PlayStation Is Publishing Helldivers 2 On Xbox, Signalling A Shift In Strategy From Sony

Probably the live service stuff. Fairgames probably will fail either way but they could try to have as many chances as possible

The future looks good guys🙌
Uncharted next please 🥺

As I said in other news, I think that in a few years technology will make it unnecessary to have a device next to the TV to play, so I think consoles have an expiration date. I think these companies know it and they are moving based on it.

To answer the question, yes if Xbox gamers buy this one. If it doesn't sell well, that will be Sony's excuse not to port more games. Simple.

It will definately help if heckdivers 2 sells well on xbox but I think sony will be looking at xbox for more titles in the future. Making the games available to more potential buyers makes too much sense not to do it.

@RagnarLothbrok I'm personally shocked that Sony didnt dump Concord on Xbox to see if they could at least make a little money lol

This makes a Marvel Tokon release at some point a pretty strong possibility

I highly doubt this is signaling Sony making a shift. They have no incentive to supply their competitors with their products - though I wouldn’t necessarily classify Nintendo and Microsoft as competitors for various reasons. In fact, Sony doesn’t own Arrowhead studios, and Arrowhead themselves recently stated they are going to remain independent. I think this is more of a case of attracting more players to their live service game, which this genre is better suited to be multi-platform. Moreover, Arrowhead also mentioned that their next game wasn’t going to be purely on PlayStation. I think this is much ado about nothing. With that said, I’m very happy to see Xbox players get a chance to play this game. Hopefully, consumers will support this title with their wallets.

No, and as a journalist it’s irresponsible to set that expectation, this was a very particular situation, Arrowhead is not owned by Sony and their team pushed to be on Xbox and every platform since the beginning, Sony caved because it’s the only successful live-service game they have amidst failures and cancellations and they can use a boost since player count continues to drop.

Just like another particular situation when MLB released on Xbox, it didn’t result in God of War or TLOU coming to Xbox which was theorized back then and today’s news don’t take us a step closer to that at all. I understand fans need to cope after yesterday’s news, but if you expect more Sony games to come over you’re going to be disappointed.

I don't think this is a shift from Sony. I think this is a concession from Sony. Not to Xbox or Microsoft, but to Arrowhead. I think Sony are well aware that if they don't keep Arrowhead sweet, that Arrowhead now have the funds to self-publish their future titles. Basically, Arrowhead made it clear to Sony that they wanted to release the game on the Xbox, and Sony have obliged them so that the next game Arrowhead make can be exclusive to the PlayStation for at least the first year after release...

@BacklogBrad especially older games from last gen that aren't making money for them no more I know myself id pick up the majority of them if uncharted, the last of us and Spiderman dropped on Xbox!

just like sony took a chance and agreed to let horizon characters in a lego game because lego games sell the best on the switch it did not succeed they are doing the same thing with helldivers 2 they know xbox fans have wanted this game to come over to xbox

I know you are likely speaking with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek, @Ricky-Spanish, but I feel the need to let you down gently - UNCHARTED ON THE XBOX - WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER!. There, nice and gentle... 😂

@IOI and as a journalist it’s irresponsible to set that expectation

It's really not. It's, in a lot of cases, journalism that invokes feedback from countless userbases across the net. It's an expectation / discussion point that will be going around the web for while to come. It's a very interesting movement on Sony's part to even consider allowing it as the dominant platform holder, let alone greenlighting it and giving it the go ahead.

This isn't the last time they cross plat release. Many of us here have called this for a very long time. The industry is volatile and hella expensive - multiplat releases make a lot of sense, and although I don't expect to see heavy hitting first party sellers (Spiderman etc...) making the leap anytime soon, I fully expect more to follow in the long-run.

While we wouldn't say that this game in particular will open the floodgates for PlayStation exclusives on Xbox, it at least shows that Sony is willing to work with Microsoft to get select games on the platform. It did a similar thing with Nintendo last year in LEGO Horizon Adventures, and clearly, Sony deems Helldivers 2 the perfect opportunity to start working with Xbox. We're pleased to see the ball finally rolling, folks.

Yup. It's been said here a lot before (in articles that pertain to Xbox games going multiplat) that Xbox wont be the only ones going multiplatform in the long-term. This news will surely sting those that were adamant it would never happen but if we look past that, it makes a great deal of sense. Dev costs are sky high, and the more audience you can get, the more of a return you can potentially maximize on.

Honestly there isn't a single Sony game that I want, so this doesn't affect me at all. But it's good news for sure.

@Fiendish-Beaver What is a man if he cannot dream ha🙏

After what was a disastrous day for Xbox, Sony literally swooped in to save the day for Xbox fans lol

@IOI If I told you yesterday that Helldivers 2 would come to Xbox, you would call me insane.

The people who claim that this isn't indicative of a strategic shift from Sony are also probably the people who claimed that Xbox was gonna stop at "just four games."

It's worth noting that, last year, Sony rebranded its PlayStation publishing brand on PC to "PlayStation PC" to "PlayStation Publishing LLC." Interestingly, this is the exact same brand name used for Helldivers 2 and Lego Horizon on Xbox.

Sony is clearly going to port some of their games to more platforms, and Helldivers 2 definitely will not be the last game Sony will publish on Xbox.

@Fiendish-Beaver Arrowhead actually confirmed a few weeks ago that Sony is not involved with their next game at all

@IOI Also, this is nothing like MLB: The Show because Sony doesn't own the MLB IP and they were forced into putting it on other consoles.

Helldivers 2, on the other hand, is entirely a Sony decision. Sony owns the Helldivers 2 IP and they have complete say over what platforms they can port it to.

Buy it everyone, we need Gran Turismo next on Xbox

@Ricky-Spanish What is a man if he cannot dream ha

Someone that isn't asleep?

@Fiendish-Beaver UNCHARTED ON THE XBOX - WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER!

Stranger things have happened. After this news, I wouldn't say it's impossible. They may very well throw over the older remastered games a few years down the road.

Before today, no one would have entertained the idea of Helldivers 2 coming to Xbox - in fact I recall several interactions in which people said it would never happen and that it was only Xbox doing multiplat games because they "needed to". I'm not saying it will happen, but we can hardly say with certainty anymore that it wont be a possibility.

@Questionable_Duck Also, this is nothing like MLB: The Show because Sony doesn't own the MLB IP and they were forced into putting it on other consoles.

Helldivers 2, on the other hand, is entirely a Sony decision. Sony owns the Helldivers 2 IP and they have complete say over what platforms they can port it to

This ^^^

@Questionable_Duck If you want to believe that I respect it but don’t be too disappointed if a Sony game you want never gets announced for Xbox, I do think that live-services may be the exception to the rule since Sony has lost billions into that failed strategy and those games depend on player counts, releasing on all platforms is the best move specially for those games’ communities but Sony can be incredibly petty (just look how they attempted to force PSN into it or restricting all PS games in several regions at Steam where no PSN is available) in any case for now Helldivers 2 on Xbox is great news for everyone.

@IOI I agree with you in a sense, since I don't expect Sony to start porting God of War to Xbox next year or something.

However, I still think this is a strategic shift from Sony since going forward, I expect all of Sony's live service games to come to Xbox eventually, unless they flop on PlayStation.

But yeah, this is definitely great news. Thank you for being respectful, sorry if I was being too confrontational.

Rather than write the same thing again, I'll just tag you into this, @Questionable_Duck & @Kaloudz.

I don't think this is a shift from Sony. I think this is a concession from Sony. Not to Xbox or Microsoft, but to Arrowhead. I think Sony are well aware that if they don't keep Arrowhead sweet, that Arrowhead now have the funds to self-publish their future titles. Basically, Arrowhead made it clear to Sony that they wanted to release the game on the Xbox, and Sony have obliged them so that the next game Arrowhead make can be exclusive to the PlayStation for at least the first year after release.

This isn't Sony playing nice with Xbox, this is Sony making a shrewd business decision to benefit the PlayStation regarding Arrowhead's future games...

I think you are right about Sony bringing over live-service games, @Questionable_Duck. Live-service games need players, and the more, the better...

Keep in mind that on the Xbox Ally it will be possible to play Uncharted, or God of War, or any game that has been published on Steam, without Sony being able to avoid it (and I don't think it's in their interest to avoid it), and on the next desktop Xbox it will almost certainly be possible to do so as well.

At that point it shouldn't make much sense for Sony to exclude the Xbox Store from its releases.

@Fiendish-Beaver I don't know. I see where you're going with that, but I don't see the logic. I mean, why would Sony want to concede to Arrowhead for exclusivity for the sake of timed exclusivity. Arrowhead need Sony (as the dominant platform holder with way more users) more than Sony need Arrowhead.

I firmly see this as Sony testing the waters of multiplat on Xbox, and taking a step in a direction that makes total sense in the long-term. More reach, more players, more cash. Or that's how I see it.

@Gabrie I agree. If Steam does get released in support for Xbox in the future (as rumoured for a while now) then Xbox / Steam-able hardware will be able to run their games anyhow - so it makes total sense on that front alone. That's a whole different kettle of fish for now though, but I do see Sony releasing more in the future. Multiplat just makes sense in a market that's as hostile as this.

@Questionable_Duck No us Xbox consumers were fine before this announcement it was the Microsoft employees who where sacked not us consumers we feel bad but that's it.
Sony didn't save the day at all if anything gamepass saves the day every day!
Questionable Xbox owner oh! Sorry! duck😉😚

@Ricky-Spanish You're right, the Microsoft employees still lost their jobs, so that definitely still sucks. But from a Xbox player standpoint, we may have lost Perfect Dark and Everwild, but at least we're getting Helldivers 2 on Xbox.

And yes, I prefer being called a duck, thank you very much lol.

@Fiendish-Beaver I may have said this in a previous comment, so sorry if I'm repeating myself, but Arrowhead already confirmed that their next game will not be published by Sony. So unless Sony signs a timed exclusivity deal for it, which I doubt, there isn't really much of a reason for Sony to concede to Arrowhead.

I think this is a strategic shift in the sense that you will see all of Sony's successful live service games come to Xbox eventually. And maybe the Bandai Namco-published Sony games will come to Xbox someday, too.

But I don't expect Sony to release all of their games on Xbox day-one or something like that. And, I'm not expecting to wake up one day to see God of War on my Xbox.

That was what I was getting at, @Questionable_Duck. People are getting carried away and seemingly believing that because Sony are putting a live-service game on the Xbox (a game that needs to have the maximum number of possible players) that this is a sign of a shift in their strategy. It isn't! This is two things happening at once, this is Sony looking for more players in their cash-cow game, but also seeing their games being available on an Xbox branded handheld and (if the rumours are to be believed) on a PC-like next console, that will enable Xbox gamers to play the game anyway, and choosing to go now, rather than waiting for that time to arrive. As far as Sony are concerned, why wait? If your Xbox gamer can access it anyway, why not make it properly available...

@Gabrie I don't know man, cloud streaming still isn't a viable option for a lot of people. I have pretty good Internet and haven't had a remotely good experience with it. But yeah, definitely think it's farther than a few years for sure.

@Fiendish-Beaver I see, sorry for not fully understanding your point. In that sense, I do agree with you. I don't think we will see God of War, Intergalactic, or The Last of Us hit Xbox soon.

I've seen a lot of $ony fanboys saying "hope Xbox players buy this one if they want more".
Yeah, but I don't care about this one though.

I'm surprised this is happening. I would have confidently said that Sony would die on the hill of not releasing anything on Xbox if they can help it.

I guess live service games being a delayed exception makes sense. It'd be nice if their other games came over, but don't hold your breath on that one.

How about Stellar Blade? Pie in the Sky or a real possibility?

Based on past discourse, the only logical conclusion from this is that Playstation plans to exit the hardware business and focus solely on its software.

Or they are starting to think like Microsoft and like the idea of more game sales and money.

@Millionski I was making fun of all the people that thought or still think xbox is leaving the console space simply because they put games on Playstation.

Xbox has literally said the exact same thing that they are committed to hardware but people still insist they are leaving.

I don't actually think playstation or xbox are going to be leaving the console space.

@Millionski oh yeah I’m certainly not holding my breath for anything first party, but third party developed exclusives… well this announcement brings a little spark of hope. Stellar Blade on Xbox, make it happen Sony!

@Millionski xbox said specifically that they are making the hardware. There will probably be other 2nd party devices too.

But a windows based xbox made by xbox would in fact be an xbox. No one will ever convince me otherwise. It's wild to move the goalposts so far to say that the xbox made device is not actually an xbox. It's pretty wild to think an official xbox branded device isn't an xbox too but I will that slide.

The steam deck is designed as a gaming device with a gaming UI and is every bit as much of a gaming console as ps5, series x/s, switch.

@Millionski Once upon a time nothing indicated that Xbox was going multiplat, until they did... Even when they did, they announced and reiterated that they wouldn't go all-out, and then they did. They started out slow, and then gradually leant in more and more. Sony will do the same.

If it didn't make sense to them, they wouldn't have even thought about doing this with Helldivers 2. In fact, many of those that said Xbox would go full-on multiplat way back when Hi-Fi / Grounded (etc...) was announced for PS, are now miraculously (somewhat panic-ridden) saying the opposite will be true for Sony lol...

This is the first step of many, and although they probably wont roll out multiplat support at the same speed that Xbox has, you can bet your bottom dollar that more will follow in due course.

As for Steam, I'll say what I've said a dozen times before on the matter. I think next gen Xbox will surprise a hell of a lot of people, and I think it's going to be very positively defining as a console. We can all but wait and see

@BacklogBrad No one will ever convince me otherwise. It's wild to move the goalposts so far to say that the xbox made device is not actually an xbox.

I think people rapidly forget that the first Xbox was Windows powered, was it not?... Either way, I'm in full agreeance with you. It's pretty much common sense.

@Millionski thing is, if it truly has Steam then it won’t matter if it flops in terms of sales, because it’ll still get all the games regardless! That would be the beauty of merging with PC. I wouldn’t have to sit here constantly port begging for Stellar Blade anymore, it would just be there and just work.

I doubt we will see Spiderman or Horizion on Series X, just live service titles like sea of thieves.

@Cakefish comment #55 well said. And that's the thing right, from my point of view if the next Xbox is more of the same, I'm not buying it. Not because they don't make great hardware (they do) but because it would lack incentive for Devs to code for it.

Something tells me they're on the right track though. The additional support from 3rd party Devs over the last couple of years makes me think that there's something special in the waters. Even if that doesn't include steam, you can bet it'll include an environment where the Dev can just make a PC game/port that works on an Xbox

@Gabrie Most people don't have good enough internet for that and going by PS5 and Switch 2 sales consoles are going no where.

Don't expect God of War anytime soon, but also don't not expect Playstion to directly publish more Xbox games in the future. The entire industry is moving away from exclusives. Sony is really losing a lot of control over the matter. In the past, console exclusives have worked around Sony to publish on Xbox once they legally could (or took the matters out of Sony's hands entirely like with MLB the Show). However, all the while Sony has been compromising past beliefs to port games to PC and they've even supported Nintendo Switch now. Just like Xbox didn't stop when they first announced day and date on PC all those years ago, neither will Sony. All that matters to these companies is money and with the console market being mostly fixed (and even more so because development costs keep skyrocketing) there's not a ton of reason to hold back games from succeeding on more platforms. Especially multiplayer live service titles like Helldivers 2.

Given the cost and development sink of these games and the overlap of specs/audience it makes sense to publish elsewhere.

Everyone needs to buy it n persuade Sony to port more 😎 ratchet and clanks and astro bot please 🥺

@Kraven Sony doesn't own arrowhead but they do own the helldivers IP. They make the decisions.

I do think Sony is testing the waters here as Microsoft did. Folks, it's all about making money and stock prices. These companies are finally realizing that Microsoft was right about releasing games on multiple platforms. Video games are costing more and more to make along with taking a lot more time to make, which adds to the cost of making them.

Here's hoping Gran Turismo 7 comes to Xbox! It's really the only game on PS5 that I want to play. And with the mass layoffs at Turn 10, which more than likely means we will not get another Forza Motorsport game, Sony needs to pay attention to this.

As others have already stated, HD2 is a 3rd party IP.

To quote @Fiendish-Beaver it's more likely "a concession from Sony. Not to Xbox or Microsoft, but to Arrowhead"

This isn't an indication of seeing first party PlayStation titles arriving on Xbox. It's been a rough week for sure, but I wouldn't start getting your hopes up about something that is unlikely to happen any time soon, if at all.

...aaand breath.

@cross717 hopefully ps + PC + Xbox combo. PlayStation can slowly dead if they port to switch 2