Xbox has a number of incredible-looking exclusives releasing in 2025, including the much-anticipated Avowed, the long-awaited Fable, and the unique South of Midnight. Of course, PlayStation similarly has exclusives launching in 2025, but not nearly as many, and few that are generating as much hype. In fact, a lot of what is releasing on the PlayStation 5 are Xbox-produced titles, such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and The Outer Worlds 2.

The PS5 2025 lineup is somewhat strong, but Sony's reluctance to show off too much in combination with rising production costs and development times means that it has little in of first-party releases to offer. This isn't particularly new, as much of the PS5's lifespan has been dominated by strong but infrequent exclusives and a handful of third-party gems. Fortunately, there is one Xbox exclusive that could end up coming to PS5 that would help fill in a gap in its lineup and give PlayStation fans a much-needed epic RPG.

PlayStation 5 Is Lacking Exclusives In 2025

Only Ghost Of Yotei & Death Stranding 2 Stand Out

The PS5 has two big games coming out in 2025: Ghost of Yotei and Death Stranding 2. Both are long-awaited sequels following up some of Sony's most beloved titles, even if the original Death Stranding was divisive at launch. Of course, there are plenty of people excited about both games, as they have each developed impressive fanbases. However, outside of them, PlayStation, currently, has very little to offer. There are a handful of other exclusives from third-party studios, such as Ballad of Antara and the indie Midnight Walk, but it isn't enough to make 2025 feel like a stacked year.

It is possible that Sony will reveal additional games releasing exclusively for the PS5 later on in the year. While its track record for showcacoming games has been relatively poor over the past few years, the recent 2024 Game Awards lineup proved that it is capable of change as it revealed a lot of intriguing titles releasing on undisclosed dates. However, as it stands, PlayStation fans don't have many big-ticket games to look forward to going into 2025, despite the fact that the platform's main competition, for what feels like the first time in years, has a lot.

Those aforementioned big games coming to the PS5 are definitely picking up the slack though. Ghost of Yotei looks incredible, in large part thanks to the fact it is potential to be GOTY as it looks like Hideo Kojima is pouring every single one of his most creative and bizarre ideas into it. Unfortunately, while these will likely be amazing games in their own right, they leave a lot of space in the market that Xbox's impressive exclusives could fill.

Xbox Has A Strong Lineup In 2025

Avowed, South Of Midnight, Fable, And More

Xbox, on the other hand, has a plethora of exclusives launching in 2025. Most notably, Fable, South of Midnight, Gears of War E-Day, and Avowed are all launching in 2025 alongside cross-platform games like DOOM: The Dark Ages and The Outer Worlds 2. It's a staggering lineup, especially considering that, up until this point, Xbox has had very little of worth to offer. Outside of 2024's Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and STALKER 2 - which Xbox didn't produce but managed to get an exclusivity deal for - there have been few Xbox games this generation that have resonated with fans.

Starfield is the most notable Xbox exclusive of this generation, but it has proved to be a divisive title that dedicated fans love and the wider gaming community is at odds with. Its DLC, Shattered Space, also failed to generate any further love for the game, despite promising fans what they'd been asking for.

South of Midnight is the perfect third-person AA experience with a unique twist that comes from the somewhat divisive yet nevertheless creative developer behind We Happy Few. On the other hand, Fable and Gears of War E-Day offer triple-A entries into beloved franchises. Finally, Avowed is the small yet incredibly densely packed RPG from Obsidian Studios which has yet to put out a bad game. With several of these games having already received previews, it looks like any of them could end up taking GOTY - so long as GTA 6 is delayed, of course.

It is great to see Xbox get a few more exclusives, especially after the disappointing closure of several of its studios, including Tango Gameworks, which created Hi-Fi Rush, one of its better games. It is illustrative of Xbox's continued understanding that its fanbase wants more than to simply play Game on their phone or Amazon Firestick, which is reassuring. However, Xbox's push for crossplatform releases isn't necessarily a bad thing when it can help prop up another console's release schedule.

Avowed Needs To Come To PS5

It'll Give The PS5 A Much-Needed RPG

Healthy competition is important, especially as it can push all parties involved to do better, and that is absolutely the case with the so-called console wars. Of course, its importance in the gaming zeitgeist has somewhat dwindled, but it nevertheless remains a constant debate, in large part thanks to the ballooning costs of consoles and the ever-present exclusives pulling players in one direction over another. However, while this competition still remains partially positive for now as it encourages each studio to try harder, eventually, everything should be made crossplatform.

Xbox, to its credit, has made the large majority of its 2025 lineup a crossplatform release, meaning that they'll be releasing on PlayStation 5 either on day one or shortly thereafter. However, there are a few notable examples as previously mentioned, including Avowed. In this continued move to make everything accessible to everyone, Avowed should be put onto PS5. The Pillars of Eternity games - which take place in the same universe - are available on PlayStation, so it makes sense to allow PS s to continue to explore that world.

Additionally, Xbox games have proven to sell better on PS5, meaning that Avowed will likely do better financially if it makes the jump. It wouldn't be surprising to see it get a PlayStation release date eventually, as Obsidian Entertainment's other 2025 RPG, The Outer Worlds 2, is coming to PS5 on day one. Avowed coming to PlayStation would also give it that much-needed high-fantasy RPG, as it is currently swimming in darker soulslikes. PlayStation will certainly survive without Avowed as its lineup is strong enough, but it definitely wouldn't hurt to take on board yet another of Xbox's fantastic-looking exclusives.

Source: PlayStation/YouTube, Xbox/YouTube