Microsoft was the #1 publisher on the PlayStation Store in pre-orders for the first quarter of 2025

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that his company had the most pre-orders and pre-installs on both the PlayStation Store and the Xbox Store during Q3 FY25 [January to March 2025] as part of an earnings call held last Wednesday, no doubt further cementing its strategy shift towards becoming a multi-platform publisher on top of its own hardware offerings.

“We continue to transform the business and focus on margin expansion, as we bring our games to over 500 million monthly active users across devices,” said Nadella on the call, reiterating the company’s shift in strategy.

“We ended the quarter as the top publisher by pre-orders and pre-installs on both Xbox and the PlayStation Store. PC Game Pass revenue increased over 45% year-over-year. With Xbox Play Anywhere, players now can access more than 1,000 games they can play across console and PC.”

“Just last week we brought cloud gaming to LG TVs. Cloud Gaming set a new record, surpassing 150 million hours played for the first time this quarter.”

Xbox’s gaming revenue grew 43% year-on-year back in 2024, largely thanks to its acquisition of the multi-platform publisher Activision Blizzard and its continually popular Warcraft, Candy Crush and Call of Duty franchises back in 2023, and it looks like that momentum is only set to continue.

Microsoft has had a strong multi-platform start to the year, with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 releasing on PlayStation 5 in April.

Its subsidiary Bethesda also shadow dropped The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on multiple platforms last month, and the highly-anticipated Doom: The Dark Ages is set to release on Xbox Series X/S, PC and PlayStation 5 in May.

Activision Blizzard will also release Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 in July.