Exclusive games have been a hot-button topic ever since the Xbox Official Podcast dropped on February 16, 2024, and sent the Microsoft community into a tizzy due to the information shared by Phil Spencer. Microsoft has acquired several companies in the past few years, with Bethesda being one of the bigger studios to come under Microsoft’s wing. With that, gamers knew that some of their favorite franchises, such as The Elder Scrolls and Rage, would become exclusive Xbox titles.
However, it appears the company is now changing its outlook on exclusivity, and we may see some games on the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.
PlayStation and Switch Users Can’t Enjoy Starfield or Indiana Jones… for Now
Speaking with Tom Warren from The Verge, Phil Spencer discussed the major shifts the leadership has planned for Xbox and what that means for the console in the near and distant future. The talk was prompted by the announcements made during the Xbox Official Podcast with Tina Amini, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty. The podcast began with Spencer addressing the issue of exclusivity, mentioning that four Xbox titles are going to be available on other consoles.
On hearing this, fans immediately must have thought of Starfield or Indiana Jones as two of the four titles on the list. However, Spencer was very clear in stating these two are not candidates for the port and said he would leave it to the teams handling these projects to make the announcements as and when they were ready.
While some may take this as confirmation that Starfield and Indiana Jones will never come to other consoles, Spencer never said the decision was a firm stance. On being asked by Warren if both of these titles could be ruled out from ever coming to other consoles, Spencer replied,
I don’t think we should as an industry ever rule out a game going to any other platform. We’re focused on these four games and learning from the experience.
He further explained how he didn’t want to create any false expectations by making any announcements yet. Spencer was worried people would think that with four games now jumping to other platforms, all Xbox exclusives would be making the move, which is not the case.
Gamers Can Expect to See More Xbox Exclusives Migrating to Other Consoles Soon
Spencer’s entire philosophy for breaking exclusivity for certain games is to leverage the player base of other consoles to help build Xbox franchises. This is similar to PlayStation bringing games such as God of War and The Last of Us to PC recently. If that pattern is followed, we’ll probably see some Xbox games that have been out for a few years.
This means that in a few years, we may see Starfield and Indiana Jones on other consoles. However, with online sentiment not siding with Xbox, especially after the podcast announcements, it may want to rethink its strategy in a way that doesn’t alienate its user base.
Which Xbox games do you think are going to be coming to the PS5 and Switch?
Let us know in the comments below.
