As a 32-year-old who was in high school during the peak of the PlayStation and Xbox war, 2025 was surreal to me. I was raised as a PlayStation gamer, and even to this day, I have never owned an Xbox console. When the PS3 was being absolutely dominated by the Xbox 360 by all metrics in the mid-to-late 00s, it sucked. The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling console of all time, and the PS3 did an awful job of following it.
It had few must-have exclusives for years, while the Xbox 360 was throwing out the likes of Halo, Gears of War, Forza, Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Piñata, and Left 4 Dead like there was no tomorrow. Eventually, the PS3 went on an exclusive hot streak, and the tide seismically shifted Sony’s way with the PS4 and Xbox One. This has continued with the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, to the point where it’s evident Microsoft has waved the white flag in the console wars once and for all.
The Gears of War…Is Over
Xbox’s game plan shifted with the Xbox One, tailoring the experience more toward an all-purpose media device, as opposed to Sony and PlayStation’s single-minded vision for the PS4: Gaming. I feel this is the pivotal moment where Xbox got everything wrong, allowing PlayStation to catch up, and the blue brand hasn’t looked back since.
The PS4 outsold the Xbox more than 2 to 1 (which is huge), but Microsoft managed to find a way to engage and retain a healthy amount of its player base—the allure of Xbox Game Pass. A paid subscription service offering a huge catalog of games, including Xbox exclusives, and giving players a new Xbox exclusive on day one.
This was an effective tactic for the longest time. But the model has long been touted as destructive to the industry: Ask Arkane Studios’ founder, who branded Game Pass as ‘Unsustainable’ and ‘Damaging’. 2025 saw the infamous Game Pass price hike that left everyone in shock, but it doesn’t seem to have had the big negative impact that was feared.
Microsoft is still making games, but there’s talk that future Xbox ‘exclusives’ are PS5-bound. This is probably expected after a manic 2025, which has effectively seen the console wars end, and Microsoft give up its biggest IPs to its once-rival.
Halo For Your Thoughts, Xbox?
There’s probably an alternate timeline somewhere where Xbox Elite controllers are being used to guide Nathan Drake to Shambhala, strum a guitar in The Last of Us Part 2, and help guide Kratos and Atreus through the fires of Muspelheim. We’re in this timeline, where the Horizon festival is bouncing on PS5 Pros, and Astro Bot-themed devices are having their analog sticks twiddled and turned in an effort to combat Gears of War Reloaded’s Locust.
2025 has been a mega year for PlayStation gamers such as myself. Forza has always eluded me, so has Gears of War, and it’s been a pleasure to soak up these legendary franchises that have stood tall as pillars of Microsoft’s success. However, you can pinpoint the moment when hell froze over, the skies were rife with airborne pigs, and the cows finally came home.
Halo: Campaign Evolved was officially announced on October 24, and I think it was the final nail in the coffin for the console wars.
The biased, 14-year-old Sony fanboy in me felt smug, but maturity hits different. I don’t know how I feel now. A unified platform where games can be played on one console is logically the most consumer-friendly solution. Obviously, Nintendo will never let this happen as it doesn’t need to. But it’s almost shocking that it’s come to this: PlayStation logos appearing in Xbox trailers, and even future Xbox games will likely be coming to PS5 to maximize Microsoft profits.
But where does Xbox go from here? If the biggest Xbox games can be played on PC and PS5, why own an Xbox? Blind brand loyalty? Years of digital purchases and investments forcing you to stick to Xbox? This is where Insider Gaming wants to hear from the community. Do you agree that the console wars are officially over? What’s the best thing Microsoft can do from here? Share your thoughts and more through the Insider Gaming Discord Server.
You should also check out every Gears of War game ranked from worst to best.
Next gen it truly ends. PS6 will be the last PlayStation and last 3-5 years, Nintendo will remain and so will Valve. I think Sony sells Sony pictures to Fox or Netflix and then sells the gaming division to Tencent.