Microsoft has confirmed multiplatform release plans for four first-party titles.
15.02.2024 - 23:30 / gamerant.com / Tom Warren / Phil Spencer / Sarah Bond / Indiana Jones / John DiCarlo / Will
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.
Over the past couple of months, the gaming community has become increasingly gripped by rumors that Xbox would release some of its exclusives on platforms like PlayStation or Switch in the near future. Insiders claimed that this decision was due to Xbox's struggling hardware sales and massive Game Pass costs and that releasing popular exclusives on other consoles could open up significant new revenue streams. While the initial rumors seemed believable, they began to spiral out of control as flagship titles like Starfield, Halo, and more were claimed to be making the jump. To quell the rumors, Xbox announced that it would air a special edition of its Official Xbox Podcast, which aired today on February 15.
During the presentation, Spencer announced that Bethesda's Starfield andIndiana Jones and the Great Circle will not be going multiplatform after all, meaning that both games will remain exclusive to Xbox and PC. At one point, there were rumors that both titles were being considered for a multiplatform release, but to the disappointment of PlayStation fans, Spencer confirmed that is not the case. Most Xbox fans have probably already played Starfield, but Bethesda's Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be released later this year, with rumors claiming a December release month. Spencer went on to explain that the concept of exclusive titles will likely die out over the coming five to 10 years and pointed to the biggest games of today, which are almost all non-exclusives.
However, some of the previous rumors proved to be accurate, as Spencer also announced that four other Xbox exclusives will be going multiplatform soon. He did not confirm what the titles would be, but according to long-time insider Tom Warren, the games are Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded.
Interestingly, Xbox's Matt Booty re-stated during the presentation that all first-party Xbox games will be day-one additions to Game Pass. This would seem to suggest that Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty 2024 will be released on the subscription service following the company's purchase by Microsoft in late 2023. However, recent rumors claim that Call of Duty won't be released on Game Pass, so this may not be a certainty.
Also, Xbox President Sarah Bond briefly teased the next generation of consoles during the podcast by stating that the company is aiming to deliver «the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation.» Rumors claim that Xbox is working on a
Microsoft has confirmed multiplatform release plans for four first-party titles.
Pentiment and Grounded have both been confirmed for a Nintendo Switch launch.
Microsoft will bring four first-party titles to PS5, but it’s refusing to name which. Said titles will not include Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which will remain exclusive to Xbox and PC, until circumstances change. Xbox bigwig Phil Spencer, however, has seen the success of Helldivers 2 – and is struggling to see the advantage of the PlayStation-published shooter not being available on Xbox.
More great games are coming to the PS5, and that’s never a bad thing. Microsoft announced during a highly massaged corporate message that it’ll bring four first-party titles to rival systems, although it wouldn’t name any names. Fortunately, the rumours have been so strong that we can surmise they’ll be rhythm brawler Hi-Fi Rush, historical adventure Pentiment, nautical outing Sea of Thieves, and survival game Grounded. These fit Xbox boss Phil Spencer’s description of two smaller titles and two live service experiences.
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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.
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!
Following mounting reports Xbox is preparing for some kind of multiplatform future, Microsoft has confirmed it'll be bringing four previously Xbox-exclusive first-party titles to PlayStation 5 and Switch later this year, with more likely to come in the future.
It’s been confirmed that four games that were previously released as Xbox-exclusive titles are on the way to other platforms, although it’s not been explicitly confirmed which ones they are.
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.