What you need to know
- Last month, Microsoft confirmed widespread rumors that it would begin bringing more “exclusive” Xbox games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, in an effort to achieve greater profit margin growth.
- The first batch includes Grounded, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, and Sea of Thieves.
- Sea of Thieves is the biggest of the bunch by far, and arguably the service game with the most potential.
- It appears that this potential has already been realized, as the game has reached number one on the pre-order chart on PlayStation consoles.
Last month, Microsoft confirmed during an “Xbox Business Update” podcast that it would be bringing some of its Xbox console-exclusive games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. The first four games include Grounded, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, and Sea of Thieves. Sea of Thieves is the group's biggest game ever, as the multiplayer pirate adventure has reached tens of millions of players across both Xbox and PC consoles.
Microsoft's decision to “water down” the meaning of the phrase “Xbox Exclusive” has been met with some fierce resistance in some quarters and quiet skepticism in others, lamenting the potential collapse of Xbox console hardware sales. Microsoft and others have argued that the console industry is largely a fixed install base of about 200-250 million overlapping users, and that the future of gaming will be more about targeting users where they are, rather than trying to accommodate them into a closed community. environmental system. At the same time, Microsoft said “don't expect” much more from this initial set of four ports for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation, but if the experiment is successful, it's reasonable to expect more ports.
To that end, Sea of Thieves will be among the first games to explore this new direction, and so far it seems to be paying off. Confirmed by industry analyst bungee sales Among others, Sea of Thieves reached first place on the PlayStation pre-order chart in the United States, in addition to many other regions.
Sea of Thieves is currently the #1 best selling pre-order on PlayStation Network in the US pic.twitter.com/Wxgqoqf95XMarch 10, 2024
Microsoft is already a prolific publisher on PlayStation, due to games like Minecraft, Minecraft Dungeons, and some acquired games from studios like Bethesda. Microsoft can now also count Activision-Blizzard games like Call of Duty as part of this jealous revenue stream as well.
Plan analysis
What Microsoft will be watching closely is whether or not this experiment results in a decrease in the number of monthly active users. Microsoft confirmed in its latest investor call that the number of monthly active users of the Xbox console is higher than ever, with Xbox One and Xbox Series Xbox Series The service's popular games like EA Football (FIFA), Minecraft and Fortnite remain actively updated on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, contributing to the continuity of previous generation consoles.
Microsoft may have given Xbox One users fewer reasons to upgrade to new-gen consoles than Sony's PlayStation 5, but that doesn't appear to have contributed to the decline in the number of active paying users. However, Microsoft will likely be interested to see if Sea of Thieves on PlayStation moves active Sea of Thieves users from Xbox to PlayStation, for those who have both consoles. Ideally, Microsoft would like to see Sea of Thieves gain new users here, rather than just transferring existing players from other ecosystems. In the short term, additional sales will undoubtedly be a boon, but this strategy is all about finding growth. If Microsoft finds that the placement of games like Sea of Thieves etc. leads to a decline in the number of monthly active Xbox users, or sees Xbox One users choosing PlayStation 5 as an upgrade path, they will likely be more restrictive about how they proceed.
However, it will be interesting to see how this strategy evolves over time. Microsoft has confirmed that new Xbox hardware is in the works for the next generation, accompanied by widespread rumors that the company is exploring its own portable Xbox, with support for native gameplay similar to the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch.
Sea of Thieves will launch on April 30, 2024 on PlayStation 5, and is available now on Xbox Series
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