SUMMARY
- Rumors suggest Microsoft will release Xbox titles to PS5.
- Microsoft will be clearing the rumors in a business update soon.
First Hi-Fi Rush, then Sea of Thieves and Indiana Jones, followed by a big game like Starfield. Rumors have it that one by one Microsoft is planning on releasing its Xbox exclusives on rival console Sony’s PlayStation. But what could the underlying reason possibly be?
Dataminers had earlier hinted at a release of Hi-Fi Rush on PS5 and Nintendo Switch in late January. This was followed by rumors of Sea of Thieves as well as Indian Jones making their way to Xbox’s rival platforms. In early February these rumors intensified when the leak about Starfield being launched on PlayStation 5 started surfacing.
Microsoft to address rumors
Amidst all the rumors doing rounds on the web, Microsoft has decided to go on air to address all the rumors. The company announced that it will be sharing its upcoming plans of bringing Hi-Fi Rush and other Xbox exclusives to competitor platforms, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer shared a post on X, which read, “We’re listening and we hear you. We’ve been planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox. Stay tuned.”
We’re listening and we hear you. We’ve been planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox. Stay tuned.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 5, 2024
It seems like Microsoft wants to leave no room for speculation or assumptions and wants to brush off all the rumors via the “business update event.” The company will likely outline the future of Xbox in the upcoming week to relieve the uncertainty among Xbox fans.
Reports suggest that Microsoft originally planned this business update for later this month, wherein they planned the announcement of Hi-Fi Rush for PS5 and Nintendo Switch. However after the recent rumor mill caught speed, Microsoft decided to announce the business update event for next week.
At the event, the company is expected to address the rumors and also elaborate on its new Xbox strategy going forward. It will be interesting to see what changes Microsoft is up to, especially after the massive $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Has PlayStation won the Console war?
Launching their exclusive games on a rival platform is indeed a big thing for Microsoft. In the war for the largest market share, the consoles have always focused on keeping the biggest titles from their subsidiaries exclusive to their platform.
These first-party games are a great advantage for consoles as exclusivity attracts more audiences to buy their consoles. Likewise, Microsoft has always focused on keeping its biggest titles exclusive to Xbox consoles. Thus making their exclusives available on PlayStation and Nintendo will be a big decision for Microsoft and Xbox.
What would happen if the rumors were true and Microsoft XboxP3 decided to bring all big Xbox 1st party to PS5?
Here’s my response:
1. All long-time Xbox owners would be at a huge disadvantage and would be treated as lower-class citizens by MS. Since Xbox can’t play Final…
— XCENSION (@Xcension) February 5, 2024
Notably, recent reports had suggested that PlayStation 5 outsold the Xbox Series consoles. This implies two things, one is pretty clear that users are more interested in buying PlayStation as compared to Xbox. The second thing is that since more people own a PlayStation, Microsoft titles missing the PlayStation sales could make a huge impact on their numbers. It’s likely that Microsoft has realized this and hence the decision.
Some reports claim, “Microsoft senior leadership have reportedly debated the various pros and cons of releasing more of their exclusive software elsewhere, and internally, not everyone is necessarily happy with the decision, but recouping the potential money ‘left on the table’ by not releasing elsewhere has arguably won out.”
All these hint that Microsoft could probably go a little easy on its exclusivity strategy. Although Xbox is still important to Xbox and Microsoft, its new strategy would be to make its games accessible anywhere for a share of the larger pie. They have always aimed for accessibility by making their games available on PC or on mobile through the cloud. Expanding to PlayStation or Nintendo would only be an extension of that strategy.
