After years of lagging behind PlayStation in exclusives, Xbox finally found its groove with Starfield last year and has hugely promising games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Hellblade 2 on the horizon. However, a wave of new reports suggests that these big Xbox exclusives of 2023 and the expected heavy hitters of 2024 could also be arriving on PS5 as well.
That’s right, these exciting Xbox exclusives might not be as exclusive as many had hoped. Its promising lineup of first-party new Xbox games is really gaining steam, and its day-one additions to Xbox Game Pass only make them more exciting. In other words, the list of best Xbox Game Pass games is primed to get even more stacked in 2024.
However, according to recent reports, 2023’s Starfield and 2024’s Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are planned to be released on PS5 in the near future. This new strategy will reportedly see Indiana Jones arrive on PS5 a few months after the Xbox and PC launch, while Starfield could arrive on PlayStation alongside the release of the Shattered Space expansion later this year. Likewise, Hellblade 2 is also rumored to be heading to PlayStation in the future.
Bethesda’s Starfield was Microsoft’s biggest exclusive in years, and while it didn’t quite live up to its hype, it’s still one of the best RPG games and resulted in many buying an Xbox console and Game Pass to enjoy it. With the popularity of Indiana Jones and the success of the first Hellblade, this would no doubt have caused a similar spike for these upcoming releases.
Nevertheless, this plays into Microsoft’s new approach to its gaming strategy, which focuses on bringing the Xbox ecosystem to as many devices as possible. It’s suggested that Microsoft is taking a case-by-case approach to its exclusives, with some remaining on Xbox and PC, while others could make the jump to PS5 and Switch months after. Either way, eager fans will likely pick up an Xbox or Game Pass subscription to dive in right away.
This news isn’t out of the blue, however. Over recent months there has been no end of rumors surrounding Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves making the jump to PS5 and Nintendo Switch. Plus, with the most recent leak, the former is all but confirmed.
Going forward, this leaves several current Xbox exclusives in an odd position. Three years after launch, Halo Infinite is finally in a great spot in 2024 yet support is tailing off. As outlandish as it might sound, could Xbox’s most iconic and prestigious series be released on PlayStation in the future? Likewise, Avowed is another of the Xbox’s most promising upcoming releases, and while there are currently no rumors surrounding it going multiplatform, there’s evidently reason to speculate that it will.
This new strategy will no doubt help Microsoft financially in the long run, though it could spell doom for Xbox consoles, especially as an all-digital, subscription-based future is looking more likely than ever. Plus, with many of the best Xbox games potentially being available on PlayStation – alongside the best PS5 games – patient gamers have a simple choice to make.