Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, has officially announced that more of Microsoft’s games will be available on platforms like the PS5 and Nintendo Switch. Earlier this year, Microsoft revealed that four previously Xbox-exclusive titles would be released on the PS5, with some also coming to the Nintendo Switch. This left fans questioning whether it would be limited to just those four games. In a recent interview with IGN, Spencer addressed these speculations.
“Our commitment to our Xbox customers is you’re going to get the opportunity to buy or subscribe to the game, and we’re going to support the game on other screens,” Spencer stated. “You are going to see more of our games on more platforms, and we just see that as a benefit to the franchises that we’re building, and we see that from players, and the players love to be able to play.”
This revelation comes several months after Spencer previously asserted that Microsoft’s strategy regarding Xbox exclusives had not shifted. “We made a decision that we’re going to take four games to the other consoles, just four games. Not a change to our fundamental exclusive strategy,” Spencer had said in an Xbox podcast earlier this year.
At Microsoft’s major showcase event last night, they unveiled a range of new Xbox games, including “Doom: The Dark Ages” and “Gears of War: E-Day,” which were highlighted as major new titles. Notably absent from the event was any mention of exclusivity—a term that Microsoft has conspicuously avoided in recent months. When Arkane Lyon revealed its new game “Blade” at the Game Awards late last year, there was no mention of it being exclusive to Xbox.
Similarly, earlier this year, Bethesda’s new game “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” was announced for Xbox and PC, with no confirmation of exclusivity. It’s understood that Microsoft is contemplating launching “Indiana Jones” on the PS5 a few months after its Xbox release later this year.
These moves are part of an internal initiative known as “Project Latitude,” which I detailed in my recent Notepad newsletter. This project involves evaluating various games for potential release on rival platforms, including the recently launched “Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.” More details on Project Latitude can be found here.
During the IGN interview, Spencer wasn’t further questioned about Xbox’s multiplatform plans, and Microsoft’s showcase event strategically avoided mentioning other platforms. Instead, the event focused on presenting a series of game trailers, culminating in one of the most impressive Xbox showcases in years.
