PS5 is reportedly taking a huge share of console launch sales for some big-budget single-player games, with Xbox Series X|S left fighting for a much smaller slice of the same releases.
VGC reports that Christopher Dring of The Game Business, citing confidential sales data, said AAA single-player games such as Resident Evil: Requiem and 007: First Light can see roughly 75% to 80% of their launch-month console sales on PS5 when PC is excluded. Dring was responding to discussion around claims that early GTA 6 pre-order activity has heavily favored PlayStation over Xbox.
The reported split does not mean every major game sells at that ratio. Dring also said multiplayer games perform better on Xbox at launch, with Microsoft's console platform taking around 30% of console sales in those cases. Even with that caveat, the numbers paint a tough picture for Xbox when publishers are looking at where full-price console demand is strongest.
Why the split matters for third-party games
For players, the immediate result is not that publishers will suddenly abandon Xbox. Resident Evil: Requiem and 007: First Light are still examples of the kind of third-party AAA games that launch across multiple platforms. The sales balance does, however, help explain why PlayStation marketing deals, physical shelf space and console-focused promotion can lean so heavily toward PS5.
It also adds context to Sony's recent push to make PS5 ownership feel more valuable. PlayStation has reportedly been keeping future single-player games closer to PS5, a change that would make Sony's own hardware more important for players who want its biggest story-led releases at launch.
Xbox is trying to answer that pressure with a more complicated strategy. Microsoft has moved some first-party games to rival platforms, but it has also said Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are Xbox console exclusives rather than timed exclusives. That gives Xbox a clearer first-party message, even as third-party sales data reportedly continues to favor PlayStation.
The GTA 6 comparison is especially sensitive because Rockstar's next game is expected to be one of the defining console releases of the generation. Rockstar has confirmed GTA 6 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but official pre-orders have not begun. Earlier unofficial listings only showed how intense demand already is before Rockstar details pricing, editions or bonuses.
Reports of an 8-to-1 PS5 advantage for GTA 6 pre-orders would be more extreme than the broader pattern Dring described. His numbers suggest the usual gap for AAA single-player console sales is still very large, but closer to a 75% to 80% PS5 share than a near-total Xbox collapse.
Xbox still has ways to compete outside boxed and digital launch sales, including Game Pass, PC releases, cloud access and its own first-party lineup. The reported launch-month split is a reminder that for traditional console software sales, PlayStation remains the platform publishers can least afford to ignore.