Microsoft put weeks of leaks and rumors to rest when it announced earlier this month that four of its first-party titles are going multiplatform via a special edition of the official Xbox podcast. These games were later revealed to be Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, and Sea of Thieves.
These games have been fan favorites, and it shocked fans that Xbox is taking them to competitor platforms, but it seems like it was long planned before the official news was shared with the players, and this could mean that more first-party titles may already be in the works for multiplatform release.
Xbox Had Planned on Going Multiplatform Over a Year Ago
Sea of Thieves, the pirate adventure title, will be available on PlayStation 5 starting April 30 and is currently available to wishlist on the PlayStation Store. While the announcement of Sea of Thieves and the other three titles going to other platforms was made this month, it was planned over a year ago.
Back in January 2023, the UK-based development studio Lucid Games, which is a subsidiary of LightSpeed Studios, announced that it was working on Sea of Thieves with the game’s developer, Rare. Additionally, when it was revealed that Sea of Thieves was going to PS5, Lucid said that it “helped Rare in bringing Sea of Thieves to PlayStation 5!”
This indicates that Lucid Games could have started working on the PS5 port of the game back in January 2023 itself, 13 months before the official announcement, as ports take significant time. Moreover, no big decisions are made in haste, and the companies take time to discuss things before they reach a conclusion. It is also possible that it was being discussed before 2023 and then the studio was brought to work on ports.
Lucid has also been hiring people since then, and this indicates that it could also work on PS5 content for the game with Rare. But then there are also chances that Lucid could have been helping Rare with only content, but the studio working on the PS5 port makes more sense.
More Xbox Games Might Already Be in Port Stages
Phil Spencer revealed during the podcast that “just four titles” will be going to other platforms, and it does not mean that the company’s “fundamental exclusive strategy” is changing, but several other names have also been thrown in the mix that could go multiplatform.
The major titles that are rumored to be released for PS5 are the upcoming Indiana Jones game and Starfield, but Phil Spencer denied those rumors. There have even been rumors of Xbox’s flagship franchises Halo and Gears of War going to PlayStation, but Xbox has not commented on them yet.
However, it is possible that the development teams might have already begun working on ports for these games, as these are big titles and developers would need proper time to make the game fit for launch, and it’s only a matter of time before the announcement comes.
Do you think more Xbox games are going to other platforms? Let us know in the comment section below.
