MS release a game on PS they are expanding their potential console customer base by about 250%.
When Sony releases a game on Xbox they are reaching about 40% more customers.
Not even that. Lots of people on Xbox just rely on gamepass and the Series S keeps showing up in giant stacks in my local pawn shop.
Clearly that's enough for Sony to do it.
That remains to be seen surely, since they don't even have the HD2 numbers yet
Its not rocket science to see the direction. Sony also need to keep good faith with the FTC and CMA if they plan on buying more studios etc. On top of that, they brought a porting studio and are hiring someone to overlook multiplat games.
Weather its all or some, this is what Xbox adapted to during the XB1 era.
