Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment to grounded, 4 Xbox exclusives heading to rivals in big shift

The hotly anticipated physical edition of Baldur's Gate 3 will be four discs on Xbox. The first wave of the Baldur's Gate 3 Deluxe Edition was announced to start shipping sometime in the first quarter of 2024.

Pentiment launched on PS5 and Switch last week. Some quickly noticed the PS5 version runs better than the Xbox version. However, that will change soon, according to the game's creator.

The news of possible multiplatform ports of games that are currently Xbox console exclusives was met with a strangely negative reaction from some gaming fans, but now that the four titles receiving ports have been confirmed, Microsoft needs to do even more to end the anti-consumer tactic of exclusivity once and for all. Some hardcore Xbox enthusiasts reacted as if multiplatform releases are a betrayal by Microsoft and opine that there is no longer any reason to own an Xbox console. This serves as a reminder that consumers have been conditioned for far too long to perceive exclusives as beneficial.

Microsoft has announced multiplatform releases for Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment, with the former coming to PS5 next month and the latter out today for PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. Alongside their multiplatform announcements, physical releases for both games have also been confirmed (at long last), courtesy of Limited Run Games.

Microsoft first-party games Pentiment, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush, and Sea of Thieves will soon be available on Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation platforms. Xbox confirmed on Wednesday that much like other popular multi-platform games like Minecraft, Call of Duty, Overwatch and Diablo, players will soon be able to access these exclusive games on their Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles. This move underscores a larger trend in the gaming industry towards greater accessibility and cross-platform interoperability. By adopting this strategy, the company hopes to encourage greater inclusivity and reach a wider range of gamers.

Last week, on the heels of rampant rumors and speculation, Microsoft announced that while they aren’t porting their biggest games like Starfield to other platforms, they would be bringing four slightly lower-profile games to the competition. At the time, Phil Spencer wouldn't say what these games were, but as of today we now know three of the four. During the latest Nintendo Direct it was announced Grounded and Pentiment are coming to Switch, and now we know Hi-Fi Rush is coming to PS5.

Microsoft has confirmed that Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Grounded and Sea of Thieves are all coming to PlayStation 5 (and some to PS4), as part of the planned release of four Xbox exclusives on rival console platforms. Earlier today it was also announced that Pentiment and Grounded are coming to Nintendo Switch.

The worst-kept secret in gaming has just leaked even more dramatically, as a trailer confirming that Hi-Fi Rush is coming to PS5 has just appeared on Bethesda's Latin American YouTube channel.

In its Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase event, it was revealed that Pentiment and Grounded, two Xbox exclusive Obsidian Entertainment games, are making the leap to the Nintendo Switch. It has been a tumultuous couple of weeks for Phil Spencer and Team Xbox after speculation and concern swept over the community regarding rumors indicating that Microsoft was considering becoming a third party developer, similarly to what Sega did after the Dreamcast. The uproar eventually pushed Phil Spencer to respond and announce that not only were they listening to fan concerns, but a planned poidcast around the company's future would reveal more.

Obsidian Entertainment's former Xbox-exclusive titles Pentiment and Grounded are coming to Nintendo Switch.

Microsoft has confirmed the first two games in their new push for more cross-platform gaming, with Pentiment and Grounded both set to release for Nintendo Switch.

Obsidian Entertainment's Grounded and Pentiment are the first Xbox-exclusive titles to launch on Nintendo Switch.