Xbox Boss Says Everything Is On The Table When It Comes To PS5 Ports

Of course thats why they changed halos engine to unreal for this hopefully if that is the case for halo /Gears it's just multiplayer but if not I'm not to bothered checked out on caring to much on what Microsoft is doing to the Xbox brand now just crap that Sony are more reluctant to return the favour💩🤷

@Ricky-Spanish it's not a favour on xboxs part though, it's desperation

Well we wanted clarity, we got it. Crappy news that I'm sure will do wonders for Xbox hardware numbers.

Won't be buying more games on Xbox, looks like I'll be PC+Switch2 next gen. Will already seen Sony reaction with Pro pricing, so might as well buy a decent PC instead.

@Deljo @Ricky-Spanish yeah. Whilst I like the idea of a system agnostic future, this isn't how you do it. Sony doesn't need to engage in this and let Xbox death spiral itself.

@themightyant I'm not 100% in on the in and out of the story but they said the old engine was harder to work with and if there are no red lines on any games now it makes sense that they switched engine to unreal the old engine probably would of worked aswell I honestly wouldn't have a clue just reading between the lines👍🙆

@abe_hikura Yeah Sony don't need to do anything I'm not saying that but as a Xbox console owner it sucks on our side that's all

I've said it multiple times now, Gears of War: E-Day will be a launch title for the NeXtBoX in 2026, and will be a timed exclusive, be that 12 or 18 months. E-Day will then go to the PlayStation. I think a big part of the reason for the existence of E-Day is to enable PlayStation gamers to effectively start at the beginning of the saga.

I still think that the Marcus Fenix Trilogy does exist, and that it too will go to the PlayStation but probably after E-Day releases on that platform.

Truthfully, I'm sure this move will do wonders for Microsoft's bottom line, but it does pretty much render owning an Xbox console pointless. You either need just a PlayStation and some patience, or a PlayStation and a PC, or indeed, just a PC and patience when it comes to Sony games.

I think there will be a NeXtBoX in 2026, but cannot see there being another one after that because take up on the NeXtBoX will be far worse than it has been for the Series this generation, and then it will simply be viewed as a pointless and expensive thing to do by Microsoft. We'll still get the games, but where we play them... that's another matter...

I remember he said not everything is coming… lies of Phil. Well this is last xbox if they go that road

It's not necessarily lies, @DarthCvrle66. Spencer may have been telling us the truth at the time that he said it. However, he is no longer calling the shots, and those above him are known to be the ones shifting the strategy...

All about money.

@Fiendish-Beaver can be but every trust in them is gone

Gee, I guess he forgot to brief so-called journalists like Jez Corden before he made this statement. People like him are still under the impression there are hard ‘do not cross’ lines as to what will stay and what will go.

@Fiendish-Beaver The real villain in this whole story is Don mattrick and what he did with the xbone launch since then it's just gone terrible compared to Playstation!

@Ricky-Spanish 100% this in a nutshell. Once people switched in that gen, when people started to build digital libraries, it just got harder to ask them to walk away from their purchases.

Who would buy an Xbox if you can play Xbox and PlayStation games on PlayStation? He's not too bright.....

@themightyant there is more pros to developing one’s own engine in house for the type of game that suits a studio. The unreal engine is the Toyota Camry of game engines. Not bad not great but works for many situations. Bespoke game engines are the better way to go just like bespoke vehicles for a specific purpose. But I get it, companies want to spend less money in-house and pass off the costs to rent cheap engines.

@Ricky-Spanish they changed the halo engine because the path of least resistance is to rent the Toyota Camry engine that is the unreal engine. Instead of continuing to develop an in-house engine specifically for halo. Which is a shame as Halo is a first party IP and should take advantage of the hardware. Oh well. This will be like PS3/X360 generation in which so many games used the unreal engine. Sucks that a company like Microsoft wouldn’t invest in its own engines and lease that out. Seeing as they are a software company.

@Fiendish-Beaver Why would they make it a timed exclusive? It's a multiplayer focused game that they would see benefit from day one launching on PS5 or PS6, same with Halo.

There's going to be zero reason to buy an Xbox next generation.

It's always the most inept and incompetent ones that end up in leadership roles. No matter what company or business.

Oh great. I get it that Microsoft is a software company. Moves like this done help Xbox hardware nor lure more people into the subsidized gamepass model. Otherwise Xbox Hardware would be coveted more outside the Anglo nations.

@TheGameThrifter and if they expect subsidized gamepass to grow still it won’t if there is no more exclusive xbox games.

@Fiendish-Beaver
Well there is the clarification I was asking for and moaning we had not been given.
Finally they have officially confirmed it.
That is all that I asked for and for any Xboxer.
At least we know where we stand now.

Felt like that applied to Nintendo consoles as well, but I know many here don't view them as an MS competitor so I get the inclination to discuss PS, specifically.

The reason it will be timed is because it will be seen as an incentive to buy the NeXtBoX, @TheGameThrifter. If the NeXtBoX has no titles to entice you to buy it, those that stick with the Xbox (at least initially) will be more likely to stick with the Series consoles which do a perfectly fine job...

Yes, @OldGamer999. I think I will be in the PS5/6 and PC crowd. It seems pretty pointless buying another Xbox when I already own a perfectly capable gaming PC and a PS5...

Totally agree, @Ricky-Spanish. As Spencer said, the last generation, the one when many started to build their digital libraries, was the most important one, and Xbox lost it. That is almost entirely Maddock's fault...

I agree, @DarthCvrle66. Funny thing is, I feel like Spencer has almost gone rogue in actually telling us the truth. I have the feeling that Microsoft didn't want us to know. That's probably wrong, but I think Spencer has been blindsided and usurped by those at Microsoft, which is why we've seen so little of him. This just feels like him letting off steam...

@TheGameThrifter as a non-Xbox PS5 owner I’m guessing because you can pay a monthly fee for game pass and have them all included whereas on PS5 it will cost you $70 per game 🤷‍♂️

@Fiendish-Beaver
As you know my series x sadly went a little while ago. Sad but only because of the Xbox old days and legacy.
Now I’m full steam ahead with PS5 Pro and maybe Switch 2, if Nintendo get their act together a bit more.

@TheGameThrifter Most of the games will be Xbox first and GamePass day one so it depends on if you want to play the game day one and if you want to pay £70 or £80 for it.
But yes, it’s not news Xbox fans wanted but it’s also not a surprise at all.

@Fiendish-Beaver He has always been a cretin and a toad. He’s just a puppet now for Nadella

@OldGamer999 but you said you kept your series X.

Make your mind up.

Ok, short term they make extra $s from PS5 game sales but what about the long term?…if there’s a shift away from Xbox consoles (which looks more likely with news like this) then Gamepass subs must surely suffer?

They can’t rely on PC to fill the subscription gap and those 20-30 million console subs bring in a lot of reliable cash flow.

Why every single time it feels the brand is going through a momentum they have to do or say something that completely ruins it!?

Xbox is dead and has no future, he basically just confirmed EVERYTHING will eventually go to all platforms, you can s**t on Don Matrick all you want but Phil was the one responsible for this generation and they’re doing even worse than with Xbox One, it’s gonna be yet another brand mismanaged to oblivion by Microsoft sooner rather than later.

Without first party exclusives on Xbox, why wouldn't you get a PlayStation?

I have said it before and I will say it again as long as Microsoft continue to make consoles I will continue to buy them as I am fully in the Xbox ecosystem as I have bought loads of games.
I have been lucky enough to have got many games for free too thanks to Microsoft rewards and as long Microsoft Rewards is a thing and they continue to develop new consoles and I will buy them period.
If however AAA game franchises such as the Forza Horizon come out day one for Playstation that may change.
I don't see that happening though.

I am calling it now. Next gen Xbox console will sell less than 15 million devices. Xbox will release everything day and date on PS5 by 2028. Xbox will no longer create games for Xbox consoles by 2035.

@Lrapsody Majority of people will move to PC or PlayStation 6 next gen.

@Ricky-Spanish, do you have personal grievances regarding punctuation?

It's a sad day indeed when Xbox stops competing and the suits just want the money. Longterm, the lack of competition will stagnate the market. I could see in 20 years when Xbox hardware has long been discontinued, Spencer will come out and say something like "we may have been to rash and we're just so excited for the future of gaming". That sounds like a Spencer spin we'd get

Essentially that means Halo, Forza may be on the PS5 and the next Nintendo console.

Yeah, not good

I would say it's time for Phill to go coz he already killed the platform but let's be honest... He is just doing what the tell him to do. At least make it possible to play our xbox games on pc in the future so our libraries can be safe.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner
It gone now.
The only reason Xbox are maybe keeping consoles going is because just over 50% of GP subs are on Xbox consoles.
When that lowers which it most definitely will after the news today over time. And zero advertising etc.

Gamepass will be the next thing to go or will go cloud gaming only.
You heard it here first 🤣

@abe_hikura I sold my Xbox series x and bought a pc October 2023. Haven’t looked back since. I still have a ps5, although the last game I bought for that was final fantasy 16.

I get to decide how my games look and more importantly prioritise 60fps. I had the wilds beta test running at 65-95fps 1440p high/medium with dlss set to quality. It blew the ps5 performance mode out the water in terms of image quality and frame rate stability.

Games are cheaper on pc and there’s no multiplayer tax to pay. I’m currently playing veilguard for £16.99 thanks to a months ea play pro sub (the pro tier isn’t available on console) so your only choice is to purchase the digital license or a box copy if you have a disc drive 😉

Steam is great, epic store give away free games every month (some pretty decent one’s too), prime gaming has free pc games each month. Gamepass, ea play and Ubisoft plus are there if you want to ‘rent’ a title for a month. Even Sony are starting to embrace pc with their titles coming to steam - looking forward to spider man 2 in January.

There’s little reason for me to invest in Sony or Microsoft’s consoles right now. The switch 2 is the only system I’m remotely interested in.

@Neither_scene now if only nintendo could port their games to pc

@IOI as much as i prefer all games on all platforms ..i agree. exclusives really are needed for specific platforms. i’ve been almost exclusively pc this gen & that’s not willingly either. it’s just hard to boot up a console these days

@BolkaRover So, a rental service is a reason to buy a $600 console in the future? What massive hits are Microsoft releasing every year to make spending $250 a year on Game Pass worthwhile at this time? There's not a single Xbox first party game this year I would have bought....

This is good news for M$ who will no doubt make crazy money off of selling their games across all platforms. You'll still get the same games on your Xbox, so don't worry.

Oh, and if anyone is still under the impression that Xbox is exiting the hardware market, find a new hobby to evaluate because you don't understand the gaming market.

I picked up a PS5 recently, for all the PS4/5 exclusives I've never played... plan was to still buy everything else on Xbox. But I can't see the point now, I won't be buying another Xbox if everything will eventually make it to PS. Buying multi-plat games on my PS5 moving forward.

@Shy_Hallaman I just don't really care that much sorry🧑‍🌾

They really want to kill Xbox don’t they?

@VoidPunk Yeah, making s crap ton of money is really killing Xbox. Great take!

In all seriousness, this is a good move. The console is just a PIECE of the pie, not the whole thing. They'll still sell a decent amount of plastic boxes and will still grab customers via PC/mobile/streaming devices.

@Savage_Joe they don't want it.

Getting gamepass on other platforms is only possible from a position of strength. A
"You need our games, our games are only sold where gamepass is avaliable" sort of thing.

Right now it's the other way, Xbox (seemingly) needs their games on PS/Nintendo/Steam.

I have both ps5 and series x ..but have always been an Xbox gamer first since the 360 days ...but the way Xbox is going I can't help but think wtf is the point... literally only incentive currently is the games day one on gamepass...but for gamers who only choose one console...it's a no brainer next gen if this is the path they are going

Why is this such a bad idea, Xbox players who have game pass gets the games for free, PlayStation still has to buy the games. It’s more money for Xbox to make more games and people are seeing this as Xbox is a dead brand.

I’ve pretty much given up on XBOX, I have a huge catalogue of digitally owned games to work through for my Series X that will keep me going, but considering dropping Gamespass and picked up my very first PlayStation ever last Thursday (PS5 Pro) so enjoying starting on all the great single player franchises that are exclusive. It has surprised me the high level of production on their first party games and if XBOX first party games come over to PS anyway, may as well have the best of both worlds but on one console. They have no interest at all in console sales, why would they when they have made so much money from Black Ops 6 PS sales already.

Ok cool, how about Fallout 3/4/NV or Fable1-3 on Switch? Please and thank you! Want me some portable Fallout or Fable goodness!

@TheEstablishment

Sure they make a bunch of money in the short term by sacrifice any hope of long term growth.

It was obvious every game would go to Playstation since January. I was totally prepared for (almost) everything that's happened since (exception being the closure of Tango). Yet, even though this slow death could be seen from a mile away, every piece of news like this feels terrible.

Like watching someone you love get cancer, you know what's coming, but all these "updates" are still depressing as ****.

@Balaam_ Well Jez Corden is a clown. I dont know why anyone listens to him. His just a fan boy not really an insider.

Really strange this news has prompted comments saying they'll stop buying games on Xbox.

Why?

The SeriesX is a great machine, and this machine doesn't affect its ability to run games. It's still my preferred platform due to Quick Resume etc.

@VoidPunk That's false. The more games that come out under the studios they own they'll continue to drive sales through multiplatform sales and Game Pass subscriptions. The more COD games that come out will continue to print money, Game Pass will continue to print money, Bethesda will continue to print money, ESO & WoW will continue to print money, and their mobile division will continue to print money.

IF they do end up bringing the flagship Xbox franchises to other consoles, they may as well stop making Xbox hardware altogether.

@TheEstablishment so why waste money investing in new hardware when they will still print money off all those things on other machines. That's the point folks are trying to make. Out of everything you highlighted, the consoles make the least but they still make that money on everything else.

@Ricky-Spanish They swapped engines because BLAM! had too much tech debt and not enough industry professionals experienced with it. BLAM! could be ported just like any other engine, any other code. t was not worth it when Xbox themselves have teams with UE expertise; why stick to BLAM!? 343 demonstrably could not iterate on Infinite.

Remember when season 2 or 3 was 6 months late and they put out a vidoc saying it takes 5 months to make a single map? That was unacceptable. Additionally, I believe that 343 ultimately revealed that some of the network issues were intrinsic the design and/or engine.

Now they can hire more widely from the industry, get engineers to productivity faster, and when people leave, they do so having gained more versatile skills and experience.

Then why would I or anyone want the Blockbuster of Video Game Consoles, where I rent everything, own nothing, and the options are extremely limited?

I’m kinda salty that the rug was pulled out from under our feet mid-way through the XSX generation. They should’ve been honest from the beginning. It feels a bit like bait and switch.

While I agree with so much of the doom and gloom of "why buy an Xbox if you can get it all and more somewhere else", I'll just point out that based on PS's own numbers of 77 million software units in Q2, a whopping 7% of that was "first party software." Bottom line is exclusives are as irrelevant as irrelevant can be to console sales in 2024. Most of the people buying consoles, even PS, just aren't buying exclusives.

Nintendo is it's own thing. It does work for them and they run largely on exclusives, but that works because they have Disney grade iconic, child-sought, legendary IP that no other company but Disney itself has. Nobody can play the same game they do. Much as enthusiasts talk about "exclusives" the numbers show it's just not really a very relevant factor in the purchasing decisions of the modern console market.

Series will be my last Xbox console for multiple reasons. I should really thank uncle Phil because instead of buying 2 consoles going forward I’ll only need 1.

So much negativity and doom in these comments. Xbox is fine, it's still a great platform and ecosystem, the series X is still an incredible console.

In fact, lately there seems to be slowly more support from 3rd party Devs. Xbox letting people play owned games via GPU soon, so Devs need to create an Xbox version of their game to get in early on cloud gaming adopters...could be a good theory and some positivity for us all...

Microsoft really do seem to be going all-in on the plan of PC taking over the Xbox brand entirely and retiring the Xbox consoles. In which case they absolutely need to make Windows 12 backwards compatible with the entire XSX library. It’s the only way I could see them pulling off a successful transition without screwing over loyal customers.

@Fenbops I’m with you, I’ll struggle to justify risking spending hundreds on a Nextbox unless it really did something drastically different (i.e. run Steam games). I’m in for as long as the XSX generation lasts, but beyond that is a real question mark right now.

@NEStalgia yet but a PS and you are potentially getting everything that’s releasing on console.

Buying an Xbox won’t allow that. Due to Sony games/bought exclusives and so on.

That 7% is still what 5million or so? And that’s when there was no major releases.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Yeah but overall the first party, even with major releases totals around 10% at best. That's not to say it's insignificant sales for SOFTWARE (though it is to say it's insufficient sales of software which is why they're seeking the PC market to bolster it), however, keeping in mind a lot of the people that buy one of their first party games is likely the same market that buys multiple of their first party games, even 10% of software sales is likely at best really representing 5% of the actual install base, I.E. the games have a lot of overlap so not all of the sales represent unique customers.) Which is to say 90-95% of the actual console ecosystem customers aren't really interested in the first party offerings at all on either platform.

No doubt both companies software plans and both companies being "out of touch with fans" is based on the fact that the number crunchers realized the exclusives aren't really a factor in their overall business strategies on platform anymore.

@theduckofdeath Check later comments your argument is invalid 👍

@abe_hikura If you get a Steam Deck and the Switch 2 then you'll be set for at least the next 6 to 10 years.

Why did we buy our consoles if nothing is being kept exclusive? This strategy makes no sense if they plan on remaining in the console race.

@Vaako007 If UE is a Camry, there are a lot of Pintos out there. When a dev signs on to use UE, they get access to the C++ source code and dedicated support. They can rewrite sections, tear out and replace whole modules. The devs don't need to use the new GI that may be heavy, they don't necessarily need to use Nanite, either. Using UE gets the team to productivity faster, but that comes with fees and a learning curve.

@Lrapsody Without first party exclusives on Xbox, why wouldn't you get a PlayStation?

For me cause the controller on PS sucks. I don’t get free cloud saves and there is no title on PS that I have to play. Sure some are ok to me and i bought a PS5 for those. But Xbox is where i buy most of my games and those games going to other consoles don’t affect me. Plus for ALL the games going to PS. They still have a small amount. He didn’t ever say day and date. I ain’t waiting an extra year or two to play Gears of War or Halo or others.

@NEStalgia it is easy to see the MS plan, it boils down to 70% is greater than 30%. Also thanks for paying for us to develop more games and hardware. The more studios they buy the more the 70-30% margins grow. So ok Sony can sell 300 million consoles to 50. The 50 continues to see 100% margins sold and 70% on the 300 million. How does Sony win unless all their first party games sell gangbusters. Which most don’t. The only reason God of war and Spider-man 2 are at 15 million sales is the fact they were included in hardware bundles. Throw in the fact that Spider-man is a two front cost. Back end cost is development, front end cost is every copy sold Marvel takes a slice. I don’t see how Sony can go 5-10 more years gaining 30% and being able to take risks or buy more devs. Now they will stay afloat just fine. But they won’t grow. MS has stunted their growth strategy in the profit margins category with this plan.

@SleeplessKnight why when the other console players are paying for the RD of both software and hardware! Google maps and facebook are on both iOS and Android. It has little to do why either buy’s that brand of phone. Google even makes a phone but put’s all its software on Apple. Hence why they are worth what they are, if they kept it to themselves they would be worth millions and not Trillions. You are thinking small and tribal.

@HonestHick Ok so riddle me this. If exclusive content makes little to no difference why did the PS4 destroy Xbox One & why is PS5 destroying Xbox Series X/S?

@SleeplessKnight little to no difference isn’t the catch all. It does matter to an extent but not more than brand loyalty. Why did PS4 win you ask? Umm cause they didn’t go on stage $100 dollars more and say TV TV TV. They didn’t say you couldn’t share your games. Once that happened and everyone jumped ship all their family and friends followed. Hence the first year exclusive wise Xbox had more, Dead Rising, Ryse, TitanFall, etc etc. it didn’t matter. I do think exclusives have their place. Be they timed or permanent. But most games should be on all devices to make money. Why did Square say no more to PS only? Riddle me that cat!

Xbox gave us the blueprint how to build up and breakdown a brand …. Kanye would’ve done a better job as the ceo

@themightyant money and time is the main reason. As it takes time to retool a bespoke engine. Many companies don’t seem to have an appetite for developing their own. Just as engineering companies like the one I work for don’t always make their own software to design. As it would be very costly for us. So the leadership of those companies decided that it’s more cost effective to go to a common platform made for all. In Microsoft’s case I wish they would have leveraged all the talent within their entity to have their own.

@theduckofdeath I don’t disagree with you mate. Just saying that bespoke game engines made to suit a desired gameplay and direction are better. Perhaps the Camry car comparison is very low. It’s more like UE starts out as a basic 5 series but can be made to be an M5. Which is a good desirable car but will never be better than a bespoke sports car platform as it was compromised from the start as the 5er platform has many roles to fill. I digress, I understand why smaller companies wouldn’t want to invest in their own as it takes time.

This is very very petty but I always like to see team/companies use their own engine. Like in Witcher 3 and 2077 when booted up, They let us know. I enjoy the experience much more knowing that any team used their own. More of a pride thing.

I read this as Phil saying he is not in total control of these decisions so he is trying not to walk himself into a corner. It would make zero sense not to offer some kind of value (that is not related to GP) to Xbox owners.

@B_Lindz True, though I'd probably go for one of the open handhelds, seems like a lateral move to go from being limited to one library (Xbox) to another (SteamDeck Certified). So if I got the Ally or Go (much more expensive granted) I'd get access to part of my XB library, GP if I want it, my GoG titles, along with all the freebies I've gotten from Prime and Epic, and Steam.

@Millionski I was thinking the same... It's funny sometimes how the most popular topics on here become full of doom and gloom. I have never seen half of the posters in this thread before.

The glory days of a Xbox, as a console brand anyway, are long gone. This should be the last bit of confirmation anybody needs. I don't think it's a good thing as it gives Sony entire reign over the high-end console market.

PC and Nintendo is all a gamer needs.

@HonestHick I don't think it's easy to see MS' plan because I think they don't actually have one. They just go whatever way the winds are blowing at the moment.

Sony's long term is precarious. They're in great shape so long as they stay a monopoly platform because they can skim 30% off most of the industry by doing nothing, just like Apple. That's a good model. The problem isd they've set themselves up to be knocked out of being the default platform by a challenger who intends to try hard to do so. Right now there isn't one, so they're fine. But by the time one pops up it's too late. If they tip away from being the default place for the masses to play games their model irreparably crumbles, so they need to ensure status quo forever.

MS....I still don't think they have an actual plan. They just keep their fingers in the air always to see what seems like a good plan for this quarter.

@NEStalgia i mean at times it seems like they don’t. But i think it’s been clear for a few years that they aren’t turning around from every screen is a Xbox. This is the first push in telling the world that. Which will make them loads of money. They just couldn’t do this marketing push for it 3-4 years ago without all the software coming. Now it looks like they have an onslaught of games coming out and they want that message of where ever you play, you can play our games. With Sony i agree with your point. They will be fine, but only grow with the console. Their PC strategy as of today isn’t a winning one. Tho i expect it to change. But it seems like the big 3 all have their ways to make cash. If MS does this right they will be making insane cash. All while being way behind in the console market. Think that is the only play they have.