Microsoft Is Bringing Four Games to Rival Platforms, and No, It’s Not Starfield or Indiana Jones
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Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty of Xbox released an update on the Xbox business through the Official Xbox Podcast. The 22-minute long discussion tacked Xbox exclusivity, Game Pass and games from Activision, and their stand on Xbox hardware in the future.
The first that was quickly tackled was that exclusive titles like Starfield and MachineGames’ upcoming title Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will not be coming to rival platforms, this mention was to quickly dispel the ongoing rumors that Xbox is giving up on platform exclusivity, suggesting titles like Bethesda Starfield and other upcoming Xbox exclusives will be available in other platforms.
But they did announce they are entertaining the idea as they are bringing four Xbox titles to rival platforms, two are live-service games while the other are smaller titles. Phil Spencer did not mention the names of these titles as they want the teams behind the games to make the announcement themselves.
But before this update was released, the rumor mill had already started as it was reported that titles such as Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush, are being considered for release on other platforms. The Verge also reported that Pentiment and Grounded are also being considered.
The four games coming to rival platforms is their way of reaching more players. An experiment that could either encourage or discourage this move with other properties.
Microsoft also revealed that the first game coming to Xbox and PC Game Pass from the Activision Blizzard King portfolio will be Blizzard’s Diablo IV. During the announcement, Microsoft Gaming president Sarah Bond casually revealed that Game Pass currently has 34 million subscribers, a boost as in 2022, the subscriber count was around 25 million.
Xbox still committed to hardware
They also tackled Xbox hardware, as part of the rumor mill leading up to the update, many reports pointed to Xbox no longer working on the next generation Xbox console. But it looks like they are not abandoning anything as they are aiming to release a next-generation console. “what we’re really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation, which makes it better for players and better for creators and the visions that they’re building.” says Bond.
The presentation was a safe environment to make a few things clear as having Xbox titles go to other platforms is a major change and poses a series of questions to various communities, which resulted in Xbox reiterating what the company hopes to achieve in the future, pointing out various features such as Game Pass, Cloud Gaming, cross-progression, cross-play, and more.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has the potential to be a favorite for fans of the franchise, delivering an authentic Indiana Jones experience with its story and cinematic presentation. While the game shines in its exploration and puzzle elements, the combat and stealth mechanics’ lack of gameplay variety holds it back.