The console market finds itself at an interesting point. With Xbox announcing earlier in the year that they’ll port four games from their back-catalog to competitors PlayStation and Nintendo, the future of the brand has come into question, and whether exclusivity will be a strategy for them going forward.
Xbox has clarified that these four games are not opening the floodgates for more, and that their larger AAA titles like Starfield, Indiana Jones, and Hellblade 2 will stay exclusive to Xbox. While some believe the reassurance, many fans have lost confidence in the brand, and believe it’s only a matter of time till the tentpole titles are ported to PS5.
Hellblade 2‘s Exclusivity Is A Question Mark For Many
Over on the r/hellblade subreddit, a user posed a question to the community, asking for their opinions on whether the rumors of it heading to PS5 at the time were true. They stated that they don’t own an Xbox, but have a PC that can comfortably run the game as well as a PS5.
However, they expressed the convenience and comfort of playing on a console from a couch, and said they’d be happy to wait a year or so until Hellblade 2 shows up on PS5, if it’s confirmed to make it way to the platform at all.
This post came at a time when several rumors were bubbling about which Xbox games could be ported to competing platforms. XboxEra podcast member Shpeshal Nick was the first to suggest Hellblade 2 could be one of them “in the future,” therefore prompting speculation like the aforementioned Reddit post. Suffice to say, there were lots of conflicting opinions underneath.
Fans Are Split On Whether The Game Will Stay Exclusive
The most-liked comment under the post uses it as an explanation of how Xbox porting their games to PS5 and Switch will negatively affect public perception:
This is the exactly why Xbox putting their games everywhere is a bad idea
Numerous other comments were dismissive of the rumor, from labeling it as wishful speculation to believing that Xbox will indeed keep the larger AAA titles for themselves:
Looks like it was nothing more than a rumor for anyone hoping Hellblade 2 was coming to PS5.
No it will not happen. It’s probably only the small AA games like Hi-Fi Rush. Just buy an xbox, i did the same 2 years ago for Hellblade 2 only.
Play it on xbox. Many of us like I bought xbox for some exclusives. Me personally for Hellblade 2. It doesn’t even cost so much.
Hellblade 2 was only mentioned in one of the leaks/rumours? It was a 50/50 leaker saying he wouldn’t be surprised. There is nothing to suggest it is coming like the “rest”.
However, an equal amount of responders believed that the rumor is exciting, and that the Ninja Theory sequel showing up on PS5 would be a win for gamers overall:
I pray it comes to PS5 personally. I know that’s not a popular opinion but in this case I think it’s total bullsh*t to have an original game come out on every console and then lock down the sequel as a console exclusive.
More games should be available on more platforms for more people.
I hope it does, since I don’t have a PC that can run it or an Xbox. I got the platinum for the first game and loved it. If it doesn’t come to PS5 then I’ll have to wait a while longer but I definitely want to play it.
I hope to f*cking God it comes to PS5. I played the original hellblade on PS4. Give me my f*cking franchise back.
Colorful language aside, there’s clearly a lot of enthusiasm for Hellblade 2 to be ported to PS5. While the chances of that happening are slim right now, Microsoft could be judging the performance of the initial batch of four games to ascertain whether they should start working on more ports.
Xbox users shouldn’t be disheartened about losing their exclusives, though, because another, more recent rumor from Nick hints at Sony having preliminary “early discussions” about bringing Arrowhead’s massively successful co-op shooter, Helldivers 2, to Xbox consoles.
However, the vague nature of his phrasing casts doubt on the leak, but if true, it could lead to an interesting quid pro quo situation between Sony and Microsoft, where the latter ports Hellblade 2 to PS5 after Helldivers 2 comes to Xbox. It’s an unlikely scenario for now, but so were Xbox games going multiplatform, and look where we are.
