After months of rumors surrounding several key Xbox exclusives jumping ship to PS5, Microsoft has finally announced a special Xbox Official Podcast for this week. This will detail the future of Xbox as a business, though new reports are already giving us a clearer picture. According to sources, the first two games heading to rival platforms are Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment, before other major exclusives make the move.
The Verge reports that Xbox is gearing up to release a number of the biggest Xbox exclusives on both PS5 and Nintendo Switch, adding further credence to rumors that three major Xbox exclusives are coming to PS5. While the list of candidates has seemingly been trimmed since the initial leaks, Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment will be leading the charge.
From here, Sea of Thieves is reportedly arriving on non-Xbox platforms later this year, with other first-party games also under consideration. With no mention from The Verge of Starfield, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Avowed, or even Hellblade 2, there are still several exclusives in the air.
While a Halo Infinite PS5 port is just what the Xbox FPS needs, releasing other first-party Xbox titles on rival platforms is undeniably a massive shift in strategy that many have questioned. Phil Spencer claims Xbox consoles aren’t going anywhere, but this move feels like giving up to avid Xbox fans now that there’s finally a solid slate of (currently) exclusive new Xbox games on the horizon.
As Xbox Series X|S hardware sales continue to decline and the rate of new Xbox Game Pass subscribers slows down, this new strategy sees Microsoft prioritizing greater reach to generate revenue, rather than using exclusivity to push console and Game Pass sales.
We’ll have to wait until the Xbox business update podcast to reveal more about this likely new strategy, though it’s clear that big changes are coming. If any of the best Xbox games and best Xbox Game Pass games head to PlayStation, then there will certainly be many happy PS5 players. After all, the collection of new PS5 games and the best PS5 games could soon be joined by some of Xbox’s finest.