There are rumors that Microsoft has been considering bringing some Xbox exclusives to the rival PlayStation and Nintendo Switch platforms. sea of thieves and Hifi fever Both have reportedly been under cross-platform consideration, and when you combine the rumors with recent comments from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Xbox CFO Tim Stuart, it's clear that Microsoft is weighing its strategy for Xbox. now that the deal with Activision Blizzard is complete.
in a Wells Fargo Summit In late November, Stuart detailed what he described as “a bit of a strategy shift” for Microsoft Gaming, the division that houses Xbox and Microsoft's overall gaming efforts. “We're not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences (and) our subscription services to every screen that can play,” Stuart said. “That means smart TVs, mobile devices, that means what we would have considered competitors in the past, like PlayStation and Nintendo.”
Xbox boss Phil Spencer was quick to respond to fans questioning the future of Xbox. making it clear to Windows Center days after Microsoft “has no plans to bring Xbox Game Pass to PlayStation or Nintendo.” That's largely out of Microsoft's control anyway, as Sony and Nintendo dictate what's released on their platforms, just like Microsoft does with Xbox.
However, Spencer did not refute Stuart's comments about bringing “our own experiences” to rivals. The comments have since fueled speculation that Microsoft could be transitioning to a third-party publisher. That speculation has only increased recently after rumors surfaced that Hifi fever could come to Nintendo Switch. YouTuber Nate the Hate vaguely referred to Xbox's exclusive arrival on Switch in a podcast earlier this month, and others filled in the blanks.
Then, days later, Jeff Grubb revealed in giant bomb I had heard that Microsoft has been thinking about bringing sea of thieves to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation. Esteban Totilo, former axios and My city reporter who now runs the excellent game file Newsletterintervened hours later to confirm that he had heard that Microsoft had considered launching sea of thieves on PlayStation.
Microsoft has previously released two Or me games for Nintendo Switch, which were developed by Moon Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. sea of thieves was developed as a key Xbox exclusive by a Microsoft game studio, so if it eventually appears on PlayStation, that would mark a new strategy for Xbox.
Microsoft has not commented on the rumors, but CEO Satya Nadella recently spoke in general terms about the company's gaming ambitions. “With Activision I think we have a chance to be, frankly, a good publisher for Sony, Nintendo, PC and Xbox,” Nadella said in a Interview with Bloomberg this week. “We are excited to close the acquisition (of Activision Blizzard), and I'm glad we got it done.”
Nadella made similar comments in response to a question about the future of Xbox at Microsoft's annual conference. shareholders meeting in December. “We believe we now have the ability to really do what we always set out to do, which is create great games and deliver them to people across all platforms, including Xbox and consoles, PC, and now, including mobile gaming and cloud gaming. . ”said Nadela.
When you listen to just Nadella's comments, they could easily be dismissed as the obvious reality that Microsoft is a publisher of games for PlayStation and now owns the Obligations franchise. But when you combine them with rumors of Xbox exclusives like sea of thieves and Hifi fever Coming to rival platforms, Stuart's previous comments, and the big leadership changes at Xbox, it's clear that Microsoft has been thinking about some new strategic moves for its gaming division now that its mammoth $68.7 billion acquisition has been completed. .
sea of thieves It's already six years old, so a release on PlayStation or Nintendo Switch would open up the live-service pirate game to millions of new players. It wouldn't necessarily undermine Microsoft's argument for Xbox exclusives, much like how Sony releasing PlayStation exclusives for PC years later serves as a new revenue stream that doesn't undermine its console efforts. Microsoft's biggest game, Minecraft, It is also available on multiple platforms and opens a live service game like sea of thieves to other platforms seems a natural step.
Hifi fever However, it is different. The rhythm-based action game is already available on PC, but it's not even a year old, so moving to Switch or PS5 would certainly require some explaining from Microsoft to assure Xbox fans that it's still worth investing in. the platform and hardware.
That peace of mind is something Spencer has admitted Microsoft hasn't been good at in the past. “I really don't love the idea that for every one of our games, there's this little rumor about 'will it end up on Switch or not,'” Spencer said in a IGN interview in September 2020. “I feel like we should set better expectations than that with our fans.”
Microsoft has not commented on the sea of thieves either Hifi fever rumors directly, and I'm not likely to address this during the company's Xbox Developer Direct stream later today. But the reality is that Microsoft's Xbox business hasn't been focused on selling the most consoles for at least five years.
“I think it's easy from the outside to judge the health of our business based on how many consoles each company sells,” Spencer said in a 2019 interview with The edge. “In the end, how many subscribers you have for something like Game Pass, how many games people buy, are much better metrics about the health of the business.”
The head of Xbox made it even clearer last year. “We are not in the business of surpassing Sony or Nintendo as a console,” Spencer said in a interview with Kinda Funny Games.
This is understandable because Microsoft doesn't make money solely on Xbox hardware sales, as Xbox executive Lori Wright admitted during the conference. Epic vs. Apple test in 2021. “The console gaming business is traditionally a hardware subsidy model,” a Microsoft spokesperson explained in response to Wright's comments in 2021. “Gaming companies sell consoles at a loss to attract new customers . Profits are generated from game sales and subscriptions to online services.”
Xbox Series S/X sales still lag PS5, and Spencer acknowledged last year that losing the previous generation Xbox One was “the worst generation you could miss” because everyone was building their digital library of games during the previous generation. Some might argue that opening up some older Xbox exclusives on a case-by-case basis to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch only helps Microsoft improve Xbox Game Pass with more revenue it can invest in its studios to create more games.
Such a move could even work as stealth marketing for Xbox Game Pass, as games like sea of thieves and Hifi fever Both are part of the monthly subscription price and are available immediately on Xbox consoles. Either way, when you look at Microsoft's gaming business, it's clear that for it to grow substantially, it won't just be selling Xbox consoles. Microsoft has made clear in the past that it wants to target billions of gamers through the cloud, expanding PC Game Pass, and a new Xbox mobile store is also in the works.
This opportunity means we'll see Microsoft, and even Sony, explore new ways to play their games. Sony followed Microsoft into the gaming subscription era, releasing multiple PlayStation exclusives for PC and opening up PS5 games to cloud streaming. It even has big ambitions for live service cross-platform games, although some of these are being delayed due to “mixed levels of success.” The point is that both PlayStation and Xbox are experimenting with how they sell their games and where players experience them.
So would it be surprising to see some Are Xbox exclusives coming to PlayStation or Nintendo Switch? Absolutely not. If it really happens, the devil will be in the details.
