Microsoft’s decision to bring some of its Xbox games like Sea of Thieves to rival platforms was met with a lot of debate and discussion, but whatever people have to say about it, the pirate game developed by Rare appears to be doing great on Sony’s platform.
Windows Central reports that Sea of Thieves has sold more than 1 million copies on PlayStation 5 since it launched there in April. Sea of Thieves originally came to PC and Xbox One in 2018 before a native version for Xbox Series X|S came out in March 2024.
At Gamescom this week, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer reminded people that Xbox is a business that exists to make money. And with that in mind, Spencer said bringing Xbox games to competing platforms is “going to be a strategy that works for us.” Spencer also said Xbox games coming to competing systems like PlayStation and Switch is an extension of the changing video game business landscape.
“We just have to anticipate that there is going to be more change in how some of the traditional ways that games were are built and distributed,” the executive said.
Microsoft has so far released a handful of its Xbox games on rival platforms, including Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and Grounded. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will come next to PS5 in 2025.
While Microsoft is bringing its Xbox games to PlayStation and Switch, the same is not true for the other companies. Sony’s PlayStation games remain exclusive on console to PS4 and PS5 (and some are released on PC), while Nintendo’s internally developed games are only released on Switch. The Xbox Series X|S platform is in third place as it relates to sales, compared to PS5 and Switch.
Sea of Thieves reached 40 million players prior to its release on PS5.