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2023 called, it wants its ambiguity back.
I got a lot of criticism earlier in the year for describing Microsoft’s indecisive approach to exclusivity as tiring, but in the aftermath of last night’s Xbox Showcase, it looks like we have months of mixed messaging ahead of us.
Actually, I was reluctant to even write this article, as I expect the Redmond firm will release a steady stream of interviews with enthusiast press in the aftermath of Summer Game Fest. The contents of this article could change in the coming hours, depending on what it says.
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But as I put pen to virtual paper, Matt Booty’s statement on the situation is the best we have. Unfortunately, it doesn’t cast much clarity on the situation.
For those who missed Microsoft’s broadcast, it was an overall entertaining one, rounding out a week of – what I think – has been several very good livestreams. Looking at our poll, it’s quite evenly split between which you think was the best, which tells me they all delivered – that’s good.
I think Xbox showed a lot of really exciting games – from Crazy Taxi to Vivarium, there was good variety, even if like Sony it lacked that shock-and-awe needed to become an all-timer.
The big story for PS5 owners, however, is the return of “Xbox console exclusivity” – a phrase that had been retired following Phil Spencer’s infamous emergency broadcast in 2024. Remember when it was only “four games”?
By all accounts, Gears of War: E-Day – one of said console exclusives – was practically complete on PS5, and now has been cancelled. Microsoft says it’s not timed, although I can understand why not everyone would be willing to take the firm at its word.
Given how closely new CEO Asha Sharma has aligned herself with the loudest voices in the Xbox fanbase, I think she had to do something here, and honestly it was looking for a long time like The Coalition’s shooter was going to be the sacrificial lamb.
The addition of Clockwork Revolution as a console exclusive did somewhat rip up my original reaction, though.
I was interested to learn more about Microsoft’s thinking about this, and it didn’t really take long for Matt Booty to appear on the Gamertag Radio podcast.
But I think his commentary on this raised more questions than it answered, as well as a return to the dreaded “case-by-case” basis PlayStation fans had to contend with earlier in the generation.
He said:
“Our big multiplayer games, our big 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, right? And then we’re going to make the right decision, not necessarily the fast decision going forward. When we announce a date, we want to announce the platforms. So it’s going to be case-by-case.”
I can’t imagine Booty went into this interview unprepared, so I must admit I was shocked by how easily his comments could be pulled apart.
For example, he says “big multiplayer games [and] big live service games” will remain multiformat, but I’m not sure how he squares that statement immediately after talking about Gears of War: E-Day.
I understand the series has a strong single player component, but even yesterday’s Xbox Wire post about the prequel says “while the campaign lays the setting and tone for E-Day, Gears has always been a multiplayer franchise”. The Gears of War Direct immediately after the Xbox Showcase revealed a live service-like roadmap for the release.
Booty said it’s going to “honour” existing announcements, so that explains the recommitment to Fable and Halo: Campaign Evolved for PS5, but what about Senua or Spyro: A Realm Beyond? Are those not newly announced single player games? Where do they fit?
Which brings us to his final statement: it’s going to be case-by-case. Booty implied that Microsoft hasn’t really made a decision on exclusivity yet – “we’re going to make the right decision, not necessarily the fast decision” – which tells me it’s winging all of this.
And it all takes me back to the mealy-mouthed messaging of Microsoft from the Activision acquisition era, when Starfield was being heralded as the most important RPG on the planet.
Obviously Xbox has spent close to $100 billion on publisher acquisitions, and it’s free to release its software wherever it chooses.
But I stand by what I said earlier in the year: the flip-flopping is tiring and I’m not sure it’s doing anything to improve Microsoft’s position in the market.
Perhaps it’ll finally figure this out and stick to a plan this time – but based on past trends, do you really believe the Redmond firm is going to follow a steady path for the foreseeable future? I don’t.