Executives at Microsoft have reportedly decided to release several Xbox exclusives on PS5 including Bethesda’s RPG Starfield and the upcoming Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, among others. This may also include previously rumoured ports such as Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves.
According to XboxEra, Microsoft is planning to release Starfield on PS5 shortly after the game’s planned Shattered Space expansion, which is expected to release on Xbox Series X/S and PC sometime later this year. The report adds that Microsoft made additional investments in PS5 dev kits to help support its expanded development to Sony’s console. Meanwhile, Hi-Fi Rush is also reportedly due to launch on PS4 as well as Nintendo Switch.
The XboxEra report claims:
“Microsoft senior leadership have reportedly debated the various pros and cons of releasing more of their exclusive software elsewhere and internally, not everyone is necessarily happy with the decision, but recouping the potential money ‘left on the table’ by not releasing elsewhere has arguably won out.”
The Verge reports that Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, which was recently revealed during Xbox’s Developer Direct conference last month, could also be coming to PS5 a few months after the game’s release on Xbox and PC. This is part of a new “multi-platform approach for certain Xbox games.” It seems like not every first-party Xbox title will be ported, though the plan for now is to start with a few of its bigger games.
It’s unclear what this means for upcoming first-party Xbox games including Hellblade 2 and most importantly, The Elder Scrolls 6 since both IPs also previously released on PlayStation and other platforms in the past before Microsoft acquired their respective studios. Fans have been left asking if there’s any point in buying an Xbox console right now, though Game Pass could still be a significant driving factor to push hardware sales as future releases will still all available day one on the subscription service – a deal that presumably won’t be available on other platforms.
Source: XboxEra