Asha Sharma took over as head of Xbox in late February, and just two months later, she began to signal a shift away from Phil Spencer's strategy of releasing all games on multiple platforms. That strategy has caused Xbox sales to plummet, and many critics argue that it was introduced at the worst possible time, namely when Microsoft finally got its gaming momentum going, which coincided with Sony's beginning to falter with fewer titles released.
This has meant that Microsoft has long been the biggest publisher, for the PlayStation. As recently as three days ago, Sharma said that a platform "must have exclusive content," and as we reported on Sunday evening, it is now official that the multi-format strategy is history. Both Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will be console exclusives for Xbox, just as things used to be.
Following the Xbox Games Showcase, the team's chief content officer, Matt Booty, appeared on Gamertag Radio, where he shared a bit more about how this will work moving forward. He said (as transcribed by Pure Xbox), among other things, that there needs to be a reason to get an Xbox:
"We want a reason for people to get on board with Xbox, we want them to have a reason to buy an Xbox, we want them to have a reason to be an Xbox fan. At the same time, we want to reward all our players that have been with us for a long time - we know that exclusives are important, and that's why we've got Gears coming in 2026 and Clockwork coming in 2027."
He is referring to Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution, both of which were confirmed as Xbox-exclusive titles during the event. However, they are not completely abandoning multi-platform releases, and live service games will continue to be released widely. Additionally, games that have already been promised will be released as planned, so there is no risk that, for example, Halo: Campaign Evolved would suddenly disappear from the PlayStation 5. Decisions regarding exclusives will be made on a case-by-case basis:
"We also want to be clear that our big multiplayer games and live service games are going to continue to be multiplatform. If we've promised something to players already, we're going to honour that promise. And then, we're going to make the right decision and not the fastest decision - we're going to keep thinking about this going forward... and our principle is, when we announce the date, we announce the platforms. So, it's going to be case-by-case, but we're going to be clear."
Xbox Wire also has an article on exclusives, explaining how Microsoft defines this. It states that an exclusive game is indeed exclusive, so this is not about any delayed PlayStation releases:
"As part of our focus on the return of Xbox, we also announced that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will be Xbox console exclusives. These are not timed exclusives. Games already announced for multiplatform releases will stick to that plan - we're committed to investing in and growing Xbox both on console and beyond."
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