Xbox has left exclusives behind almost entirely. There will even be a Halo game on PS5 by the end of 2026. It seems there’s still hope for anyone who still has their wagon hitched to the Xbox train, however, as, yet again, there’s talk that amid all this change at the studio, it might not be done with exclusives after all.
Xbox Is Still Discussing Exclusives
That’s according to Windows Central’s Jez Corden, who is typically pretty reliable when it comes to matters involving Xbox. During the latest episode of the XB2 podcast, Corden claimed, “There are very, very big discussions regarding exclusivity internally at Xbox”. He didn’t elaborate on what that might mean, but that exclusives are still being discussed heavily implies Xbox might not have left them behind after all.
Unlike Xbox Players, Xbox Developers Are Reportedly Over The Moon About Putting Their Games On PlayStation
More platforms means more players, and more players means more money.
This latest development in how Xbox might plan to handle exclusives in the future potentially flips those using its consoles’ hopes yet again. When new CEO Asha Sharma took over earlier this year, a reply that simply reads “Hear you” to someone asking for exclusives convinced a lot of people that one of her first ports of call would be to get exclusive games back on the platform.
A different insider poured cold water on those hopes soon after, claiming “exclusives are absolutely not happening”. Here we are, another five weeks deeper into Sharma’s Xbox reign, and it seems they’re not off the table after all. The big question is, if Xbox really is considering making some of its games exclusive again, how does it get back there?
How Can Xbox Take Back Its Exclusives?
Take Halo: Campaign Evolved. Still slated to launch this year, and it will be the first Halo game that’s ever released on a PlayStation. There’s no doubt in my mind that the game will sell incredibly well on PS5. However, if Xbox is considering a return to exclusives, that presumably means whichever Halo game comes next, whether it be a remake of Halo 2 or an entirely new entry, won’t be coming to PlayStation.
That will upset a lot of people and leave a lot of money on the table. On the flip side, it might convince some PlayStation diehards who fall in love with Campaign Evolved to pick up the next Xbox console. The tentatively named Project Helix, a console Xbox is already being talked about amid rumors PlayStation has pushed back plans for a PS6 due to the rising cost of RAM, and, in turn, it and other hardware developers having to up the prices of what they’re selling.
There’s certainly a chance that Xbox hasn’t left exclusives behind for good, as we now know Sharma has assembled a team dedicated to listening to fan feedback and acting on it whenever possible. That’s what led to Xbox’s achievements getting a very shiny and very popular
update last week. There’s nothing Xbox fans want more than exclusive games, so perhaps making that happen is Sharma’s ultimate goal as Xbox’s fearless new leader.
- Brand
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Microsoft
- Original Release Date
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November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499
- Operating System
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Proprietary (Windows-based)
- Processor
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Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 3.8 GHz
- Resolution
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720p – 4K UHD
