Xbox expected Starfield to sell 10 million copies on PS5 but decided it's worth more as an exclusive

[John Elden Ring]

Source

Microsoft estimated it could get 10 million Starfield sales on PlayStation, but – surprise – opted to make it to an Xbox console exclusive instead.

Yesterday, July 13, a US court released its findings from the case of the Federal Trade Commission against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The court documents reveal Microsoft Gaming's CFO Tim Stuart believed the company could see over 10 million Starfield sales on PS5 alone if it had kept Bethesda's RPG on Sony's platform.

Obviously, we know Starfield isn't coming to PS5 anymore. What persuaded Microsoft to ditch these 10 million potential Starfield sales was the belief the company could recuperate these profits by launching Starfield via the Xbox Game Pass subscription service on both Xbox Series X/S and PC, not to mention increased console sales.

 

[MScarpa]

Doesnt surprise me. They want exclusivity.

 

[flaccidsnake]

I hope this game is great, but it would be kinda fun if it was another Cyberpunk.

 

[Gediminas]

Old news.

 

[Johnic]

Very old news now. it was revealed in the most recent court documents to expose MS' lies. Not that it meant much to the judge...

 

[laynelane]

I'm interested to see whether that turns out to be true or not. It's unclear how much or whether it will move the needle as much as MS expects it to.