I typically don’t post about rumours and speculation but this one is so big it requires attention.
For those that may not be aware there has been growing reports that Microsoft is about to start bringing Xbox console exclusives to PlayStation starting with 2023’s Hi-Fi Rush. Evidence of this has been discovered by data miners and appears to be accurate.
Alongside Hi-Fi Rush there are also growing rumours that all previous and future Xbox titles will make the jump to PlayStation including Sea of Thieves, Pentiment, Starfield, Forza Horizon, Indiana Jones, Gears of War, Microsoft Flight Simulator and even Halo.
Adding further to the rumours is the report that Microsoft have been heavily investing in acquiring PS5 development kits.
This all seems surreal, however given the traction these rumours are starting to get in the mainstream media if they were false Microsoft would have released a statement confirming they are false. They didn’t do that.
In fact Phil Spencer has seemingly confirmed the rumours by announcing a business update event is taking place next week to announce their plans for the future of Xbox.
Phil Spencer said via Twitter…
“We’re listening and we hear you. We’ve been planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox. Stay tuned.”
Insiders claim this event was originally planned for the spring but the plans being leaked have forced them to bring it forward.
Now obviously this in no way means that the rumours are true and the event could merely be a confirmation of that, But so many industry insiders and analysts seem 100% sure that Microsoft is going to drop one of the biggest bombshells in gaming history next week.
As for the prospect of Xbox games coming to PlayStation it makes perfect sense.
Microsoft doesn’t make and has never made a profit from hardware sales and their focus is on selling games and GamePass. So why not tap into the 30+ million PlayStation 4 users and 100+ million PlayStation 4 users (for the older Xbox games maybe) and sell a shit load more games. Business wise it makes sense for Microsoft who realistically have zero chance of catching up to PS5’s hardware sales and their shareholders are going to want to see returns on their $69 billion investment in Activision as fast as possible.
I can’t possibly imagine them pulling out of the hardware business altogether however the writing does appear to be on the wall for Xbox without tapping into PlayStation and maybe even Switch customers wallets.
Are you hoping Xbox games start coming to PlayStation? I am.
After all, more games being accessible to more people can only be a good thing.
I totally agree with what you’ve put, Xbox game pass has been so successful on Xbox and PC I can see why they’d move away from Xbox exclusives to game pass exclusives instead. It doesn’t really matter what the console is anymore, it matters where you can get the games.
I don’t think they’d ever completely pull out of the hardware market, but I can see them moving towards streaming units that require less hardware in them. The sale of physical media has been dying for a long time but game pass will be the nail in the coffin for it.
The impact this has on the PC market though is a different story. Valve already making a push away from Windows with their investment into Linux before Microsoft attempts to lock their OS down to game pass games only.
Would even be possible for Microsoft to lock Windows to GamePass games only?
Aside from how insanely stupid that would be wouldn’t it mean no third party software could be installed on Windows at all?
Technically, yes they could. Legally, probably not, but when has that ever stopped them before. If you look at what they’ve done with things like the Edge browser in the past, then you can see a pattern of anti-competitive actions designed to monopolize the market. Imagine if you bought a new pc, googled pc games or even a specific game and clicked on the link for steam, and instead you got redirected (or a pop up/notification) to say “Try GamePass instead - free for 3 months”. I think most people would take up that offer.
They know they can’t compete hardware wise with Playstation, so instead they’ll attempt to monopolize where to get the games from.
I just wish there was no such thing as a platform/store exclusive game.