Unexpected Collaboration: Microsoft Unveils 4 Xbox Exclusives for PS5 and Nintendo Switch, Plus Activision Blizzard Games on Game Pass

Microsoft dropped a bombshell Thursday evening, confirming that four of its first-party games will soon grace Sony’s PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch, marking a significant departure from its traditional exclusivity model. Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming CEO, unveiled this surprising move on the Official Xbox Podcast, addressing weeks of speculation surrounding the fate of Xbox exclusives on rival platforms.

While the titles set for release haven’t been disclosed yet, The Verge reported that Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded are among the chosen few. Spencer clarified that despite this expansion, marquee Bethesda releases such as Starfield and the highly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will remain exclusive to Xbox and PC.

He emphasized that this strategic decision aims to leverage other platforms’ reach to bolster Microsoft’s franchise growth. As gamers eagerly await further details, Spencer hinted at impending announcements from the developers, promising news that’s “not too far away.

The Xbox chief, however, did elaborate on the process of picking the four yet confirmed games for multi-platform transition. The company considered games released over a year ago that have been on Xbox and PC for a while. Two of the selected games are community-driven games, Spencer said, while the other two are smaller games that weren’t built to be platform exclusives.

“As they’ve realised their potential on Xbox and PC, we see an opportunity to utilise the other platforms as a place to just drive more business value out of those games, allowing us to maybe invest in future iterations of those, or sequels to those, or just other games like that in our portfolio,” Spencer said. “And we don’t damage Xbox and we can grow our business using what other platforms have to help us with that. We’re gonna do that.”

In the wide-ranging podcast, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty also reiterated that Game Pass would only be available on Xbox on PC. Additionally, Xbox president Sarah Bond also announced that Activision-Blizzard games would soon arrive on Xbox Game Pass, starting with Diablo IV on March 28. Microsoft acquired Call of Duty maker Activision-Blizzard late last year in $69 billion deal after a long running regulatory battle with the US’ Federal Trade Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. Bond also confirmed that Xbox Game Pass had reached 34 million subscribers.

Reports from earlier this month about Microsoft first-party games making their way to PS5 and Nintendo Switch had left the Xbox community unsettled, with many questioning the future of the platform. Major exclusives like Bethesda RPG Starfield and the recently announced Indiana Jones game were reported to be under consideration for a PS5 launch.