Xbox has confirmed four exclusive games will be released on rival consoles.
It comes after intense speculation, with reports emerging earlier this month Microsoft, which recently acquired game manufacturer Activision Blizzard, was planning on releasing several exclusives such as ‘Starfield’, ‘Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’, ‘Halo’ and ‘Gears of Wars’ on the PlayStation 5.
Microsoft then confirmed a press conference to discuss the “vision” for the future of Xbox, which finally took place on Thursday. (15.02.24)
The rumours about the titles though to be in the pipeline for a PS5 release were debunked, but Microsoft did announce a plan to take “four games to the other consoles (PS5 and Nintendo Switch)”.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer didn’t name the titles planned for release, but confirmed two are community-driven titles while the other two are smaller games.
Fans seem convinced the titles in question are ‘Hi-Fi Rush’, ‘Pentiment’, ‘Sea of Thieves’ and ‘Grounded’.
Mr Spencer told The Verge the release plan would be a learning opportunity for the company.
He said: “I’m going to learn about our partnership with other platforms. I’m going to learn about what happens with our players.
“I think it will benefit the games that we’re putting there (but) if the net result is that other things are punitive to the Xbox platform and try to limit our growth, then we’ll have to think more carefully about how we support those other platforms.”
He added there are no plans for other titles to make the move to multiplatform but said: “I don’t think we should as an industry ever rule out a game going to any other platform.”
Mr Spencer also said he hoped PlayStation and Nintendo exclusives could also find a home on Xbox, adding: “When I look at a game like ‘Helldivers 2’ – and it’s a great game, kudos to the team shipping on PC and PlayStation – I’m not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox.
“(But) this is not some kind of bartering system. We’re doing it for the betterment of Xbox’s business.”
Tagged in Phil Spencer