Even after Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Sony clearly has no bad blood to worry about. In recent days, the possibility of sharing exclusives has emerged concerning two games in particular. The first of these is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, an adventure game whose first images were recently revealed. The Verge reports that a source close to the matter confirms the idea that the title could one day land on PS5 even though it will be an Xbox exclusive at launch.
This is to say the least normal since the game is developed by Bethesda, a studio that has belonged to Microsoft for a few years now. All the titles that come out of its offices are reserved for the firm's players, except those for which agreements were made with PlayStation before the acquisition (Ghostwire Tokyo, Deathloop). According to the media outlet, “the company is weighing up which titles will remain exclusive and which will appear on Switch or PS5 in the future. Indiana Jones seems to be part of this new wave of multiplatform games.”
According to the same source, it is likely that Bethesda will release Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle on PS5 a few months after the Xbox version. The latter does not yet have a specific release date, but is planned for the end of the year on Microsoft consoles. We can therefore expect availability at the earliest in early 2025 on PlayStation, if the export is indeed confirmed.
Indiana Jones, but also Starfield
We therefore learn that this strategy, which has not yet been confirmed by Microsoft, could extend to other games in the future, but also to certain titles already available. This is the case of Starfield, released in September 2023 and whose success is rather mixed in the long term. The information comes to us this time from the media XboxERA, which states that the port is on the way, and that Microsoft is increasing its efforts to ensure the transition by providing PS5 development kits to the studio.
But while discussions around the subject have exploded on the networks, Phil Spencer, the boss of Xbox, decided to react. He declares: “We are listening to you and we hear you. We have a sales update scheduled for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details about our vision for the future of Xbox.” It’s very likely that the rumors will be true, although it’s unclear when that will be.
https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1754598552548904973
A turning point in video game history?
Why would these games in particular be in Microsoft’s sights, and what would the company gain from it? For years, the two industry giants have been engaged in a merciless war over exclusives. Closing the doors to certain platforms, by buying out studios or striking deals with them, allows each manufacturer to bolster its sales pitch. For the first time in history, Xbox would therefore admit defeat to the world.
The sales figures for the Xbox Series and PS5 are quite ambiguous. The green stable has not been able to catch up with its competitor in terms of hardware, but excels in everything related to services. Exporting some of its games would at least allow the company to generate additional revenue if not attract new players into its nets. We can also see that only prestigious or big-budget titles have been mentioned for the moment, with the exception of Hi-Fi Rush which is a very popular independent game. This will not prevent players from seeing that these same games are available at no extra cost in the Xbox Game Pass catalog.
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