Microsoft’s ever-changing strategy on exclusives has taken another turn, as Xbox boss Matt Booty attempts to explain the company’s stance.
The Xbox Games Showcase may have revealed Persona 6 and a new Spyro, but the big takeaway was Microsoft’s pivot back to exclusive games.
Microsoft has pursued a multi-platform strategy for several years, but in its latest showcase, it revealed Gears Of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will be Xbox console exclusives. As clarified in an Xbox Wire post, these won’t be timed exclusives and will never come to PlayStation 5.
‘We want people to choose Xbox because of great games and experiences,’ Xbox CEO Asha Sharma wrote on X after the announcement. ‘That also means giving you something that was made for Xbox.’
It’s unclear why these two specific games are exclusive, when other upcoming Xbox titles like Senua and State Of Decay 3 are not. According to Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb, there’s even a ‘finished’ version of Gears Of War: E-Day on PlayStation 5 ‘sitting on a drive’, which suggests the decision to make it an Xbox exclusive was a last minute pivot.
Amid the confusion, Xbox chief content officer, Matt Booty, has attempted to clarify the company’s stance on the matter. However, if anything, his response raises more questions than answers.
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Speaking to Gamertag Radio, Booty said: ‘Our big multiplayer games, our live service games are going to continue to be multiplatform. If we’ve promised something to players already, we’re going to honour that promise, right? And then we’re going to make the right decision, not the fast decision. We’re going to keep thinking about this going forward.
‘Our principle is, when we announce a date, we want to announce the platforms. So it’s going to be case by case.’
The ‘case by case’ phrase might raise alarm bells because the same vague verbiage was used by former Xbox boss Phil Spencer when talking about exclusives after the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Since then, the majority of Xbox titles – apart from the likes of Keeper and Halo Infinite – have come out on PlayStation 5.
It’s unclear if this means any newly announced Xbox games (or titles like The Elder Scrolls 6) will be exclusive, but for now, titles which have already been confirmed for PlayStation 5 – like Fable and Halo: Campaign Evolved – are still coming to Sony’s console.
Booty’s multiplayer caveat is odd though, as while it follows Sony’s strategy with the likes of Marathon, it doesn’t add up with Gears Of War: E-Day. Sure, it can be played in single-player, but the key draw is arguably the co-op and competitive multiplayer elements, so why is that being gated to Microsoft’s ecosystem?
His comment about not changing existing plans could also be construed as meaning that if they hadn’t already announced games like Halo and Fable for PlayStation 5 then they’d be Xbox console exclusives as well.
And yet games that were announced for the first time during the showcase, like Senua and Spyro: A Realm Beyond, are coming to PlayStation 5, despite being single-player games like Clockwork Revolution.
These obvious loopholes suggest Xbox doesn’t have a clear exclusive strategy, and is simply testing the waters with two titles which perhaps aren’t expected to be a big financial success.
However, with its next console, Project Helix, expected in 2027, it’s not a comforting sign that Xbox has a solid, stable vision for the future when it is hopping haphazardly with its direction and messaging – even if the company does need a drastic shake-up to survive.
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