The Xbox Official Podcast tackled the elephant in the room very early: exclusivity. Phil Spencer, CEO of Xbox, came out the gate swinging with his plans for the future of Xbox exclusives and whether they were going to find their way onto other consoles.
The decision is out, and the verdict seems set in stone: four Xbox games will be made available on competitor consoles shortly. But, before Sony and Nintendo fans break out the champagne, they may want to read on to know that it’s not the usual suspects that are going to be coming to your neighborhood.
Spencer Confirmed Only Four Xbox Exclusives Will be Made Available on Other Consoles
Speaking with Tina Amini on the podcast, Phil Spencer took on the exclusivity of games as the very first topic in the talk. In his own words,
We made the decision that we are going to take four games to the other consoles. Just four games.
He stated that this is not a change to their fundamental strategy with every decision taken to promote the long-term health of Xbox. For Spencer, this would include growing the platform, better performance for their games, building the best platform for creators, and reaching as many players as possible. He stated that he is now open to using what other platforms have at this moment to help grow Xbox franchises.
Spencer did not provide the names of specific titles that are going to be available on other consoles. When prompted by Tina on whether either of the titles are Starfield or Indiana Jones, Spencer very explicitly stated neither is going to be available on other consoles. This may disappoint some Sony and Nintendo fans who hoped to play these games on their console of choice.
PlayStation and Switch Players Will Have to Wait Before Jumping into Bigger Exclusives
Starfield is the first Xbox exclusive title from Bethesda after its acquisition by Microsoft. The game has been met with less than stellar reviews, with many deriding the game’s repetitive nature and lack of impactful narrative, which left players feeling uninspired. However, the visual quality of the game is praised a fair bit and would have certainly been a spectacle to witness on the PlayStation 5 with the DualSense controllers.
The battle for exclusives has been raging on for a while, but we have seen companies become more flexible over the years. Sony has released some of their most loved exclusives, such as God of War and The Last of Us, on the PC. While this was done many years after the game’s release on the console, it’s still a good sign for gamers without a PlayStation. Nintendo, on the other hand, is still as guarded as ever about its exclusives.
With Xbox now also opening up, do you feel the age of exclusivity is slowly coming to an end? Let us know in the comments below.
