fatpunkslim

@Isolte We agree, I also prefer a world without exclusive games, as I've said before. But you say this as a PC gamer. As an Xbox and PC gamer, I have a slightly different view of what's good for Xbox, and I don't think the complete end of exclusive games is a good thing, at least not in the short/mid-term. In the long term, if the gaming landscape is different from today, I wouldn't say no!

But I think Xbox is well aware of all this, and as I mentioned, they have a much more subtle approach than some might think.

There is my gamer point of view, which is totally in agreement with you, and my point of view of what I think is good for Xbox, which is a bit different.

Good chat, anyway.

@mac_da_man "No red lines" doesn't mean anything; it's a very bad interpretation. It just means they allow themselves the choice to port or not any game according to different criteria, but it doesn't mean all games! It's a very big shortcut to think that! Their actions suggest they will not. Sorry, I only see some timed exclusives from old games, and I still see exclusive games, so no, nobody can say this is the direction they take.

I think the real test will be Forza Horizon 6 or the next big Xbox exclusive. If it comes out day one on PS5, then you would be right, otherwise, we are indeed looking at a case-by-case strategy and timed exclusives.

@Isolte One could ask you and others the same question. As a gamer, yes, I prefer all games to be available everywhere, which is also why I prefer Xbox, with play anywhere, own games on cloud, its backward compatibility policy, cross-save, cloud gaming, etc...

But from a business perspective and with a realistic view of the industry, I don't see Xbox jumping headfirst into multiplatform without at least keeping temporary exclusives, because I think it would be too disruptive to switch too quickly to full multiplatform given the current industry landscape, and from what I understand, that's not what they're doing.

It may be the case in the future, but it will be in a gaming landscape very different from today, where almost no one will make exclusive games anymore, but I don't see that happening for another two console generations.

After all, this is the subject of the article at the same time, so it's normal that I respond to this topic.

@mac_da_man Of course, Xbox is not going to port all their games to other consoles; nothing allows us to say that today, it wouldn't make sense from a business perspective for many reasons. Many people get carried away by media extrapolations. The multiplatform strategy is primarily aimed at growing markets, that is, PC and cloud gaming.

And the big advantage is that Xbox has the choice, as most of their exclusives are first-party. This is not the case for PlayStation, which does not have this luxury; they largely depend on third-party publishers for their exclusives.

@Jaxx420 I didn't mean "acquire" in that sense, of course. I meant that it was a PlayStation exclusive now available on Xbox, like many others (Sifu, Kena, Forspoken, Death Stranding, MLB The Show, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, etc.). These are third-party games, but since 80% of PlayStation exclusives are third-party games, it's still relevant. At this rate, PlayStation will have far fewer exclusives than Xbox, even with Xbox porting some old games

@Markatron84 I will believe it when I see it, but I think it will be the case when no one makes exclusive games anymore, not before. In the meantime, if we look at the 2025 Xbox lineup, it has more exclusive games than PlayStation (not difficult at the same time when the guy next door makes almost no first-party games except for remakes).

The big advantage of Xbox is that it does not depend on third-party publishers; they have the choice to port a game or not to other platforms, unlike PlayStation, whose 80% of exclusive games are from third-party publishers. And unfortnately for them, few anf few thirs party publishers want make exclusive games like square, capcom and almost everyone.

Xbox has once again acquired a former PlayStation-exclusive franchise: Onimusha.

@Markatron84 To keep it short: I think Xbox's strategy is much more subtle than some think. Sending all Xbox games to other platforms is definitely not their strategy. The "no red lines" simply means they allow themselves to judge any game as potentially multiplatform, but that doesn't mean they will port everything to other platforms; it's a very simplistic interpretation.

Furthermore, during the interview with Destin, Phil clearly said no to the question if all games were going to PlayStation.

Interestingly, the media prefer to only highlight the excerpts that fit their narrative, ignoring those that contradict it.

Xbox's strategy is much more nuanced than an all-or-nothing approach; it will be somewhere in between because they know very well the value of keeping some exclusive games. They will stop doing it when all competitors stop making exclusive games, but not before.

In the end, it wasn't very short after all.

Good talk

@K1LLEGAL Let's forget your speculation (yet another one) about Deathloop, which is irrelevant.

On what Phil said "“if you’re on other platforms don’t take this as a sign that everything is coming, it’s not”" you think its a lie and so, everything is going to other platforms", I disagree !

I think it's a binary and simplistic view of things, especially coming from a company worth billions. I believe their strategy is much more nuanced than that.

At least we know what we disagree on!

@Jaxx420 I have already given the facts, look back through the discussion. The facts are simply to look at the types of games that are being ported and that they clearly prioritize service games. There will be other types of games, but we remain on a case-by-case basis and temporary exclusivity. The facts are also that Xbox continues to make exclusive games and announce exclusive games and sign contracts for exclusive games with third parties, which also proves that keeping some exclusive games remains important, even if for some games, it's temporary.

but I understand that it's not easy to see clearly in the midst of media confusion eager for clickbait, and PlayStation trolls who come to reassure themselves

If we look at things calmly and without media confusion, there hasn't been a major change, just a slow evolution. They ported 4 exclusive games, and now we know that Indiana Jones, Forza Horizon 5, Age of Empires and Retold will be ported, 4 more games, including 3 service games that are over 4 years old. I wouldn't call it a complete shift, but a continuation of the announced case-by-case strategy, and common sense for GAAS games.

The multiplatform games that have brought in money are mostly those that were already multiplatform, starting with Call of Duty. Same for Doom, the game was already multiplatform; it doesn't result from a strategy change for those games.

At the same time, we have had exclusive games like Stalker 2, Flight Simulator, Hellblade 2, Ara: History Untold, Indiana Jones (timed exclusive), Dungeons of Hinterberg, and I forget some, then Avowed, South of Midnight, and others will follow.

The production of Xbox games is such that they are always one step ahead, and the balance of exclusive games vs. multiplatform games remains in favor of exclusive games, even if some are temporary. At the same time, who wants to play a game 4 years later? It's like Forza Horizon 5, the game has done its job, and Forza Horizon 6 will soon be announced, which will be released 4 years later on PS. Those who haven't understood this greatly underestimate Xbox's strategy.

@Jaxx420 Doom, like outerworlds, call of duty were already multiplatform, and Xbox committed not to make games that were already multiplatform exclusive, so it's a different logic, these are not formerly exclusive games. but in any case, it will also bring them money.

@Jaxx420 Xbox mostly knows the types of games that bring in the most money, the service games: Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 5, Age of Empires and Retold. Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment didn't do well on PS.

In any case, siphoning the wallets of PlayStation players means more games in Game Pass and more exclusive games, even if some are just temporary.

You must be quite young or have a short memory then, some people were saying the same thing at the time of the Xbox One. When Xbox put its games on PC, for example, knowing that the PC market is very different and Microsoft has always made games for Windows.

How many years have we been hearing that Xbox is going to stop making consoles, that Xbox is going to die? Yet they've never been doing so well. Sorry, only trolls say that, or those who don't understand Xbox's strategy. No need to mention you, you've already lost, Xbox is not going to stop making consoles or exclusive games; if it happens, it will be the same for PlayStation. We're talking about old games and service games here; Sea of Thieves is the only game that really worked on PS5, so it's normal they prioritize these types of games, and it's the same for FH5 and Age of Empires. It's logical for Xbox to seek money elsewhere after several years. Don't talk to me about Doom, which is already a multiplatform game, or Indiana Jones, which is a Disney license already signed before the acquisition.

Xbox is on a case-by-case strategy and temporary exclusivity for the games they decide to port, as the facts show. Why aren't Avowed or South of Midnight coming out day one on PS5? Because it's not their strategy! You can continue to repeat the same things based on speculations, but it doesn't make business sense what you're saying:

80% of Game Pass subscribers are on console.

Why continue to sign third-party exclusives (Stalker 2, Ark 2, etc.) if they don't care about exclusives?

Why not announce Avowed and South of Midnight directly on PS5? Maybe they'll come out in 3-4 years, but who wants to play a game 4 years later? A temporary exclusive is still an exclusive.

I'm not saying this as a fanboy, but simply with common sense and based on the facts.

@jfug: absolutely not ! Case by case, not all games are worth it for Xbox. The choice of games like Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 5, or Age of Empires is not insignificant; they are all old GAAS, and it makes total sense. I'm not saying this will be the only type of game, but it's clearly a profile of games that are more likely to be ported to other platforms, but not all games.

Phil Spencer said it during the Destin's interviews, not all games, and he repeated several times the case-by-case strategy. There are some trolls and certain media outlets that try to create clickbait by making people believe otherwise.

It confirms the lessons they learned from Sea of Thieves. The only game from 4 (SOT, grounded, pentiment, hifi rush) that really succeeded on PlayStation, it is an old service game (GAAS), and forza horizon 5 follows the same logic, another old GAAS. It makes total sense for these games to be multiplatform, mainly after many years !

It clarifies Xbox's multiplatform strategy, which is much more nuanced than some might think, case by case.

Afterward, I would avoid the usual extrapolations from media hungry for clickbait

There are always people who are not happy. Xbox is the only one to offer true backward compatibility, play anywhere, stream your own game, cross-save, and make your game library as sustainable and versatile as possible, but no, they have to criticize.

It's mainly a problem for PlayStation because they make very few first-party games (remakes aside), limited by the small number of studios, and third-party publishers are increasingly reluctant to make exclusive games. This means that in the long run, they will have very few exclusives. The advantage of Xbox is that the games belong to them, so they can decide whether to make a game exclusive or multiplatform. PlayStation doesn't have this luxury because they rely on third-party publishers for 90% of their exclusives. On the other hand, if PS wants revenue, they are forced to go multiplatform. Ps Gamers don't buy their own exclusive games, just look at astrobot , even FH5, a 4 years old games, will outsales astrobot, LOL.

Great ! That's what we want, to talk about games, not speculations or other usual media extrapolations! Xbox ID always brings its share of little gems, and I can't wait to see the next ones. I loved Dungeons of Hinterberg (for those who haven't played it, I highly recommend it), and I remember other gems like Death's Door, Planet of Lana, and others that magically appeared in Game Pass! A little Silksong, I wouldn't say no! But since the studio "Team Cherry" is not on the list, I doubt it!

A must have ! great discount

You should see my Xbox dashboard right now, it's just crazy. I've already pre-installed South of Midnight, Expeditions 33, Avowed, Doom Dark Ages. At the moment, I'm playing Sniper Elite, plus Diablo 4, Indiana Jones, Call of Duty Black Ops 6. All these tiles side by side, that's when you realize that Game Pass is a blessing for gamers

@Weebleman "Lol, you're definitely teasing, let's say they found a compromise, they split the difference, it's not ideal but it's better than nothing and it satisfies both parties!

@Weebleman You don't understand, the contract was already signed for the game to be multiplatform, it's a Disney license, they have their requirements, Xbox doesn't really have a say in it. Moreover, Indiana Jones has never been exclusive before, unlike SOT or FH5, so it's definitely a bad example.

@Weebleman Indiana Jones is not a good example, it's a Disney license that was already planned to be multiplatform before the acquisition, as confirmed by the FTC. Xbox insisted that the game be temporarily exclusive. Sea of Thieves is more comparable because it's also a GAAS, like FH5, and it was released 4 or 5 years later, after reaching its full potential.

forza horion 6 is coming, it's a sign ! and will not be right away on playstation. Those who think that, we know very well who they are lol.

@Isolte I base myself on reality, not speculations. Sea of Thieves, another service game, was also released 4-5 years later on PS! Xbox will prioritize Xbox players, that's what they do and that's what they've always done. So facts against speculations, we'll see who is right, but for now, I'm right until proven otherwise (if the opposite happens one day).

Forza Horizon 5 was released in 2021, 4 years later on playstation. Do you think a player is willing to wait 4 years to play a game?

What is the purpose of an exclusive game? To attract players to its ecosystem (gamepass or consoles or both, ....)! For it to work, this exclusivity period must be frustrating enough to push a player to go to your ecosystem. I think that from 1 to 2 years, it's sufficiently frustrating to push a player who wants to play this game to go to your ecosystem.

So, a long enough temporary exclusivity has the same positive effect (or almost) as a permanent exclusivity.

But does a permanent exclusivity exist? Who can today, on this industry situation, say that an exclusivity will be permanent? Even PlayStation can't, especially given the direction they are taking.

It's fine that Forza Horizon 5 comes out on PlayStation. The game has reached its potential and has done its job of attracting players to Xbox.

I think we won't have to wait long to hear about the release of Forza Horizon 6. And that is very smart:
- The new revenues from Forza Horizon 5 will help amortize the development costs of Forza Horizon 6.
- It will help introduce the franchise to PlayStation players and make them want to play the sequel, knowing that FH6 won't be released on other platforms right away. It would create frustration and push players towards the Xbox ecosystem (Game Pass on PC and/or Xbox consoles).

So it's a very good move !

1.Yes There will be more Xbox games on Nintendo and PlayStation
2.No. It won't be all Xbox games
3.Many games will launch on Xbox first, and then MS will decide if they port them to other consoles OR NOT
4.the biggest exclusive is still the gamepass

It's just the result of the ABK acquisition, nothing more! Of course, they made the right decision to keep Call of Duty multiplatform, it would have been a huge mistake not to do so!

@Isolte Sorry to say this, but you don't seem to know that Xbox runs on a customized version of Windows, and the next OS for Xbox consoles will be much closer to Windows. In fact, Microsoft is working on an OS and an interface that will be identical whether you are on a Windows PC, Xbox, mobile, TV, etc...

So, I really don't see what technically prevents Xbox from integrating Steam. Moreover, in the interview, Phil Spencer did not deny the rumors about this when Destin asked him about the integration of Steam. He said they were in discussions and hinted, without confirming, that it was possible.

I also think that this is why Phil communicates so much about Xbox games on PS, to better ease the acceptance of Steam games on Xbox (and thus PS games). This communication is not trivial.

@themightyant You said it all, you speak in the past tense, but that's no longer the case, the acquired studios are running at full capacity and it shows!

Thanks for the link ! His response is quite encouraging, I would say, and between the lines, we can indeed understand that seeing Steam on Xbox is well on its way.

@HonestHick very interesting point ! At what point in the video do they talk about Steam?

@ButterySmooth30FPS: ok thanks, I corrected it.

@themightyant I confirm, it sounds weird but true, Xbox exclusives: south of midnight, stalker 2 , contraband, avowed, Fable, gears, perfect dark, state of decay 3, replaced, everwirl, OD Clockwork Revolution, 33 immortals, ARK 2, project mara, .... And I forget many others. We're still waiting for the rumors that have been around for a year about Forza Horizon 5, Halo, Starfield, etc., supposedly coming to all platforms. Lots of rumors for not much in the end!

Some will surely be temporarily exclusive, but even so, it blows up the PS lineup which is almost empty.

@themightyant "PlayStation is more a platform making money from other people's games on their console."

"Yeah! It's right: PlayStation is basically a box for third-party games. The problem with that is it works when this box has exclusive games from third-party publishers. The thing is, it's not looking good on that front, as fewer and fewer third-party publishers want to make exclusive games for a single platform for obvious profitability reasons. It's not a first-party game released once a year that will change anything, especially if it also comes out on PC.

Fewer exclusive games = fewer game sales = forced to turn to multiplatform for profitability. They have already started with PC and Switch. Who would have imagined a few years ago that Sony would release games on PC and Switch? They did it, and they will do it later on Xbox, it's just a matter of time. (And maybe even despite themselves if the next Xbox console integrates Steam.)

In the end, PlayStation will have fewer and fewer exclusive games, even fewer than Xbox, and that's already the case! Xbox makes games, it has Game Pass, Play Anywhere, true backward compatibility. So on paper, Xbox has many more advantages for the player. What Xbox lacks is just marketing, nothing else!

For now ! Surely later

PlayStation has canceled more games than it has created in this generation, it's still crazy!

@Millionski It was just to show that even without ABK, Xbox makes 2X more profit margins than PlayStation. But you're right, with ABK it's 3X more!

It's funny because these profit margin ratios are identical to the number of games produced! Xbox makes 3 times more games than PlayStation. So one is correlated with the other, it's logical!

Personally, I prefer to be part of the team that creates games, and be sure to be able to play them, play them first, play them thanks to Game Pass, be able to play a game on PC, console, or cloud thanks to Play Anywhere, etc...

@themightyant operating income = It's the revenue generated by the company's main activities, before deducting costs and expenses.

I'm talking about profit margin !!

Here the right numbers: Sony profit margin running 5% and XBOX (without ABK) 12% EA 14%, and ABK 17%? That is more like a Supermarket (4%) than a gaming company. Just a few yesrs ago Sony ran 9%.

@themightyant you're wrong ,For several years, Sony's profits have been steadily declining. You need to smooth it out over the year; looking at just the last quarter doesn't mean anything. It's the annual figures that matter. Sony's profits are well below the market average, that's a fact!

And we should also count the cost of canceled games and the wasted time, I assure you that things are not going well for them.

@deadmaker You already see it without realizing it, just look at the closer release dates of games on PC, and the release of day one games on PC, it's just the beginning.

@deadmaker the question is not: are they willing to? they are force to ! they have no choice ! Production costs are such that they are forced to go multiplatform. Why do you think they want to move towards service games after canceling a bunch of games? Why do you think they are only making remakes this generation? They are looking for quick profit; the situation is very tense for them financially. The next step is day one on PC; they have to if they want to support their studios.

Xbox strategy:
1. Yes There will be more Xbox games on Nintendo and PlayStation
2. No. It won't be all Xbox games
3. Many games will launch on Xbox first, and then MS will decide if they port them to other consoles OR NOT

I think PlayStation will eventually follow the same strategy, for the simple reason that their current strategy is not profitable; they only make a 5% margin while Xbox makes 12%. Production costs have skyrocketed, and they will release everything on PC. The disadvantage for them is that they have very few first-party games compared to Xbox. Their exclusive games mainly come from third-party publishers, and they will have fewer exclusives because fewer and fewer third-party publishers want to make exclusives.

@Medic_alert I am not speculating at all. To a simple question, he simply answered No! Why didn't he say yes, we are going to release all our future games on PlayStation? If that were the case, he would have said it, but no, he said the opposite!

@McL92 To the question 'Are all Xbox games going to PlayStation?' he answered no, and then he elaborated by giving examples:

• All the games already delivered will not go to other platforms.
• And for future games, he says 'the things will look at how they do.' This example is quite vague, but basically, they will see on a case-by-case basis.

But the overall answer to this very simple question is no! Whether it's old games or future games!

The problem is that this kind of communication is addressed both to players but especially to other publishers, investors, etc. Xbox needs to send this message of openness, which is why there is always this apparent double discourse. But what he says here is clear, No! It only confirms what he has always said: 'case by case.' After that, if some people don't want to understand it and continue to believe what they want to believe, too bad for you, but if you want to play Xbox games first and be sure to play them, you better have a PC or an Xbox console, that's all!