Gears of War, Starfield, and other Microsoft exclusives are being considered for release under Sony consoles. In a recent leak, as discussed on Game Mess Mornings, it was reported that a number of Microsoft employees, whose identities will remain confidential, claimed that internal dialogues within Microsoft had begun to consider releasing Xbox-exclusive titles on Sony’s PS5.
Jeff Grub, host of Game Mess Mornings, stated in relation to Microsoft’s apparent consideration:
“The other one that I’ve heard that’s definitely under consideration… is Gears of War,”
The original story, broken by xboxera.com, touched on the aspects of this internal consideration as it relates to Starfield and others:
“For many weeks now, rumours have persisted regarding Microsoft’s intentions to release a number of 1st party games – namely Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves – on rival platforms. According to our sources, who have asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to talk about company plans, that list of games also includes Bethesda Game Studio’s Starfield.”
The notion that Microsoft is considering offering up its own Xbox’s exclusivity on some genuinely popular titles, I believe, shows with some clarity the writing on the wall for the console. Even if this discussion around Starfield and Gears falls flat, the fact that it was even brought up in the first place means there is some genuine economic pitfalls the console is trying to recoup their losses (or lack of gain) on.
Just consider the world where there isn’t such a thing as an Xbox-exclusive title. What would be the point of buying the console? Even given my personal opinions on the state of the PS5, I couldn’t reasonably recommend anyone buy an exclusive-less Xbox over a PS5 when developers like Naughty Dog exist.
Regardless of what happens to Gears and Starfield, I fully expect Xbox-exclusive titles to begin sliding down the slope into tri-releases, ultimately bringing the Xbox into the eventual fold of the gaming console of the future: a gaming option that tries to be cheap and convenient, that is ultimately beaten out by the average home computer.
GLHF
-E