Xbox President Says the Thought of Console Exclusives Is ‘Antiquated’

Xbox President Sarah Bond has mentioned the gaming trade is evolving previous console exclusives. Microsoft has seen some outstanding success from exclusives like Halo, Forza, and Gears of Battle all through its historical past, however it has made a behavior of releasing these titles on opponents’ platforms in recent times. Now, the top of Xbox has confirmed in no unsure phrases that the corporate largely sees exclusivity as a factor of the previous.

There are some massive adjustments shaking issues up at Xbox these days, and it is led to each ups and downs for the model. Former Blizzard President Mike Ybarra has criticized Microsoft’s “This is an Xbox” strategy, saying “solely a moron” would make {hardware} with out exclusives, however Microsoft has additionally reaped appreciable income from releasing Xbox video games on PlayStation. Worth hikes, layoffs, and AI utilization have additionally stirred up rivalry among the many fanbase, however by all of it, the gaming big says it is dedicated to accessibility.

Xbox President Sarah Bond Says Platform Exclusives Are an Outdated Idea

In an interview with Mashable, Bond mentioned, “we’re actually seeing individuals evolve well beyond” exclusives when requested about any blockbuster first-party software program Xbox has in its future. She went on to focus on how lots of the largest successes in gaming are these like Minecraft, and Fortnite, which can be found just about in every single place. Bond says these extra broadly accessible video games drive neighborhood, so the thought of moving into the other way and making a title unique to at least one retailer or machine “is antiquated for most individuals.” After all, there’s additionally a monetary argument to be made for non-exclusivity, contemplating how Microsoft made $465 million in December 2024 by its sport publishing alone.

Bond tied the transfer away from exclusives into the lately launched ROG Xbox Ally, saying how each give avid gamers extra choices to play what they need the way in which they need to and with anybody. These sturdy statements about non-exclusivity and the way it aids gaming accessibility make it sound like the corporate could also be phasing out Xbox-only video games totally. Whereas it is nonetheless unclear if Microsoft will take the method to these extremes, there aren’t many blockbuster franchises it has left that are not accessible on one other platform. The persistent rumors that Halo is coming to PS5 would additional cement that shift in the event that they show true.

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Microsoft is just not the one firm bringing their video games to opponents’ techniques. PlayStation released Helldivers 2 on Xbox the same day Gears of War: Reloaded came to PS5 and has introduced a number of of its largest titles, just like the Final of Us franchise, to PC.