Yesterday was the big day when Microsoft announced their future plans for Xbox, which includes a selection of titles going multiformat. But this doesn't mean he expects Nintendo or Sony to return the favour by releasing their games on Xbox.
In an interview with Stephen Totilo's newsletter, the Xbox boss Phil Spencer explains that "this is not for me, like, some kind of bartering system. We're doing it for the better of Xbox's business". Still, Spencer thinks they should release some of their games for Xbox and brings up one example:
"I will say, when I look at a game like Helldivers II — and it's a great game, kudos to the team shipping on PC and PlayStation — I'm not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox. If you try to twist yourself to say, like, somehow that benefited somebody somewhere."
Helldivers II has become a really big hit, where the fact that Sony launched the game for both PC (biggest Sony release ever on Steam) and PlayStation 5 certainly has helped the sales numbers. Adding another format for the game, would probably have boosted this even further, but how much is something we can only speculate about.
He does admit though that there is a need for exclusives and that Microsoft will continue to deliver those as well:
"There's a legacy in console gaming that we're going to benefit by shipping games and not putting them on other places. We do the same thing."
What do you think, would it be beneficial for Sony to launch a multiplayer live-service title like Helldivers II on Xbox as well, besides PC and PlayStation?
Thanks Game File