- The PS5 has had about 5x fewer exclusives than the PS4, and 10x fewer than the PS3.
- Despite the lack of exclusives, the PS5 has sold well, matching the PS4’s sales.
- This was possible due to some smart deals Sony made and the lack of competition.
The biggest reason for the PlayStation’s success has always been its excellent exclusives. From God of War to Uncharted, The Last of Us, and more, PlayStation has always had an edge over Xbox due to its superb first-party franchises.
The console itself has managed to deliver based on the sales numbers, but the number of exclusives has been on a decline this generation. Sony has already canceled over 10 major first-party games this generation. These include:
- The Last of Us 2 Factions
- Payback From Bungie
- Twisted Metal
- New IP From Deviation Games
- New IP From London Studio
- Spider-Man: The Great Web
- God of War Live Service Project
- Bend Studio Live Service Project
- Days Gone 2
- Bend and Naughty Dog Partner Project Expected To Be Uncharted 5
For context, the PS5 has 5x fewer exclusives than PS4, and a whopping 10x fewer than PS3. This begs the question of “Has the lack of exclusives hurt PlayStation this generation?”
To give a straight answer, that doesn’t seem to have any effect. The console currently sits at over 84 million units sold, and sales are almost the same as its predecessor in the same amount of time, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Why it matters: Exclusives are generally the defining thing for consoles and something that brings in the most audience and profits; despite the smaller number of exclusives, PS5 sales haven’t struggled at all.
PS5 Sales Are Brilliant Despite The Lack of Exclusives
No, the lack of exclusives hasn’t hurt PS5 as it should have in theory. Remember that this generation was also plagued with shortages and other issues in the beginning; despite this, the sales are almost equal to PS4.
The last couple of generations had genre-defining exclusives. These include franchises like Uncharted, The Last of Us, Horizon, and more. Most of this generation was just remakes or remasters of the previous-gen titles.
But the biggest question here is, why hasn’t that hurt Sony’s console sales? There are a couple of big reasons for that. The first and foremost is the lack of competition. Xbox has fallen so much that it doesn’t pose a threat anymore.
Sony was already known for its first-party titles, whereas Xbox lost most of its momentum with the previous generation consoles. So, most people already had an upgrade path, going from PS4 to PS5.
This threw Xbox out of the competition as all of its games were already available on PC. So, PS5 automatically became a default option. The only people who prefer Xbox are those who are avid Game Pass users.
Even in the subscription service battles, PS Plus provided great value in 2025. It had a ton of AAA releases, although it still couldn’t match the Game Pass, it is still a no-brainer for PlayStation users.
In addition, while Sony didn’t have many first-party games, it capitalized on this, securing exclusivity deals with other studios. Stellar Blade, Black Myth: Wukong, and Death Stranding 2 have all been possible due to the deals.
The Momentum Will Increase in 2026
2026 is set to be an excellent year for PS5, having already secured its position as the default gaming console. There are some notable titles headed our way in the upcoming year that will boost PS5 sales more.
Keeping the trend of third-party exclusives, Phantom Blade Zero is among the most anticipated action games of the year. Housrmarque, the developers of Returnal, will launch their next title, Saros, in March.
Then there is Sony’s tentpole game for 2026, Marvel’s Wolverine. This will perhaps give the biggest push to the sales. If it is anywhere close to the quality of Marvel’s Spider-Man, it is already a gigantic hit in the making.
And how can we forget maybe the biggest release of the decade, GTA 6. Rockstar’s game will first launch on consoles before making its way over to PC. I, for one, already know people who have already bought PS5s just for GTA 6.
Albeit the title will boost Xbox sales too, considering the state of the console, it won’t be as significant as Sony’s console. Then there’s the fact that Xbox plans to eventually release all its games on PS5, making its offering a bit useless.
Despite Decent Sales, Exclusives Are Still Important
Sony doesn’t plan to give up on exclusives any time soon, and that seems to be the right call. Microsoft lost its way because it gave up exclusivity, and Sony doesn’t seem to be following the same path.
Even in a recent interview, former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden emphasized the importance of exclusives. He said they are like a song to the console, and you can’t expect Nintendo to launch Mario on other platforms.
So, yes, while the lack of exclusives hasn’t hurt PS5 this generation, it could in the long run if this continues. Fans are already fatigued by the constant remasters and remakes and want something new.
Luckily, PlayStation is reportedly working on new first-party exclusives, which include Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic and a new rumored God of War game, but based on the long development cycles, it should also focus on smaller-scale titles like Astro Bot as well.
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News Reporter
Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.
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