After more than 30 years of struggle and fierce battle, could the end of the console war clearly be about to happen? For many years, Nintendo has taken the lead and stopped this technological race, playing alone in its corner, with bets that don't always win (like the Wii U), but other choices that work wonderfully well (like the Switch and the recent Switch 2).
Since last year, Microsoft with its Xbox has begun to drastically change its strategy. The company is gradually abandoning consoles in favor of subscription offers like Xbox Game Pass and Cloud Gaming features. Now, the company is gradually ending exclusives by releasing all of their titles, even the most iconic ones, on PlayStation.
More than ever, the industry is at a turning point with three players moving in opposite directions. The last line of defense remains Nintendo and PlayStation exclusives. And on this point, things could also change in the coming months.
PlayStation: towards the end of exclusives?
Who would have believed, just a few months ago, that cult games and licenses like Gears of War, Forza or even Halo could arrive one day on PlayStation? And yet, today, it's a reality. In April, Forza Horizon 5 arrived on PS5. Next August, the first installment of Gears of War will arrive on Sony's console via a remaster. And many rumors are talking about the arrival of Halo, as early as next year.
Besides that, Microsoft is letting loose and bringing all of its titles to PS5: Sea of Thieves, Doom: The Dark Ages, Grounded, Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, The Outer Worlds 2 and Hellblade II to name but a few, in less than a year, a wave of Xbox games have just been announced for the main competing console. And this is likely to continue when we see the numerous announcements from the Xbox Games Showcase at the Summer Game Fest last week, with the appearance of the PS5 logo on a large part of the announcements at the conference.
So, logically, we wonder when PlayStation games will also arrive on Xbox? Months before Microsoft's change of strategy, Sony was very reluctant to this idea. Today, we feel that the discourse is beginning to evolve. In a recent interview, Hermen Hulst, the head of PlayStation Studios, began to hint at the possibility of seeing flagship PlayStation titles, and especially single-player games, arrive on new platforms:
Of course, this statement is still very tentative and does not confirm that flagship games like Uncharted, The Last Of Us, God of War, Spider-Man or even Ratchet & Clank will arrive on Xbox and Switch 2 soon. On the other hand, it does confirm that internally, Sony is starting to think about the possibilities. And that alone, no one would have bet on it a few years ago.
Sony already began its change of strategy two or three years ago with the release of its main games on PC. This already represented a huge change in PlayStation's policy. So, from now on, anything is possible and who knows, Xbox players might be able to discover the Uncharted games in the near future and it might be possible to play Astro Bot on Nintendo Switch 2. To be continued! In any case, the legendary Patapon license, which had a great time on PSP (PlayStation Portable), will be getting a remaster this summer. The game is already expected on PS4, PS5 and on Nintendo Switch. At the end of the year, PlayStation released its LEGO Horizon Adventures game on PS5 as well as on Nintendo Switch. So anything really remains possible.
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