What you need to know
- Rumors and speculation have grown exponentially over the last weeks regarding the possibility that Microsoft would be bringing Xbox first-party games to different consoles.
- The speculation hit critical mass over the weekend, with reports that titles like Starfield were being considered for a PlayStation 5 launch.
- Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer shared on Monday that there is a "business update event" for Xbox coming next week.
Here we go.
"We're listening and we hear you," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer shared on Monday via Twitter. "We've been planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox. Stay tuned."
The comment comes after weeks of speculation and whispers around Xbox first-party games being ported to other consoles reached a fever pitch over the past weekend, with reports indicating that Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle were some of the titles being considered for a PlayStation 5 launch.
What does this mean for Xbox players?
The short answer is that we don't know. Despite the amount of speculation going on right now, no one outside of Microsoft completely knows what the plan will be. The longer answer is that it seems extremely likely at least some games (namely, Hi-Fi Rush) will be getting ported to other platforms. What's the logic for these games to go elsewhere? Will it be all games or some? How long after the Xbox and Windows PC launch should players on other consoles expect to wait?
And that's all in addition to other already-outstanding questions, such as when Xbox players can expect to see Activision Blizzard games hitting Xbox Game Pass.
These are just some of the questions with no iron-clad answers right now. Hopefully, we'll be getting crystal-clear answers during the "business update event" next week.
Analysis: Oy vey, what a week
Before everything happens, I'd want to emphasize that I empathize with the Xbox communications team, who are only doing their jobs in trying to message things and will, no matter what is actually going on, have a Herculean effort ahead of them in figuring out how to word things with precision.
And that last word is exactly the key, precision. Everything will have to be spelled out, with no room for error or any possibilities of something being misconstrued.
Speculation is a fool's errand, but I've never been one to shy away from predictions, so I'll put my thoughts out there for what we'll get. Games moving to being multiplatform should probably be expected across the board, with timed exclusivity of a year or two depending on the scope of the game and the size of the team in question.
While I know some are worried about hardware, I'm not expecting that to go anywhere. People with digital libraries are locked in, and Xbox Game Pass can still be used to attract interest for anyone that hasn't yet decided to pick up an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S console.
