Microsoft and Rare's 'Sea of Thieves' is currently the #1 most preordered game on PlayStation

Very well-done and well-deserved MS/Rare.

And congrats to all those new players getting a chance to ummmm, test the Waters. lol :P

Any PS5 players here in SW ready to give the high seas a whirl?

And remember, you can now play solo in the Safer Seas option.

Thoughts?

The Story.

----

Microsoft and Rare's 'Sea of Thieves' is currently the #1 most preordered game on PlayStation

Story by Jez Corden

• 2w • 3 min read

What you need to know

• Last month, Microsoft confirmed widespread rumors that it would start bringing more of its "exclusive" Xbox games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, in a quest for bigger profit margin growth.
• The first batch includes Grounded, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, and Sea of Thieves.
• Sea of Thieves is by far the biggest of the bunch, and the service game arguably has the most potential.
• It seems that that potential is already being realized, since the game has hit the top spot on the preorder chart on PlayStation consoles.

Last month, Microsoft confirmed during an "Xbox Business Update" podcast that it would be bringing some of its Xbox console exclusive games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. The first four games include Grounded, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, and Sea of Thieves. Sea of Thieves is by far the biggest game of the bunch, given that the multiplayer sandbox pirate adventure has reached tens of millions of players across both Xbox consoles and PC.

Microsoft's decision to "dilute" the meaning of "Xbox exclusive" has been met with some fierce resistance in some quarters and quiet scepticism in others, lamenting the possibility of a collapse in Xbox console hardware sales. Microsoft and others have argued that the console industry is largely a static install base of around 200-250 million overlapping users, and the future of gaming is going to be more about targeting users where they are, rather than trying to absorb them into a closed ecosystem. At the same time, Microsoft said "not to expect" more than this initial pool of four ports for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation, but if the experiment is successful, it stands to reason to expect more to jump across.

To that end, Sea of Thieves will be among the first games to explore this new direction, and so far, it seems like it's paying off. Confirmed by industry analyst Benji-Sales and others, Sea of Thieves has hit the top spot on the preorder chart for PlayStation in the United States, as well as various other territories.

Microsoft is already a prolific publisher on PlayStation, owing to games like Minecraft, Minecraft Dungeons, and some of the acquired titles from studios like Bethesda. Microsoft can now also count Activision-Blizzard games like Call of Duty as part of that envious revenue stream, too.

Analysing the plan

What Microsoft will be monitoring closely is whether or not this experiment will lead to a decrease in monthly active users. Microsoft confirmed in its most recent investor call that Xbox console monthly active users are higher than ever, counting both Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S players in that stat. Xbox Series X|S sales might fall far behind PlayStation 5, but the implication here is that both "sides" are selling hardware to an existing user base, rather than an expanding one. Popular service games like EA Football (FIFA), Minecraft, and Fortnite remain actively updated on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, contributing to the long-tail of the previous console generation.

Microsoft might have given Xbox One users fewer reasons to upgrade to the new-gen consoles than Sony's PlayStation 5 has, but that doesn't seem to have contributed to a drop off in active, paying users. However, Microsoft will likely be interested to see if Sea of Thieves on PlayStation moves active Sea of Thieves users from Xbox to PlayStation, for those with both consoles. Ideally, Microsoft would want to see Sea of Thieves acquire new users here, rather than simply move existing players from other ecosystems. In the short term, the extra sales will undoubtedly be a boon, but this strategy is entirely about finding growth. If Microsoft finds that putting games like Sea of Thieves and so on leads to a decrease in monthly active Xbox users, or seeing Xbox One users opt for PlayStation 5 as their upgrade path, it's likely that they'd be a little more restrictive about how they proceed.

In any case, it'll be interesting to see how this strategy evolves over time. Microsoft has confirmed that new Xbox hardware is in the works for the next-generation, accompanied by widespread rumors that the firm is exploring its own Xbox handheld device, with native gameplay support akin to the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch.

Sea of Thieves launches on April 30, 2024 for PlayStation 5, and is available right now on Xbox Series X|S and PC, also with Xbox Game Pass.

@BenjaminBanklin:

So nice to see one big happy gaming family and all making a fair bit of cha-ching as well. lol :P

It is sad how MS ip's are suffering without us, real video game fans that play actual video games.

lol. A game from 2018.

Those PS fans sure could use some more games.

Not really fair to categorize it that way when tons of beefy DLC has been added since then with the latest yuuuge DLC that just launched eh but you already knew this. lol :P

Special Events for Sea of Thieves’ Sixth Anniversary!

See what’s in store for 2024 as you go all out for gold, glory and gleaming glass loot!

https://www.seaofthieves.com/news/sixth-anniversary

That's not hard to do when they have barely anything to play.

Kudos to Microsoft and Rare. 👍

Congrats

I played Sea of Thieves back when it came out in 2018 and found the gameplay to be kinda boring. I know they've done a lot of updates since but I don't plan on buying it again.

lol! Welcome all gamers to the world class SONY experience!

PS gamers longing for Xbox games. I remember the game receiving flak from a rabid Sony fanny now the game is the most pre-ordered on PS5.😂

Congratulations to Microsoft for bringing Sony gamers something theyre desperately craving.... Games.

The real question is.. if MS starts making good money porting 1st party.. does Sony follow in MS Footsteps.. like they usually do..

@Pedro said:

@TheEroica said:

Congratulations to Microsoft for bringing Sony gamers something theyre desperately craving.... Games.

Maybe Microsoft can help Sony validate a need for ps5 pro?

@TheEroica said:

@Pedro said:

@TheEroica said:

Congratulations to Microsoft for bringing Sony gamers something theyre desperately craving.... Games.

Maybe Microsoft can help Sony validate a need for ps5 pro?

How is Microsoft gonna do that when they can’t even validate the need for their own hardware?

@ghostofgolden said:

@TheEroica said:

@Pedro said:

@TheEroica said:

Congratulations to Microsoft for bringing Sony gamers something theyre desperately craving.... Games.

Maybe Microsoft can help Sony validate a need for ps5 pro?

How is Microsoft gonna do that when they can’t even validate the need for their own hardware?

Stupid thing not working...Oh snap!

Uh oh does that mean the narrative changes back to console sales or is it games that win wars???????

Lastplacestation

what do you mean? there is plenty of ps5 games games this month alone that is not on xbox.

this was a sad attempt.

what do you mean? ps5 had 3 third party exclusives games this month. helldivers,ronin,final fantasy what more do you want in one month? on top of dogma2 maybe xbox can get games from us so far in 2024. xbox has been died in 2024 so far.

wow ps5 in 2024 is killing it with games so far. 3 third party exclusives on top of xbox games on top of third party games. again xbox fans are waiting. avowed and indiana and hellblade2 will come maybe.

All jokes and fanboyism (in this thread) aside, Sea of Thieves is a fun game so I expected it to do well on PS5, especially considering they dont really have a ton of unique mulitplayer games aside from Helldivers 2.

Rare should've made it more newbie friendly before releasing it on PS5 though. I tried jumping into it again after trying it at launch and there are a LOT of changes and its a lot to take in.

I expect Grounded to have the same impact. That game is far better (and deeper) than people realize.

Good👌🤘

Maybe.😂

This is great! A game on more platforms is a good thing! Rejoice, everyone. One less exclusive in the world.

Also it's a very fun, very cool game. I especially love the complete lack of unlocks; everyone gets the same gear from the start. Great co-op game.

@SecretPolice: You're about 2 weeks too late on this news.

#thirdpartystation5

So glad Cows have actual games to play this year thanks to MSoft.

@mesome713: Lmao so true... PS gamers are just desperate for some actual games to play. Hopefully for their sake, MS releases some more games on PS.

You've used a fucking +2 weeks old article?

@davillain

Thread exists :

https://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/you-had-one-job-and-you-blew-it-33616854/

Funny thing is...games isn't No.1 at all for few weeks now ( Windows central used a US PSN Store as source ) :

You are a mod. An Xbox moderator of course. Why you don't close a duplicate thread?

Someone got triggered.😂

@BenjaminBanklin: Doesn’t that give him 70% more than he was getting? Must be frustrating for Sony to see more Sony gamers more excited about a 6 year old last gen game than Sony’s boob jiggling exclusive.

He is too dumb to realize..😂

Damn, Sony owners get to play the boob game AND the Xbox pirate game. AND FF7 Rebirth, Helldivers II, Rise of the Ronin and so on. You Xboys are getting absolutely COOKED out here. Must be frustrating to see Playstation be the only viable console choice on the market. RIP Xbox

Translated..my dumb 30% damage control got destroyed,i'd better add more dumb damage control 🤣😂

@saint-george said:

Translated..my dumb 30% damage control got destroyed,i'd better add more dumb damage control 🤣😂

How does it feel to lose the console war SO bad you have to keep coping with an alt? 🤣🤣

@SecretPolice: 🤣 🤣 good stuff. The cows needed games desperately, and thanks MS for finally giving it to them.

@loudheadphones:

My thread info and style make's that other thread pale and lackluster by comparison so, just sayin. lol :P

@BenjaminBanklin said:

@saint-george said:

Translated..my dumb 30% damage control got destroyed,i'd better add more dumb damage control 🤣😂

How does it feel to lose the console war SO bad you have to keep coping with an alt? 🤣🤣

I'm not involved in a console war,but i do enjoy triggering those who are...You 😂🤣

lol :P

@loudheadphones said:

@SecretPolice said:

Very well-done and well-deserved MS/Rare.

And congrats to all those new players getting a chance to ummmm, test the Waters. lol :P

Any PS5 players here in SW ready to give the high seas a whirl?

And remember, you can now play solo in the Safer Seas option.

Thoughts?

The Story.

----

Microsoft and Rare's 'Sea of Thieves' is currently the #1 most preordered game on PlayStation

Story by Jez Corden

• 2w • 3 min read

What you need to know

• Last month, Microsoft confirmed widespread rumors that it would start bringing more of its "exclusive" Xbox games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, in a quest for bigger profit margin growth.
• The first batch includes Grounded, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, and Sea of Thieves.
• Sea of Thieves is by far the biggest of the bunch, and the service game arguably has the most potential.
• It seems that that potential is already being realized, since the game has hit the top spot on the preorder chart on PlayStation consoles.

Last month, Microsoft confirmed during an "Xbox Business Update" podcast that it would be bringing some of its Xbox console exclusive games to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. The first four games include Grounded, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, and Sea of Thieves. Sea of Thieves is by far the biggest game of the bunch, given that the multiplayer sandbox pirate adventure has reached tens of millions of players across both Xbox consoles and PC.

Microsoft's decision to "dilute" the meaning of "Xbox exclusive" has been met with some fierce resistance in some quarters and quiet scepticism in others, lamenting the possibility of a collapse in Xbox console hardware sales. Microsoft and others have argued that the console industry is largely a static install base of around 200-250 million overlapping users, and the future of gaming is going to be more about targeting users where they are, rather than trying to absorb them into a closed ecosystem. At the same time, Microsoft said "not to expect" more than this initial pool of four ports for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation, but if the experiment is successful, it stands to reason to expect more to jump across.

To that end, Sea of Thieves will be among the first games to explore this new direction, and so far, it seems like it's paying off. Confirmed by industry analyst Benji-Sales and others, Sea of Thieves has hit the top spot on the preorder chart for PlayStation in the United States, as well as various other territories.

Microsoft is already a prolific publisher on PlayStation, owing to games like Minecraft, Minecraft Dungeons, and some of the acquired titles from studios like Bethesda. Microsoft can now also count Activision-Blizzard games like Call of Duty as part of that envious revenue stream, too.

Analysing the plan

What Microsoft will be monitoring closely is whether or not this experiment will lead to a decrease in monthly active users. Microsoft confirmed in its most recent investor call that Xbox console monthly active users are higher than ever, counting both Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S players in that stat. Xbox Series X|S sales might fall far behind PlayStation 5, but the implication here is that both "sides" are selling hardware to an existing user base, rather than an expanding one. Popular service games like EA Football (FIFA), Minecraft, and Fortnite remain actively updated on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, contributing to the long-tail of the previous console generation.

Microsoft might have given Xbox One users fewer reasons to upgrade to the new-gen consoles than Sony's PlayStation 5 has, but that doesn't seem to have contributed to a drop off in active, paying users. However, Microsoft will likely be interested to see if Sea of Thieves on PlayStation moves active Sea of Thieves users from Xbox to PlayStation, for those with both consoles. Ideally, Microsoft would want to see Sea of Thieves acquire new users here, rather than simply move existing players from other ecosystems. In the short term, the extra sales will undoubtedly be a boon, but this strategy is entirely about finding growth. If Microsoft finds that putting games like Sea of Thieves and so on leads to a decrease in monthly active Xbox users, or seeing Xbox One users opt for PlayStation 5 as their upgrade path, it's likely that they'd be a little more restrictive about how they proceed.

In any case, it'll be interesting to see how this strategy evolves over time. Microsoft has confirmed that new Xbox hardware is in the works for the next-generation, accompanied by widespread rumors that the firm is exploring its own Xbox handheld device, with native gameplay support akin to the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch.

Sea of Thieves launches on April 30, 2024 for PlayStation 5, and is available right now on Xbox Series X|S and PC, also with Xbox Game Pass.

You've used a fucking +2 weeks old article?

@davillain

Thread exists :

https://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/you-had-one-job-and-you-blew-it-33616854/

@SecretPolice said:

@BenjaminBanklin:

So nice to see one big happy gaming family and all making a fair bit of cha-ching as well. lol :P

Funny thing is...games isn't No.1 at all for few weeks now ( Windows central used a US PSN Store as source ) :

@TheEroica said:

Congratulations to Microsoft for bringing Sony gamers something theyre desperately craving.... Games.

You are a mod. An Xbox moderator of course. Why you don't close a duplicate thread?

You might get yourself banned here too. You need to calm down son.