Microsoft’s approach to exclusivity has not just upset fans but allegedly it’s angered Sony too, when a trailer for Halo was pulled from the most recent State of Play.
The biggest news to come out of the recent Xbox showcase is that Microsoft is pivoting back from its multiplatform plans and intends on releasing new Xbox console exclusives again, starting with Gears Of War: E-Day this year.
This was quite the shock, as it was widely assumed E-Day would see a PlayStation 5 release, especially since it’s a prequel to the original Gears Of War which saw a PlayStation 5 remaster last year.
Admittedly, E-Day was never formally confirmed for Sony’s console, but a new report discussing further layoffs at the company is claiming that was originally the plan and that Microsoft pulled a new Halo: Campaign Evolved trailer from the most recent State of Play.
According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, who spoke with people familiar with Xbox’s current strategy, a PlayStation 5 version of Gears Of War: E-Day was most assuredly in development.
It’s still not clear when exactly Asha Sharma, the new head of Xbox who took over in February, made the decision to cut the PlayStation 5 version, but it does sound like the change in plan was only shared with a limited number of people.
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
Bloomberg’s sources say that even many Xbox employees were surprised by the exclusivity announcement, which lines up with comments Aaron Greenberg, Xbox’s vice president of games marketing, made on X.
However, Greenberg denied that the change happened at the last minute, even though a PlayStation 5 logo was spotted in a piece of Gears Of War: E-Day promo artwork on a now private Xbox podcast video.
Not only that, but ratings board PEGI had the PlayStation 5 version listed on its website until after the showcase and multiple retailers had prepared to open pre-orders for PlayStation 5 copies of the game, which means Microsoft was so committed to its secrecy that it didn’t even warn retailers in advance.
All of this contradicts a statement Matt Searcy, studio creative director at Gears Of War studio The Coalition, gave Eurogamer shortly after the Xbox showcase. When asked about a hypothetical PlayStation 5 version, Searcy insisted that was never even a conversation.
‘Well, we never talked about it. It was never changed,’ said Searcy, adding that ‘Gears as an exclusive, makes a ton of sense.’
As for the Halo trailer, presumably this was the story trailer uploaded to the PlayStation YouTube channel a few days ago but, regardless, Sony won’t have been happy having its showcase schedule messed with.
In fact, Bloomberg’s sources have suggested the decision has potentially damaged Sony and Microsoft’s working relationship, with Sony presumably no longer trusting that Microsoft won’t change its plans at short notice.
Combined with Sharma bizarrely apologising for the decision to include other platforms’ logos in the Xbox showcases, it seems, once again, that Microsoft is actively embarrassed by the fact it’s releasing games on PlayStation 5 and is trying to downplay the fact in their marketing.
There wasn’t even a trailer for the still undated PlayStation 5 port of Forza Horizon 6 at the State of Play – despite it being a guaranteed hit – and while Bloomberg’s report doesn’t mention anything about that being something Microsoft also pulled, it’s still a strange omission.
Forza Horizon 5 was tremendously popular on PlayStation 5 and, along with Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, made Microsoft the biggest publisher on the PlayStation Store; a statistic Microsoft was more than happy to boast about last year – before Sharma took over.
A return to Xbox exclusives will certainly please a subset of the Xbox fanbase, but the reality is that the PlayStation 5 is by far the more popular console. Forza Horizon 6 is expected to be a big hit when it arrives for Sony’s system so it’s only hurting Microsoft’s bottom line not to talk about it.
The embarrassment over being a multiformat publisher was evident as soon as it started, when Phil Spencer was still in charge of Xbox, and the silly arguments over whether E-Day was originally planned for PlayStation 5, and constant policy U-turns, are doing nothing to help Microsoft’s reputation as an industry leader.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.