Playground Games and Microsoft just pulled off a plot twist nobody saw coming: In 2025, Forza Horizon 5 is the best-selling title on PlayStation 5, outperforming even Sony’s own Japanese blockbusters. Not only does this prove the power of a multiplatform approach, it marks a turning point for the entire console market.
Playground Games—the team that’s supposedly still working on that elusive Fable reboot—and Microsoft have managed something that sounds like an April Fool’s headline. In a development nobody would have dared predict a few years back, Forza Horizon 5, published by Microsoft, is the best-selling game on PlayStation 5 so far in 2025.
According to Alinea Analytics, the fifth installment of the former Xbox-exclusive series landed on Sony’s platform this March and has already surpassed 3 million units sold. That puts it ahead of Monster Hunter Wilds (2.9 million), Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2 million), Elden Ring Nightreign (1.4 million), and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (1.3 million).
While 3 million sales in just a few months is impressive, the data gets even more staggering. Alinea reports Forza Horizon 5 sold 2 million copies in just 25 days on PlayStation 5, crushing first-party exclusives like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Astro Bot, neither of which came close to matching those numbers.
The second chapter of Kojima Productions’ franchise sold only 1 million copies in its first 25 days, and last year’s Game of the Year winner only hit 2 million after three months. Microsoft’s multiplatform gamble is clearly paying off, offsetting weak Xbox Series hardware sales and stagnant Game Pass growth with massive success on rival consoles.
And here’s the punchline: Forza Horizon 5 never saw results like this on Xbox Series hardware.
Source: WCCFTech, Alinea Analytics
