Extreme Shift at Xbox & PS5: Fans Fear Unwanted U-Turn

After several Xbox-exclusive games were reported by insiders to suddenly appear on the PS5, a turnaround at Xbox is now looming. There is intense discussion on social media.

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The End of Xbox: Miscommunication or Is There Something Behind It?In short: If all this is true, what’s the point of having an Xbox?The Xbox Exclusive Game Might Hit PlayStation and Nintendo Switch – Rumors Suggest

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The End of Xbox: Miscommunication or Is There Something Behind It?

Prominent insiders like Jeff Grubb have leaked potential PS5 releases of Xbox-exclusive games such as Gears of War, Starfield, Halo, Indiana Jones: The Great Circle, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 in recent days. Now, Xbox chief Phil Spencer has commented on the matter, but notably refrains from dispelling the rumors. Instead, he announces a business update scheduled for next week:

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.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 5, 2024

What exactly is happening here? While the subsequent release of some console-exclusive games on other platforms is normal, this is a bigger issue. If the reports are true, Xbox would not only leave Game Pass blockbusters like Starfield to the competition but also flagship titles like the Halo series and upcoming releases that were initially announced as exclusives. In short: Xbox would more or less completely abandon exclusive games.

Phil Spencer’s announcement of a business update means two things: firstly, there seems to be some truth to the rumors as he does not deny them with a single word – and secondly, a change in the Xbox business plan is imminent. Something big seems to be brewing, and fans are not happy about it.

In short: If all this is true, what’s the point of having an Xbox?

Without exclusive games, there is no reason to buy an Xbox Series. Without exclusive games, there simply is no Xbox Series. Unless the console would want to sell solely through the Game Pass. So, social media is in an uproar, at least among Xbox fans:

Bringing Xbox to Multi platform will devalue the platform, please don’t. – Synth Potato on X
But seeing these rumours of games like Gears of War and Halo going multi-platform is absolutely wild to me. It feels like Microsoft surrendering and completely giving up on Xbox as a console.. – AdamantiumLive on Reddit
Yeahhhh this ain’t no simple update. It’s a large shift in direction. – HonkyDongCountry on Reddit.

The question remains whether Phil Spencer simply communicated poorly with his announcement (which wouldn’t be unprecedented) or whether the rumors are indeed true. As several Xbox fans note on Reddit, the matter could also be blown out of proportion: Perhaps only individual games will be released on other platforms, and Xbox will retain other exclusive games. But what exactly does the “business update” mean then?

The Xbox Exclusive Game Might Hit PlayStation and Nintendo Switch – Rumors Suggest

Assuming Xbox does indeed abandon exclusive games – would that be good news for PS5 players? In the first moment, of course, yes, after all, all the Xbox exclusives would now also appear everywhere else. However, in the long run, PlayStation would have lost its biggest competitor. And it’s never good when a company no longer has competition in the market.

We will have to wait and see what exactly is brewing at Microsoft. At first glance, however, the upcoming update seems to bode well neither for Xbox nor PlayStation players.