The outstanding puzzle-platform game Inside is one of our top highlights on Xbox Game Pass, and you may recall that the game was actually an Xbox exclusive back in the day - albeit for a very brief period!
From June 29th to August 23rd, 2016 (we told you it was brief!), Inside was only available on Xbox One in the console space, although things may have turned out very differently. Playdead co-founder Dino Patti recently told Danish podcast Arkaden that a deal had been struck with PlayStation before Phil Spencer and his team eventually stepped in.
According to Patti, the deal with PlayStation was a good one, but Spencer was very keen to ensure Inside ended up on Xbox in a timely fashion as well. Here's an excerpt of the discussion, translated from Danish by GameReactor:
"I don't know if he got wind of it somehow. I was sitting one night at eight o'clock, in my sweat pants, and then my phone rings, displaying an American number. And it's Phil Spencer from Microsoft. It was crazy!
He says: 'Listen, we need to make a deal with you, what do you want?'And I was like, 'Well, we've actually made an okay deal...'
'No, no, no, no, you don't understand what I'm saying. I can make anything happen, what do you want?'"
Things worked out in the end for all parties - Inside launched first on Xbox, while the PC and PlayStation versions arrived soon afterwards. And of course the game itself was a smash it, racking up a fantastic 93 rating on Metacritic for Xbox.
It goes without saying that we highly recommend checking out Inside on Xbox Game Pass if you're a member, and don't forget to try 2010's equally impressive Limbo as well - that one was just added to the service earlier this week.