- According to a Circana survey, exclusives are the no.1 reason people buy consoles in 2026.
- 41% of players choose hardware because of first-party titles, while 38% do so because of friends.
- Furthermore, Nintendo relies a lot more on exclusives to sell consoles than PlayStation.
Ever since Xbox decided to release games on PS5, console exclusivity has been hotly debated in the industry. The importance of first-party titles has been highlighted by Microsoft’s multi-platform pivot, with revenue from PS5 ports not being sufficient enough to offset the PR damage the brand has incurred.
Reports also suggest that Sony could stop releasing PC ports to further strengthen the PlayStation ecosystem. Hence, the gaming giants are realising how important console exclusives are, and if a survey is anything to go by, they are the main reason hardware is still selling in 2026.
Why it matters: If Xbox and PlayStation want to stay afloat, they will need to refocus on publishing exclusive titles that their fanbases actually want to play.
While speaking on The Game Business Podcast, Chris Dring revealed that 41% of US gamers choose to play on consoles because of exclusive titles.
The number one reason why US gamers play on a console is because of exclusive games. 41% of respondents cited that as the biggest reason as to why they buy a console.
This information comes from a survey conducted by Circana in Q1 2026, and even though the ratio of players who chose consoles due to exclusives has gone down 8% compared to Q1 2025, it’s still the no.1 reason people buy hardware.
According to Dring, the reason at no.2 is friends and family playing on a certain console, with 38% of the players saying they purchased hardware because of it. Furthermore, the analyst also revealed that Nintendo console sales rely more on exclusives than PlayStation, with first-party titles being a key differentiator for the latter, but it isn’t everything.
Looking at this data, it makes complete sense that new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is reevaluating the multi-platform strategy and internally considering going back to first-party exclusivity for Xbox. Many developers, however, believe that exclusives are an old-fashioned concept that isn’t viable for the modern gaming industry.
Do you think exclusives are a big deal in the gaming industry and should be a mainstay? Tell us in the comments below or head to the Tech4Gamers forum for discussion.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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