It’s rare for a video game to hit its highest position yet on the weekly sales charts months after its initial release, but that’s exactly what Indiana Jones and the Great Circle did. The single-player adventure had an impressive launch back in December, but now—several months later—it’s performing better than ever. When you look at the circumstances behind this unusual achievement, though, it’s not hard to see why.
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Four Months Later, Indiana Jones Climbs to the Top
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was the best-selling game in the United States for the week of April 13 to April 19. Although it originally launched in December 2024 for Windows and Xbox Series X|S, this marks the first time it has ever topped the weekly sales charts.
So, what changed? The game’s arrival on PlayStation 5 on April 17, 2025 pushed it to new heights. Great Circle had a solid run on Xbox and PC, but it wasn’t until the PlayStation release that it broke through to claim the #1 spot.
The PS5 Launch Supercharged Indiana Jones Sales
The surge in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle sales can largely be credited to its release on PlayStation 5. According to data from Alinea Analytics, the game is selling faster on PlayStation than it did on Steam or Xbox. Specifically, Alinea reports that during the six days after launch, Great Circle sold 28% faster on PS5 than on Steam.
You could say the PlayStation launch had the advantage of hindsight. By the time Great Circle debuted on PS5, it was already an established hit, backed by strong reviews. This gave prospective buyers more confidence to purchase immediately, whereas players during the initial Xbox and PC launch may have taken a more cautious “wait and see” approach.
At the same time, it’s worth noting that the PS5 release didn’t benefit from the full momentum of the original marketing cycle.
It is Alinea Analytics’ belief that had the PlayStation version launched alongside the others, it likely would have sold even faster.
The Game Pass Effect on Indiana Jones
If you’re wondering why a first-party Xbox title was outperformed by its later PS5 release, it has nothing to do with Indiana Jones resonating more with PlayStation players, or the PS5’s larger install base—it comes down to one key factor: Game Pass.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was available on Game Pass the day it launched, which significantly reduced the incentive to buy it outright. At a standard retail price of $70, many Xbox and PC players opted instead to access the game through their existing Game Pass subscriptions.
Even for those who weren’t yet subscribers, signing up made financial sense—after all, completing a 20-hour action-adventure game within a month or two on Game Pass costs far less than purchasing it directly.
Meanwhile, PS5 players didn’t have that option. Without Game Pass on PlayStation, the only way to play Great Circle was to buy it.
The Game Pass First Strategy: Boosting Game Sales on Other Platforms?
Offering premium titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle through Game Pass is part of Microsoft’s broader strategy to grow its subscription model. It’s the cost of doing business. But it also naturally leads to lower unit sales.
In that light, Microsoft’s shift away from strict platform exclusivity seems not just strategic, but necessary. Great Circle arrived on PS5 just four months after its Xbox and PC launch—far faster than other first-party titles that have trickled over. This new multi-platform approach, known internally as Project Latitude, is already proving to be a profitable move, and one that benefits the market and players alike. If anything, the success of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PlayStation will only reinforce Microsoft’s belief that a cross-platform future is the right direction.
Source: Circana
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