Indiana Jones säljer snabbare på PS5 än Xbox, ny Doom-trailer ignorerar Xbox helt

Indiana Jones Is Selling Better on PS5 Than Xbox, and Doom's New Trailer Makes It Even Weirder

Let’s just say it: we are living in the weirdest part of the console war right now. Microsoft owns Bethesda. Bethesda publishes Indiana Jones And The Great Circle. The game launched on Xbox and PC first, four months ago. And now that it’s landed on PlayStation 5, it’s selling faster there than anywhere else.

Oh, and just to make the corporate identity crisis even spicier, Bethesda just released a PlayStation-only trailer for the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages—without even mentioning Xbox once. What timeline are we in?

“Indiana Jones has sold over 117,200 copies on PlayStation 5 within a week of its launch on April 17, 2025.”

According to Alinea analyst Rhys Elliott, that’s 28% faster than the game’s performance on Steam when it launched in December. And yes, it’s also outpacing Xbox, although that’s a little more complicated. Because most Xbox users didn’t buy the game—they just downloaded it via Game Pass.

“It’s estimated just under five million Xbox players checked out’ Indiana Jones… but the overwhelming majority played it via Game Pass.”

That’s the kicker here. Xbox players played the game, but they didn’t buy it. Meanwhile, PlayStation players are dropping $70 on it without hesitation. The analyst even predicts the PS5 version will eventually outperform total Steam sales, which currently sit at around 300,000.

What Even Is an Exclusive Anymore?

If you're thinking, "Wait, isn't this a Microsoft game?"—you’re not alone. This is the same Microsoft that once held Halo, Gears of War, and Forza as fortress-tier exclusives. Then the winds changed.

The so-called "exclusive wars" used to be simple. Sony had Bloodborne, Spider-Man, The Last of Us, and God of War—all system sellers. Microsoft had Halo, Fable, and Gears. But over the past few years, Microsoft has shifted gears. Hard.

They’ve started launching more of their once-exclusive games on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation, saying the quiet part out loud: they’re not in it for the console sales anymore. They’re in it for Game Pass subscriptions.

This is where the strategy bites them. Game Pass is great for consumers, but it’s not great for selling a game like Indiana Jones at $70 a pop. Meanwhile, Sony’s audience is still buying physical and digital games like it’s 2013, and that cash still talks.

“Microsoft shifts to becoming a multiplatform publisher which prioritises its Game Pass subscription service over Xbox consoles.”

Then Doom Enters the Chat… and Only Says “Hi” to PlayStation

As if the Indiana Jones numbers weren’t telling enough, Bethesda just pushed out a new Doom: The Dark Ages trailer—on PlayStation’s YouTube channel only. Titled Cosmic Realm First Reveal, the video features id Software’s Hugo Martin gushing about the game… without saying "Xbox" once. He even closes with this gem:

“We want to give Sony fans something special.”

That is so specific. Sure, Doom has always been multi-format. But Bethesda and id Software are Microsoft studios now. You’d think the Xbox logo might sneak in somewhere. It doesn’t.

So we’re at the point where Microsoft-owned devs are promoting games as if they’re PlayStation exclusives. If you showed this to someone in 2018, they’d think it was deepfake propaganda.

Sony’s Weaponized Exclusivity Still Works

The thing is, Sony never gave up on exclusivity. Even now in 2025, Bloodborne is still a PS4 exclusive. The Last of Us Part I only made its way to PC recently. And Spider-Man 2? Don’t hold your breath for that to leave PlayStation any time soon.

These exclusives are why people buy a PlayStation. They trust Sony to deliver big, cinematic, triple-A experiences they can’t get anywhere else (at least not for a few years). Microsoft, by contrast, seems fine letting its biggest games go wherever.

Even Starfield—once thought to be a major Xbox draw—is rumored to be headed to PS5 in the future. So when Indiana Jones drops on PS5, PlayStation fans see it as a shiny new AAA game to buy. Xbox fans? They already played it on Game Pass and moved on.

Xbox Hardware

The elephant in the room is Xbox’s identity crisis. If PlayStation gets all the Xbox games—often months later but in better-selling form—what’s the point of owning an Xbox at all?

Game Pass is great, no question. But if you’re a consumer choosing between a PS5 and an Xbox Series X, and the PS5 gets all the same stuff plus Spider-Man, plus God of War, plus Final Fantasy… it becomes a harder and harder sell for Microsoft’s box.

There are rumors that Microsoft is considering exiting the hardware race entirely, focusing instead on publishing and Game Pass across all platforms. Indiana Jones’s success on PS5—and Doom’s PS5-centric trailer—definitely adds fuel to that fire.

“It is still an odd sign of the times – and one which leaves a big question hanging over Xbox’s role in the console space moving forward.”

The Future Looks Multiplatform

Microsoft might have thought it could have it both ways—control the studios and the platforms. But what we’re seeing now is a gradual shift into Microsoft as a publisher first, platform holder second (or third?).

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle doing numbers on PS5 isn’t just a fluke. It’s a signal. People want great games, and they don’t really care who publishes them. But if you’re Microsoft, that has to sting a little. Because while Sony’s selling $70 copies of your game, your own console’s just the launch pad for a Game Pass free trial.

The real twist? If this keeps working, PlayStation might just become the best place to play Microsoft games.

Wild.