A credible insider has suggested that Xbox may be moving away from permanent console exclusivity as a core strategy.
The year 2024 marked a significant shift in this approach, with Microsoft starting to release its first-party games on rival platforms, including PlayStation and Nintendo. It appears that this multiplatform strategy is set to expand further in the future.
Earlier in the year, Xbox leadership announced that four of its first-party titles—Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, Grounded, and Hi-Fi Rush—would be coming to PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.
This shift surprised many Xbox fans and was reportedly driven by Microsoft’s internal efforts to recover the $68.7 billion spent acquiring Activision Blizzard.
Over the course of 2024, additional Xbox first-party games were confirmed for the PlayStation 5, such as Doom: The Dark Ages and Indiana Jones and The Great Circle.
Xbox Game Pass and Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, in particular, has been highlighted as a major win for Xbox Game Pass, which had a strong showing throughout 2024. The game’s inclusion in the service added significant value to the platform.
At The Game Awards 2024, Obsidian Entertainment revealed that its upcoming title, The Outer Worlds 2, will launch simultaneously on PS5 next year.
This announcement has further fueled speculation about the end of Xbox’s console exclusivity model.
Addressing the situation, reliable Microsoft insider Jez Corden recently stated on Twitter that the “era” of permanent Xbox console exclusives is effectively “over.”
He claimed that existing and upcoming exclusives like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Avowed, and South of Midnight will eventually be available on PS5 and other competing platforms.
Every Xbox First-Party Game Reportedly Heading to PS5
“It’s cuz they don’t want to just mandate it on teams that aren’t set up yet for multiplatform simultaneous development. But the era of Xbox having permanent console exclusives is over.” — Jez (@JezCorden), December 13, 2024
According to Corden, the reason Xbox hasn’t yet announced remaining console exclusives for PS5 is that it doesn’t want to impose a “mandate” on first-party studios that aren’t yet prepared for “multiplatform simultaneous development.”
This indicates that all Xbox first-party studios are likely working on PS5—and possibly Nintendo Switch 2—versions of their current and upcoming Series X/S exclusives.
The inclusion of “simultaneous” in his remarks suggests that future Xbox first-party titles might launch on PS5, Series X/S, and PC on the same day.
Iconic Xbox Franchises Could Expand to PlayStation
Corden’s comments open the door to the possibility of iconic Xbox franchises like Halo, Gears of War, and Forza appearing on PlayStation in the future.
Supporting this perspective, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has previously stated that the company has no “red lines” for which Xbox titles could come to PlayStation, even leaving the door open for a PS5 release of the next Halo game.
As Microsoft moves forward with this approach, the company will likely need to craft careful messaging about the evolving nature of Xbox console exclusivity to avoid alienating its core audience.
