Image: Push Square
According to Chris Dring, the editor of The Game Business, AAA single player games sell about 75%-80% of their copies on the PS5 compared to Xbox Series X|S at launch, based on global sales data.
It’s not a massively shocking statistic, considering the install base for Sony’s console is over 93 million units, while Microsoft’s machine is estimated to be somewhere in the region of 35 million units.
But if accurate, it would once again show that PlayStation is king for single player games.
Dring does mention that the gap closes for multiplayer games, and we’ve seen examples of that with Sony published titles, like Bungie’s Marathon.
I personally don’t think any of this should come as a particularly huge surprise.
A new AAA single-player game on console tends to do about 75% – 80% of its sales (at launch) on PlayStation vs Xbox. That number is often lower when it comes to online multiplayer games.— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) June 28, 2026
Game Pass has undoubtedly changed the way some Xbox customers interact with the console, meanwhile Sony’s emphasis on story-based franchises like God of War and The Last of Us has made it a natural home for single player games.
This does come with disadvantages, as the platform holder has found it tricky to diversify into live service, even though the PS3 was absolutely packed with interesting and unique multiplayer games.
You’ve also got to consider the install base differences. Dring wouldn’t elaborate too much on his data, but he said he “averaged” the results out from various data suppliers; we know in some European countries, for example, the PS5 is basically the only option these days.
Nevertheless, this discussion does all follow on from IGN reporting recently, which used its affiliate data to claim the PS5 version of GTA 6 is outperforming the Xbox edition 8:1.
Microsoft released a statement to deny those results, and this new data suggests that was a particularly giddy split. But it certainly stands to reason that the primarily single player open world game with heavy Sony marketing support will sell best on the more popular PS5.
As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.