Recent years have seen Microsoft and Xbox embrace releasing its first-party games on rival platforms like PS5, embracing a fully multiplatform strategy and effectively killing the idea of having titles exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem. This has brought success — Forza Horizon 5 performed exceptionally well on PlayStation, and Sea of Thieves did too — but not every Xbox game has been a hit on other systems.
One consequence of this new direction is that many feel the lack of console exclusives devalues the Xbox brand and makes it difficult to justify purchasing an Xbox Series X|S over the PS5, as with the exception of Helldivers 2, all PlayStation Studios titles are exclusive to that platform.
When Phil Spencer retired and the new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma stepped up to fill his shoes in February, the strong desire from the community for a return to exclusives was one of the first things she was met with. At the time, she said that "The plan is the plan until it's not the plan," suggesting a potential shift of Microsoft's position on Xbox exclusives.
Now, two months later in an interview with Game File, Sharma has expanded on the approach she and Xbox is taking towards deciding whether or not exclusives will return, noting that she's being very cautious because these choices are "long-swinging decisions that have decade-long impact."
"We’ll take a data-driven approach and a strategic-driven approach, and then we’ll look at our principles and we’ll make some calls. So we’ll share more when we’re ready," she explained. "I want to make the right decision, not the fastest decision."
That slow and careful process will likely frustrate some who were hoping for a speedy return of Xbox-exclusive games, but ultimately, I think Sharma is making the right call here. There are many pros and cons to weigh both on a macro level and with individual games, so it's wise of Microsoft and Xbox leadership to avoid rushing into a decision.
Personally, I've always felt a good middle ground would be to bring multiplayer-focused and community-driven games like Grounded 2 over to PlayStation where having as large of a player base as possible is a particularly big boon, but perhaps only doing so a year after launch. Single player story-driven titles or entries in Xbox's biggest franchises (Halo, Gears of War), however, would remain exclusive to Xbox forever in this hypothetical.
Ultimately, we won't know when, how, or if Xbox exclusives will return until Sharma makes her decision, but it's good to know that, at the very least, it's being deeply and carefully considered. After all, it's an incredibly important position for Microsoft to figure out, especially with the new Project Helix console on the horizon.
Note that these comments come one day after Sharma and Xbox CCO Matt Booty shared a huge manifesto for the future of Xbox. It revealed that Microsoft is dropping "Microsoft Gaming" completely and is fully rebranding its gaming division back to just Xbox, and is aiming to make sure that "Xbox will be where the world plays."
It also comes after several sweeping improvements have come to Xbox in Sharma's first two months, including a revamp of Achievements, the addition of personalization upgrades, and a huge Game Pass price cut that largely counteracts the infamous Game Pass price hike that came last October.
How do you feel about the hot topic of exclusive games? Do you believe Xbox should have them once again, or do you think having Xbox games be fully multiplatform is a good idea? Let me know in the comments, and in our poll.
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