Some of Microsoft's most beloved exclusive games could find their way onto PS5 later this year.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition are among those tipped for release on the rival machine.
It would have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago, but Microsoft could release its biggest games franchises on PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro this year.
There are claims that the likes of Halo and Gears of War could finally make their way onto a Sony machine, putting paid to the practice of console exclusives.
According to the reliable games industry source, Nate The Hate (via VGC), there are plans to launch Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on both the PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025. That has since been followed by suggestions from Windows Central that Gears of War: Ultimate Edition could be the first of that series to also appear on PlayStation.
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 and Age of Mythology could also follow.
In return, it says that Final Fantasy VII Remake will head in the other direction, having been a PlayStation exclusive to date.
Xbox's CEO, Phil Spencer, has made no secret of the company's new strategy of making its games available on multiple platforms, including Samsung and LG TVs through Xbox Cloud Gaming. And we've already seen the likes of Sea of Thieves hit the PS5. However, Gears of War and Halo are the equivalent of The Last of Us and Uncharted for Sony, so to see them make the leap is a groundbreaking moment for console gaming in general.
"I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say 'thou must not'," said Spencer to Bloomberg last November.
It's not a crazy move really, considering how many PS5 consoles have been sold since the launch of the original model in 2020. Sony was estimated to have shipped approximately 65 million units by September 2024.
In comparison, Microsoft is said to have sold less than half that number for both the Xbox Series X and S combined.
Maybe everything really is an Xbox after all... including a PlayStation.
