Now it’s official: Exclusive Xbox Series games are coming to Nintendo Switch and PS5. Here’s what we know about the brand’s future strategy.
It was one of the most anticipated speeches at the beginning of the year. Faced with increasingly persistent rumors, Microsoft has been forced to comment on the future of Xbox and its exclusives. The sounds in the corridors brought out many names, Starfield, Indiana Jones, Hi-Fi Rush, the Gears series and even Sea of Thieves at the forefront. During a long podcast discussing the brand’s future strategy, Microsoft confirmed the inevitable: Xbox exclusives will be released on PS5 and Nintendo Switch and some games have already been confirmed.
Four Xbox exclusive titles for PS5 and Nintendo Switch
Now it’s official: Exclusive Xbox Series games will be available on competing platforms. In the official podcast about the future of the brand, Phil Spencer, head of the gaming industry, and his colleagues discussed in detail the strategy that will soon be implemented. This therefore includes the release of its exclusive titles on PS5 and Nintendo Switch. Let’s calm down right away, Starfield and Indiana Jones will not appear on PlayStation consoles, as Spencer confirmed in this speech. For now, only four games are planned.
If Microsoft strangely refused to reveal their names in vague terms, The edge got all four names: Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment, followed by Sea of Thieves and Grounded. The Xbox boss says that this in no way changes his position on the brand’s exclusives, but on the other hand believes that in the next decade there will be fewer and fewer exclusives in the industry.
« We are focused on these four games and will learn from this experience. We currently have no plans for other franchises. But to say that something will never happen, I think, means creating more certainty in an industry where we really want to listen to the wishes of players and our developers.” adds Spencer. So never say never. Especially since Xbox, as the brand’s thinking head points out, is already “one of the biggest publishers for PS5 and Nintendo Switch” thanks to the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, Zenimax and even Minecraft.
Exclusive games still in Game Pass?
Ultimately, as Phil Spencer reiterates multiple times, there will be no “fundamental change” in how Xbox exclusives are managed. This also means that in-house games will continue to be released on Game Pass immediately after release. So there are around 34 million gamers (the latest official numbers were announced during this speech) who will continue to discover Xbox Studios games as they come out. And not only that. Microsoft intends to gradually incorporate the productions of Activision – Blizzard – into its service. Diablo 4 starts on March 28, 2024.
« This is just the beginning for Xbox players looking to enjoy Activision and Blizzard games on Game Pass – we can’t wait to tell you more soon », add the thinking heads of the manufacturer. Ultimately, Microsoft does not intend to change its strategy, but rather to continue refining it to respond to market movements and player expectations. The Redmond company will also make hardware announcements later this year, possibly including an Xbox Series Portable.
