Single-player games reportedly sell around 75 to 80% of their initial console game sales on PS5 versus Xbox, although multiplayer games are a lower split.
Speaking to VGC, Christopher Dring, editor of The Game Business, claims that when it comes to AAA single-player game releases, the split between PlayStation and Xbox can be as high as a 80/20 split in PS5's favour. "It obviously varies by title," Dring says, "But if you take an AAA single-player title like Resident Evil Requiem, Crimson Desert or 007 First Light, you're seeing about 75 – 80% of their sales coming on PlayStation during the launch month (removing PC data)."
Last week, reports emerged suggesting that PS5 pre-orders of GTA 6 could be outperforming Xbox Series X by a rate of eight to one (based on IGN affiliate link data), but Xbox released a statement in response, saying this "doesn't represent pre-order data." Dring also reckons that the actual figure is "unlikely to be as extreme" as that.
"As I say, it varies by game." Dring adds. "An online shooter often does very well on Xbox, for instance, when factoring in the install base."
Throwing all console war nonsense to the side for a moment, this makes a lot of sense. The PS5 has sold just under 93 million, while one rumor claimed that Xbox had sold less than 30 million Xbox Series X|S consoles as of last year. On top of that, PlayStation's exclusives for the last two generations focused on single-player-led experiences, and while Sony has gone off the live service deep end as of late, there's still a strong player base interested in single-player. Throw in Xbox Game Pass and Microsoft releasing its games on other platforms, and the numbers will start to add up.
That isn't to say Xbox is underperforming mind you, as Dring points out, "I would add that 30% of a multi-million-selling game is a lot of games."
Despite Sony saying GTA 6 "plays best on PS5," Xbox reports "record orders" of Rockstar's new game.
