Pentiment and Grounded have both been confirmed for a Nintendo Switch launch.
15.02.2024 - 20:49 / ign.com / Phil Spencer / Sarah Bond / Matt Booty
Xbox revealed its "vision for the future" today in a podcast featuring executives Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty, who did their best to articulate the path forward for the platform amid reports of plans to embrace a third-party publishing strategy.
The business update confirmed that four games will be releasing on other platfoms, though Xbox did not provide additional details. It also revealed Xbox's plans for Activision Blizzard games on Game Pass while teasing the "largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation" for its next console.
Here's everything that was announced.
The biggest news was Xbox's confirmation that four games will indeed be going multi-platform. Spencer declined to name the games, saying only, "The teams that are building those games have announced plans that are not too far away. As we know, games teams put a lot of energy into their announcements and partners. So I don't wanna take anything away from those teams, so I won't be talking about the titles specifically, but I think when they come out, it'll make sense."
Asked whether Indiana Jones and Starfield will be among the games going multi-platform, Spencer said "they are not." As for the four games that will be going multi-platform, The Verge reports that they will be Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded.
The Xbox Wire post reads, "To ensure long-term success for both Xbox and the industry as a whole, we must continue to evolve. Today we announced that we will expand the communities we reach: we are currently in the process of bringing four Xbox games to other platforms. These are titles which have been available to Xbox players for at least a year, including hidden gems that deserve to be experienced more widely, and live service games whose communities will benefit from welcoming even more players. We will share more details on these titles soon.
The update also confirmed that Diablo 4 will be coming to Game Pass on March 28, with this being "only the beginning" for Activision Blizzard games on the service. Fans have been waiting for Activision Blizzard to arrive on Game Pass since the deal closed last year, with Spencer chalking up the delay to "regulatory challenges."
Xbox also reaffirmed its commitment to the service, saying that "Game Pass will continue to only be available on Xbox platforms and will have all first-party games available on day one."
Rumors have swirled concerning Xbox's plans for more than a month now, with Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Pentiment, and Starfield all rumored to be heading to different platforms at various points. The reports ignited a debate around the value of exclusives within the gaming community as fans argued over the path forward for Xbox,
Pentiment and Grounded have both been confirmed for a Nintendo Switch launch.
Microsoft has officially confirmed it’ll bring four formerly exclusive games to rival platforms like PS5, but it won’t say which ones. As part of a bizarre podcast featuring executives Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty, the trillion-dollar tech titan danced around the rumours which have been doing the rounds for weeks now.
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.
The last 10-days-or-so have been quite the roller coaster for Xbox fans. Team Green was thrown into turmoil earlier this month by rumors that everything from Starfield, to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, to even Gears of War may be going multiplatform. Granted, some of those rumors were later walked back, but still, the spectre of a third-party future for Xbox was raised.
Following today’s Official Xbox Podcast, Microsoft made its stance on first-party titles going multiplatform quite clear. While it will launch four titles on other platforms (rumored to be Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Pentiment and Grounded), there’s no change to Xbox’s philosophy regarding exclusives. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer clarified that Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle aren’t among those titles.
Microsoft finally gave its fans an update on the future of its gaming business during the Official Xbox Podcast today. It clarified some of the speculation around its first-party games going multiplatform, explaining that this move only applies to four titles.
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.
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.
Diablo 4 is headed to Game Pass, Microsoft have announced. It'll be the first Activision Blizzard game to arrive on the subscription service since Microsoft acquired them, and it'll arrive on March 28th.
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!
During today's highly anticipated Xbox Podcast, Microsoft confirmed that while four Xbox games are going to other platforms, big titles like Starfield and Indiana Jones are remaining exclusive for now. Nevertheless, Xbox boss Phil Spencer believes that exclusive games are going to become much less important in the industry over the next decade.
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.