Microsoft has confirmed multiplatform release plans for four first-party titles.
15.02.2024 - 23:39 / digitaltrends.com / Phil Spencer / Tomas Franzese
Microsoft just released the latest episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, and it contained lots of crucial details on the future of Xbox. Microsoft addressed everything from how many games it will make multiplatform to the arrival of Activision Blizzard games on Xbox Game Pass to future Xbox hardware.
If you don’t want to listen to the full 23-minute podcast and want more details than what’s shared in the Xbox Wire post about the discussion, here’s a quick rundown of the biggest points made during the episode.
To kick things off, Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, addressed the multiplatform Xbox game rumors. “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,” he said. “We’re making these decisions for some specific reasons. We make every decision with the long-term health of Xbox in mind, and long-term health of Xbox means a growing platform, our games performing, building the best platform for creators, reaching as many players as we can.”
RelatedSpencer declined to specify which games are going multiplatform, but implied it’s two community-driven titles and two smaller games — and that Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle aren’t included.
While praising the strengths of Xbox Game Pass as a service, President of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty reassured Xbox players that Game Pass will stay an Xbox-exclusive service on console. “I think that we at first party can come back to some core principles,” Booty explained. “First, that all of our games will be on the Xbox platform. Second, all of our games will go into Game Pass on day one. And third, we know that Game Pass will only be available on Xbox.” Booty also emphasized the importance of maintaining crossplay and cross-save on Xbox games that do go multiplatform.
Speaking of Xbox Game Pass, President of Xbox Sarah Bond went on to confirm that Activision Blizzard games will start coming to the service. The first one will be Diablo IV, which will be added on March 28. “It’s all part of our commitment to make Xbox, the Xbox experience, and the games that we build as widely available as possible,” Bond said.
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Microsoft has confirmed multiplatform release plans for four first-party titles.
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Four Microsoft first-party games will launch on Sony's PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch, the company confirmed late Thursday after weeks of speculation over its exclusive titles releasing on rival platforms. The announcement came on the Official Xbox Podcast from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who also shed further light on the reasons behind Xbox's business decision and confirmed that the next generation of Xbox consoles were in development. Microsoft has not yet revealed the four Xbox exclusives coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch, but The Verge reported that said games would be Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves and Grounded.
If it weren’t enough that Microsoft detailed its plans for bringing first-party titles to other platforms (which doesn’t include Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle), it also discussed its next-gen hardware. Xbox president Sarah Bond promised the “largest technical leap” in a hardware generation.
Xbox's Phil Spencer has confirmed that two major Bethesda titles, Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, will not be going multiplatform. The announcement comes after recent rumors that the Xbox titles would be released on competing consoles.
Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty have hosted the latest official Xbox Podcast which was trailered to announce an “Xbox Business Update”. This follows days of speculation that many Xbox exclusive games might be going multi platform, such as Sea of Thieves, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Starfield. There were even suggestions that Xbox legends such as Halo could be heading to PlayStation!
There was quite a bit of uncertainty for the Xbox brand last week. I’m sure you saw the nonstop flood of rumors suggesting that Xbox would see many exclusives leave the brand for other platforms. That also left concerns that we might see Microsoft’s gaming division imploding. We even had rumors that Activision Blizzard games might not even be coming to Xbox Game Pass. But that is not the case as Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty clears the air.
Microsoft will release four games for rival platforms, two of which are service-based and the other two “smaller games that were never really meant to be built as kind of platform exclusives,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a business updated-focused edition of the Official Xbox Podcast.
Microsoft has confirmed that four unnamed Xbox exclusives will be released on other console platforms, such as PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch.
Now that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is fully over the line, and its games now fall underneath the Xbox umbrella, questions have been raised as to when we can expect the publisher's titles to be added to Game Pass. Xbox made it clear that all of its first-party titles will be available to play on Game Pass from the day of launch, and Activision Blizzard and its studios are now considered first-party developers.
After weeks of speculation, and in some cases panic, by Xbox faithful, Microsoft officially addressed the myriad leaks that Xbox would be bringing some first-party titles to rival platforms. And, it looks like those leaks were indeed true.