The Game Awards wrapped up last night (or early morning if you're a Brit, like moi), and within, Microsoft and Xbox had an impressive showing throughout. Microsoft announced OD, from Hideo Kojima, alongside Marvel's Blade, built by Arkane Lyon of Dishonored fame. Baldur's Gate 3 also shadow dropped onto Xbox during the show, after a lengthy period of optimization for the Xbox Series S.
However, controversy swirls.
When we wrote up our Blade announcement article, we did so based on prior knowledge of the event. While our sources were 100% correct about it being Blade, we have yet to have 100% confirmation that it will be Xbox exclusive, despite it being suggested to us that it is. Xbox is building it, right? And it seems to address the criticism of Microsoft not having an answer to PlayStation's Spider-Man, which remains one of the most compelling reasons to get a PS5 in general. However, as you can see based on the trailer above, there's no mention of platforms whatsoever. There's also no mention of platforms on the Blade website, which describes the game as thus:
"In Marvel’s Blade, Eric Brooks is the legendary Daywalker, half-man, half-vampire torn between the warm society of the living and the rushing power of the undead. From Bethesda and Arkane Lyon, Marvel’s Blade is a mature, single-player, third-person game set in the heart of Paris, now in development in collaboration with Marvel Games."
The lack of information is puzzling. If Blade is Xbox exclusive, wouldn't Microsoft be yelling it from the rafters? If Blade isn't Xbox exclusive, isn't it just deceptive and seeding confusion by not telling people upfront? Either way, we've asked Microsoft to offer a comment and clarify, but here's a few possible scenarios.
- Microsoft and Disney are still in negotiations. Perhaps Microsoft and Disney are still negotiating over how much each will profit from the venture, and how much of a premium Microsoft may or may not have to pay for the exclusivity badge.
- Previous court discussions suggest that Machine Games' and Disney's Indiana Jones game will be Xbox exclusive, but there's been absolutely no marketing-oriented official confirmation yet on that either.
- Perhaps Microsoft thinks speculation over platforms will help drive discussion and thus viral marketing. I somehow doubt this, since right now it's just creating frustration and negative vibes — people don't know what to expect of the Xbox platform.
- Perhaps it really is coming to PlayStation as well, and while it would be great for as many people to get to play the game possible, it would also just further erodes the Xbox platform's credibility and competitiveness.
- Xbox previously used arguments in its Activision court cases that its games are more accessible than ever, with the affordable Xbox Series S, with Xbox Cloud Gaming on phones and TVs, Xbox Game Pass, and PC day-and-date launches.
- It could also be this: Microsoft is still fighting the FTC over its Activision-Blizzard deal in the United States. The FTC's arguments hinge on the idea that Microsoft could "withhold" games from PlayStation, such as Call of Duty. Microsoft may be acting via an abundance of care as to not add fuel to the FTC's spurious arguments, given the fact that exclusive games are how companies compete in the console space.
- It should also be noted, PlayStation tweeted (X'd?) about every game from The Game Awards, except Hideo Kojima's OD, and Arkane's Blade.
In any case, the confusion threatens to overshadow the teaser trailer itself. Too often does it feel like Microsoft and Xbox announcements come with some kind of confusion or caveat attached, whereas Xbox's competitors are by and large far more consistent with messaging and delivery.
Microsoft and Xbox are consistently inconsistent
It was only last week that Microsoft created a wave of confusion when Tim Stuart, Xbox's CFO, claimed to Wells Fargo investors that Microsoft is essentially going to do a Sega and go third-party, with its first-party games coming to PlayStation alongside Xbox Game Pass. Then, in an exclusive interview with us, Xbox lead Phil Spencer suggested that isn't going to happen. But now, we're back to square one again.
Xbox detractors salivate at the idea of Microsoft quitting the console race, and bringing their games to PlayStation (often while also simultaneously claiming Xbox games are bad and they don't want them, huh). Xbox fans are also similarly nervous that Microsoft would eventually seek to go third-party and quit the hardware race, betraying decades of digital investment in Microsoft platforms. Microsoft is, of course, no stranger to pulling the rug out from under people (cough, Windows Phone, cough), and Microsoft's vast size and diverse portfolio makes them less dependent on any one department. If PlayStation shut down its console gaming division it would irreparably damage Sony. If Microsoft shut down its console gaming division, it wouldn't even be a blip on investors' radars.
Xbox not confirming that Blade is a platform exclusive is... weird.No Xbox logo on the trailer. No post on the Xbox YouTube channel. It's weird.December 8, 2023
Of course, these are extensive extrapolations from a single first-party game potentially going multiplatform. Microsoft is, of course, more multiplatform than ever already. With Activision-Blizzard now acquired, Microsoft becomes one of PlayStation's biggest customers, with Diablo, Overwatch, and Call of Duty in tow. This could all also just be a consequence of the on-going FTC litigation, with Microsoft eager to not show that it wants to build exclusive games for the Xbox platform via its acquisitions — despite, of course, PlayStation and Nintendo doing exactly the same thing. Microsoft also hasn't confirmed if Hideo Kojima's "OD" is console exclusive to Xbox, either, and that's a second-party type deal. Microsoft could easily point to Death Stranding as an example of Sony signing those kinds of deals too.
Right now, if I had to guess, it would be that Blade is indeed Xbox exclusive, and that it could be on-going negotiations, or FTC shenanigans obscuring the messaging. What ever the truth may be, it's unfair that Xbox hardware fans have to live in this world of uncertainty, and something Microsoft should work to alleviate.
What do YOU think? Hit the comments.
