It seems the days of Xbox exclusives are almost over as the brand’s biggest games are reportedly making the jump to PlayStation 5. Key exclusives including Bethesda’s Starfield and MachineGames’ Indiana Jones reportedly have PS5 ports in the works.
With Hi-Fi Rush and other smaller exclusives making their way to Sony’s rival console, sources claim that Microsoft is bringing some of its biggest titles to the machine. While not all Xbox titles — such as Halo Infinite — will make the jump, most seemingly will.
Starfield will allegedly make its PlayStation debut after all of the game’s DLC is released on PC and Xbox. This means that Xbox gamers will still have timed exclusive access to the studio’s biggest games for a year if not longer, but they’ll eventually make their way to PlayStation and other systems.
In a report by The Verge, it’s claimed that Indiana Jones and The Great Circle will also be released on PlayStation 5. In its brilliant gameplay reveal last month, the game was announced only for Xbox Series and PC, but reports claim a PS5 port is in development. The outlet claims that multi-platform development will be on a per-game basis at Xbox.
“A new multi-platform approach for certain Xbox games is emerging inside Microsoft, we’re told, with the company weighing up which titles will remain exclusive and others that will appear on Switch or PS5 in the future,” the outlet said.
Of course, Xbox has kept a multiplatform process for specific games over the years such as Minecraft or The Elder Scrolls Online. However, with Xbox Series consoles already lacking exclusive titles compared to PS5, which enjoys the phenomenal Spider-Man 2 and The Last of Us 2, this decision could give Xbox users a sour taste.
After years of poor exclusive showings, such as the genuinely insulting launch of Redfall, Xbox users are now used to being third-place in the games industry. However, with the likes of Starfield, Indiana Jones, Hellblade 2 and more, it seemed that the brand was finally getting in a place where there was a reason to own Xbox hardware.
Starfield wasn’t perfect, but it did sell Xbox consoles. The release of Indiana Jones was also going to sell Xbox consoles — I personally know people ready to buy into the ecosystem to play the game. Other Xbox games would’ve sold systems — or at least Game Pass — as well: Hellblade 2, Avowed, Fable and Perfect Dark.
There’s nothing wrong with Xbox taking a multiplatform approach with certain games; the brand has often released games on multiple platforms. What is the issue is that of inconsistency: Xbox isn’t announcing titles as multiplatform but instead hoping its customers don’t get mad a year down the line when the game they bought a console for is on one they could’ve already owned.
At the time of writing, it’s unclear whether upcoming games are releasing on PlayStation 5 or not, and for good reason. If I knew Starfield, Indiana Jones and other exclusives were coming to PS5, I would’ve bought one. Outside of Halo Infinite, a game that seems like it’ll never leave Xbox and PC, there’s seemingly no title that isn’t coming to PS5 eventually.
When the Xbox costs just as much as a PS5, has more expensive expandable storage, often runs games worse than Sony’s machine and doesn’t have anywhere near the number of exclusives, what’s the point of it? A game pass machine? I’m sorry, Xbox, I want more. As a supporter since the Original Xbox, it’s becoming harder and harder to support a future where my system offers little value over the competition.