Summary
In the newXboxbusiness update podcast, the company’s leadership has confirmed that four of Xbox’s ecosystem exclusives will be coming to rival platforms. The business update was a response to snowballing rumors ofXboxinternally planning to go fully third party.
This all started last month when rumors began stirring aboutTango Gameworks' surprise 2023 hitHi-Fi Rushand Rare’s swashbuckling service gameSea of Thievesboth planning to be ported over to rival platforms PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. Considering the smaller scale of both games, andSea of Theives' status as an ongoing service game, the rumors made sense. However, the Xbox community was launched into hysteria when more rumors began spilling out about bigger exclusive games likeStarfield, Halo Infinite,andGears of Wargoing to PlayStation 5 as well. Even some of Xbox’s most important AAA games slated for 2024, likeSenua’s Saga: Hellblade 2andIndiana Jones and the Great Circle, also joined the rumor mill, causing even more of an uproar.
Finally, Xbox fans have gained some semblance of official clarity, as Xbox leaders Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty all sat down on the latest Xbox podcast to lay out the brand’s future plans. Spencer expressed that Xbox is planning to bring four of its exclusive games to other platforms, but made a point to confirm that this won’t indicate a complete shift in Xbox’s exclusive strategy. While he didn’t confirm what these games are, he specified that two of them are smaller scale titles, with the other two being community-focused service games; all of them have been out for at least a year. Spencer also confirmed thatStarfieldand the upcoming, highly anticipatedIndiana Jones and the Great Circlewill remain exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem.
So we made the decision that we’re going to take four games to the other consoles– just four games, not a change to our kind of fundamental exclusive strategy." - Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox
Neither of the three Xbox leaders explicitly confirmed exactly which platforms these four games will land on, though it can be assumed that PS5 and Switch will be targeted. As for what these games may be,Hi-Fi Rushand Obsidian Entertainment’sPentimentwould make the most sense as two of Xbox’s smaller passion projects. Spencer mentioned that both titles were “never really meant to be built as kind of platform exclusives.” Considering both games were in production well before Xbox acquired their respective studios, they were likely initially meant to be multiplatform. As for the two live service games,Sea of Thievesis the biggest probability, as it’s arguably Xbox’s most successful ongoing game.Obsidian’s survival sandboxGroundedwould be another solid candidate.
When Will These Four Games Be Revealed?
Fans can likely expect these four games to be revealed by their respective studios sometime soon, perhaps at Xbox’s expected June showcase. Phil Spencer firmly stated that it’s only these four titles that are making their way to other consoles. It’ll be interesting to seeif any other smaller Xbox games will join themon PlayStation 5 and Switch in the future, or if these really will be the only four Xbox games that will make the jump over.
Microsoft Xbox Series X
The Xbox Series X boasts the fastest CPU and GPU configuration currently available for a current-generation console while offering 1TB of fast SSD storage for users out of the box.It comes with an Xbox Series S|X controller, a power cord, and documentation along with a trial for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in the box.
