In the past few years, we have seen the number of console exclusives shrink considerably. While Nintendo continued to keep its games confined to its systems, Sony and Microsoft began releasing their tentpole PlayStation and Xbox franchises to PC and other consoles, respectively, signaling that the era of console exclusives was coming to an end. However, both seem to be pivoting away from their multiplatform strategies, and the reason couldn't be clearer: for many gamers, exclusives are the main reason to get a console over another.
As spotted by Idle Sloth on Bluesky, The Game Business' Chris Dring recently reported that, according to the Circana Q1 2026 consumer survey, "the number one reason why US gamers play on a console is because of exclusive games," with 41% of respondents citing that as the biggest reason as to why they play on a console. While it's an 8% drop from the same survey last year, it's still a significant number. 38% of respondents also cited friends and family using the same console as the reason for purchasing any particular system.
As already mentioned, we heard reports of both PlayStation and Xbox readying to pivot their multiplatform strategies in the past few weeks, and it's certain at this point that the continued dominance of exclusive games as the main driver of console sales is behind the decision to possibly return to a strategy that seemed to be on the way out.
While the impact for Sony was minimal, according to former exec Shuhei Yoshida, unsurprising considering their strong position in the console market and how their PC ports, which came at times years after a game made its debut on console, did not set the market on fire, Microsoft's "Everything is an Xbox" strategy hurt the brand and console sales considerably. This decline was evident to see in Microsoft's third-quarter earnings report, where Xbox recorded its third consecutive decline.
As such, despite the strong sales Xbox games have enjoyed on other systems, with titles like Forza Horizon 5 outselling even some of Sony's first-party titles, it makes sense for the company to heavily consider a return to console exclusives. With the Xbox Project Helix system bridging the gap between console and PC gaming, however, it remains to be seen how exclusive games will be handled to boost system sales.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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