Xbox team members took to Twitter to reveal the news. The data is based on an as-yet unreleased report from NPD, a firm that tracks the sales figures of both consoles. Aaron Greenberg, head of Xbox games marketing, tweeted “Huge thanks to our fans for making #Xbox One best-selling console in Oct & Halo 5 #1 selling game according to NPD.”
The Xbox One has trailed behind the PlayStation 4 consistently since its launch. The last time it outsold its rival was in April, so Microsoft is understandably pleased to have had Sony playing catch up last month.
Greenberg credits Halo 5 with being the major catalyst that boosted Xbox One sales in October. The Xbox-exclusive title has proved popular with fans of the series worldwide and arrived only a month after another key exclusive, Forza Motorsport 6. Greenberg added “our plan worked, put our fans first and deliver greatest games lineup drove us to #1. #Grateful.”
Yesterday, Microsoft released the Xbox One New Experience update, revamping the entire console and improving almost every area of its software. It also boasts exclusive features including backwards compatibility with Xbox 360 games and the ability to stream gameplay to any Windows 10 device on the same network as the console. Fans are seeing the Xbox One evolve to include features they have requested and Microsoft now feels it is regaining the faith of the community and has “good momentum” to keep innovating.
However, the company has previously admitted it doubts it will ever catch Sony’s total market share during this generation of consoles. After the 2013 launch of both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, it became apparent that Sony was claiming far more sales than Microsoft, particularly in the U.S.
The Xbox One was initially dogged by a fan backlash as Microsoft said it would be imposing restrictive DRM policies that would effectively prevent people from selling used games. The company was forced to reverse the decision but by then the bad press had already turned many fans over to the PlayStation 4, a console that some already viewed as the Xbox One’s superior.
Since then, Microsoft has been playing catch-up nearly every step of the way and only occasionally has been able to boast of having more sales than Sony during a month. It seems to be on a strong footing going into the all-important holiday season though, widely advertising a healthy selection of blockbuster games for fans to work their way through using their newly-refreshed Windows 10-powered consoles.
