
Matt Booty, president of game content and studios at Microsoft, has been doing the rounds with media recently to promote Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and as you'd expect, he's been asked about its upcoming PS5 port.
In an interview with Variety, Booty reiterated that Xbox is still making every decision on a game-by-game basis when it comes to releasing versions for other consoles. In the case of Indiana Jones, the decision was made to delay its PS5 launch until Spring 2025 due to production reasons, as well as wanting to give Xbox players a "great experience".
"We are very much making the [exclusivity and windowing] decisions on a game by game basis. And each of our studios is in a little bit of a different position.
There’s also the production timeline on a game, so the decision on spacing comes there first. We want to make sure there’s a great experience for our Xbox players, and then the gap between [when it becomes available on PlayStation] is as much a production decision as it is anything else. This is a game that was in production before we acquired Bethesda, even."
Based on this, it sounds like Microsoft is going to follow a similar pattern with many future releases - launching them first on Xbox and then providing a PS5 release a little later. There are obviously exceptions with things like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 though, where pretty much everyone expected it to launch simultaneously across all platforms.
It's inevitable that the controversy will continue whenever these announcements are made, but don't expect them to stop - Xbox's Phil Spencer even recently mentioned that nothing is off the table when it comes to potential PS5 ports.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know down in the comments section below.
[source variety.com]
Comments 33
Honestly, I don’t care. I have a PS5, but even if I didn’t I wouldn’t care either. Xbox is doing its own thing and I’m all for it. As long as I get to play those new releases on day 1 (or even day 4) on Game Pass for peanuts I’ll be happy.
This seems like the most sensible approach considering their position in the console market, but it also makes a lot of business sense anyway.
It is what it is, I get them on gamepass so it’s all good for me.
Would I have preferred a fight and exclusives for Xbox consoles absolutely, I’m still in the keep them off Sony and Nintendo consoles and promote Xbox consoles and game pass.
Microsoft are almost in the best position possible they have been in decades to regain the xbox360 days with a bit better studio management and some dam good PR.
They have so many studios and IP now.
Obviously the odd game like Minecraft and COD can’t be helped.
A few months delay for a big launch like Indy Jones, which I wonder if it's also going to support VR seems like an easy fit, is an easy wait. A road map of Xbox releases would be very welcome.
@OldGamer999 they seem to be doing the more important thing first, which is to quietly make better games than they have for years. It would be really surprising if they were to transition back into exclusivity in the future, but at the very least they seem to be trying to make the brand synonymous with higher quality titles.
The lack of competition is of course the big issue for us consumers (which no doubt you've talked about in the past), so it'll be really interesting to see what makes Xbox stand out from PS in the next few years that would keep us in their ecosystem over PS or Steam/Epic.
Like others, this ps5 strategy doesn't concern me at the moment because it's a pretty transparent money making thing, and admission of hardware loss really. But perceptually, I'm starting to see Xbox as the better, more diverse brand for games lately, and I'm wondering if that's the end game.
If my name was Mr Booty I'd have so much fun with it ha!
Sony is literally trying to put Xbox out of business and Microsoft is helping them do it faster by putting first party games on PlayStation.
It'd be like getting murdered and handing your attacker a gun....
If Microsoft has the power of sticking to timed exclusives AND keeping a healthy business, then I'm all for it.
I would love to see my PS friends play the same games I play and talk for hours about it, the same way I do with my Xbox friends.
Valve's new Steam home console will really drive home how stupid device exclusive content is. The former "console exclusives" will now be readily available on multiple home consoles, in many cases day 1.
@Ricky-Spanish Microsoft should buy the rights to (Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty and have it playing whenever he walks out on stage or gives a televised interview.
How could Sony put Xbox out of business? Jim Ryan tried and failed miserably. Sony changed their strategy completely and have become a multiplatform publisher. Early this generation, they needed PS4 more than they thought and now they need PC more than they ever imagined.
Microsoft is the second largest video game publisher after Tencent, ranked by revenue in 2024 with $236,580,000,000, way ahead of Sony with $88,880,000,000. On top of having the most solid line-up of this generation -Sony has released good games for PS5, but not many are new-, they are the most profitable and have the greatest number of studios.
Releasing games on PC has been a success and it's a no-brainer for Microsoft, because they own Windows and all PC and Xbox games run on Windows. They also support free cross-platform saves and Play Anywhere since Xbox One. They'd be stupid to neglect the PC market. Releasing games later on PS5 and Switch is smart, but not as important as PC on day one.
PC is the most important gaming market besides mobile, even more with handheld PCs (10% of Steam users play on Steam Deck), and that's why Sony is approaching it reluctantly, after trying the mobile market and realising that they're not prepared for it, Sony's email saying, "grateful for Neon Koi’s hard work, now focus on games in line with PlayStation Studios." Sony is clumsily following Microsoft's steps one by one.
No one should be surprised or upset by this. Ensuring the game works great on your platform(s) first should be the priority before porting games to other platforms (where applicable).
Why should he even have to explain himself about the gap in release?! It's a game made by a Microsoft studio being prioritized for Microsoft platforms.
@Markatron84 Exactly the possibilities are endless when you're Mr Booty the worlds your oyster!
@gollumb82 Same here!!!
Regardless of what they are saying I would not expect day 1 games on PS except likes of COD. They still do not people switch camps hence all this vague responses.
I feel like if its day 1 or 3-6 months exclusivity like with Indy it can hurt potentially xbox audience who were considering PS to start with.
If its year or more like sea of thieves or hi-fi rush then its still a strong anchor to keep xbox. I personally would not want to wait years to play new gears or fable.
I kinda feel like Indys short window is driven by expensive licensing costs with Disney or some agreement with them directly.
I am very interested to see timeline for games like avowed or fable. I have a feeling they still do a longer exclusivity with these projects.
@TheGameThrifter Its about how much money you make as a company, not how many plastic boxes you sell. Microsoft has had a slew of amazing quarters and are primed to overthrow Sony in revenue in 2025, so in essence, Sony is helping Microsoft win. Not the other way around.
As I said back when MS announced games like Sea of Thieves and Hifi Rush, it really doesn't 'hurt' Xbox - just like Sony releasing games on 'PC', the principal is the same, sell it elsewhere when its 'not' selling Hardware, software etc in their own ecosystem.
By the time Indiana Jones releases on PS5, its likely to not be selling 'much' on Xbox/PC or selling Xbox Hardware as those that would buy already have - I doubt people would be signing up to Game Pass specifically for a game that's been on that service for 6months+ already too. Therefore its 'revenue' has dried up and/or exhausted on Xbox/PC so selling it 'elsewhere' is the ONLY option.
MS only has a couple of options - Nintendo and Sony Consoles as they have Game Pass available 'everywhere' else and release on their Windows hardware (PC/Console). So the 'Only' Gamers that MS can 'target/reach' once they have exhausted their own ecosystem, is that of Sonys PS5 and/or Nintendo Switch.
From a Gamers perspective, yes you could wait until MS decides which games to release and wait months, maybe years to buy and play, all whilst those games have been available and playable for 'free' via a Subscription. When Deathloop, an award winning, highly rated game finally released on Xbox a year later, it seemed to lack any hype/impact because it was 'old' news etc
With Indiana Jones and Blade too, these maybe made by Xbox owned Studios but they do NOT own the IP. Like Sony may own the Studio, but don't own the MLB IP/license, they may not have the final say on 'exclusivity'. MLB wanted more 'reach' so either Sony had to go multi-platform or they'd find another Studio/Publisher to get the license. Indiana Jones was also announced before MS acquired Zenimax so getting ANY exclusivity period maybe more than some should have expected.
CoD and lets not forget Minecraft which was acquired over a decade ago will not get ANY exclusivity - and I doubt Doom will either as its had a LONG history of being on EVERY Platform. Selling these on Sony's Platform won't 'hurt' MS - they get more revenue from Sony's gamers than Sony - maybe earn more from Sony than they do from Xbox and PC combined - all of which will also make MS one of the 'biggest' Gaming Publisher, bigger than Sony. They may only get 70% on Sony's platform but Sony Gamers are helpling Microsoft's Gaming Revenue. If 30% is worth $3bn to Sony, MS earned $7bn...
@BAMozzy yeah Indy and Blade is a different topic due to licensing.
All this vague messaging is specifically done so people dont jump ship to sony. As soon as there is a clear strategy, even like 1 year exclusivity for all games, people can make informed decision of going into another platform. But for now its maybe day 1, maybe 3-6 months, maybe years on Ps but guaranteed on xbox day 1 and GP. Thats still a good sell imo.
I kinda feel like we will have some franchises day 1 like COD and Doom. At least we know this upfront.
However, everything else should be exclusive for at least a year imo. Notice even starfield is still exclusive even that most insiders were constantly telling us its coming to PS5. Many were banking on fall 2024 with dlc release and clearly that did not happen.
In a nutshell, they want to sell their games to new audience on PS/N but they dont want to lose their current fanbase. Hence I would suspect still many games being exclusive for at least a year.
Probably the real test is games that are coming now after the change in strategy - so avowed and fable.
Just an observation that many people missed.
Everyone quoting Phil “no red lines” statement, however on a conference call recently Satya mentioned something in lines of “exclusive content for xbox that people want”. And we all know Phil is not running the place anymore. So I would bet on some form of exclusivity on xbox down the road.
Yes any franchise CAN go to playstation but WILL it and WHEN are more important questions. Day 1 vs 3-6 months vs 1 years vs 3-5 years - all those are radically different scenarios.
What most authors of really any article regarding this topic miss or fail to mention is the difference between "home grown" flagship Xbox IPs and already-established, traditionally multiplatform IP that Microsoft now happens to own.
Call of Duty, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Minecraft and others - all now owned by Microsoft yet STILL multiplatform. Why? Because they always have been and it would be stupid for Microsoft to lock these series to a single console for 2 reasons. Financially and public perception-wise. They'd be vilified by the much larger PlayStation and Nintendo (to some extent) player bases, while also losing out on hundreds of millions in profits. It's also why OF COURSE Indiana Jones is coming to PS5 - because you can't (or shouldn't) take a massively popular, world-wide beloved license / character and lock it down to a single platform. Honestly I feel the same way about Spider-Man and Sony.
Rare games like Killer Instinct? Perfect Dark? A new Conker or Banjo? - Tough to say because a lot of people still largely associate those games with Nintendo, so IF they end up going multiplatform (perhaps after a period of timed-exclusivity), that wouldn't be shocking.
Games like Halo, Gears, Fable, Forza on the other hand? Those are FAR different, because they're titles "born on Xbox". They're franchises that have played a HUGE roll in shaping the identity and soul of the Xbox brand.
So even though ALL of the game series I mentioned are owned by Microsoft, it's much more complex than people think as far as deciding which games go where and when and which games wont.
@Millionski I bet Avowed and Fable will be Exclusive to Xbox in the Console space - whether they remain 'exclusive' or at some point do get released on Playstation, that's irrelevant as by then, these will not be 'selling' much, likely been on sale several times and certainly people aren't likely to be buying a Console or joining Game Pass for an 'old' game. Its more about getting 'money' from the Gamers who aren't going to buy an Xbox or Subscribe to Game Pass than taking 'exclusivity' away.
If you want to play games like Flight Sim, Starfield, Fable, Perfect Dark, Gears: E-Day, Forza etc etc - the ONLY console these are guaranteed to release on will be Xbox - and the ONLY Subscription you can play them on Day 1 is Game Pass, also ONLY available on Xbox.
Therefore the ONLY hardware you can guarantee to play those games Day 1, as well as play games like CoD, Doom, Minecraft etc Day 1 or play 'free' with Subscription is Xbox. If you buy a PS5, some games maybe released with very few actually 'Day 1' and the ONLY choice is to buy. That makes Xbox and/or Game Pass the 'better' value option as well as the fact that most, if not all will be playable Day 1 - before everything is spoiled, whilst the hype is at its peak and everyone is talking about it.
Its no different to Sony paying 3rd Parties for timed Exclusivity - a year later and that game doesn't have the impact, its not selling 'Xbox' hardware a year later as everyone that wanted to play would want/buy a Playstation. Deathloop, despite being an 'Xbox' owned IP at release, made by an Xbox owned Studio didn't sell Xbox hardware as anybody needing to buy hardware to play would have bought a Playstation. Its only being Sold to those who refused to or couldn't justify buying another Console when they know its coming to their hardware at some point.
Playstation owners aren't buying an Xbox to play Indy this Christmas and Xbox owners already have the Hardware so Exclusives are only there to sell Hardware. The fact that they are 'exclusives' at launch will sell Hardware and could make a difference 'next' gen when gamers decide on their 'next' hardware. CoD gamers may 'choose' Xbox because Game Pass even if it has 'no' exclusivity as well as ALL those IP's in Game Pass and games increasing in price.
Exclusives are NOT really for their die-hard fans who would buy their hardware regardless. They are their to SELL hardware, get you 'into' their ecosystem at or near release. The ONLY console with Indiana Jones on it this Christmas is Xbox so the ONLY console to buy if you want to play is Xbox. Buying a PS5 won't get you Indiana Jones until maybe April/May time at the earliest - by which time Xbox owners have 'finished' with that and moved on to Avowed or whatever other big 'new' releases are out...
@BAMozzy they call us beta-testers now lol while they get polished experience on PS down the road.
Funnily, same people on PS were offended when PC audience called them beta-testers as we all know all PS games come to PC eventually including big hits like Spiderman 2.
A double standard at its finest.
@SleeplessKnight I would honestly prefer some red lines. Like brands associated with xbox could stay with xbox (halo, gears and such). I would make all ABK and Bethesda games multi plat. Sounds like win-win: MS can earn their cash by selling these games everywhere while still being “nice” people by not locking these games on their own platform. Xbox players get those day1. Also by keeping some games forever exclusive like halo they can butter the current fanbase.
Phil confirmed it tho already so whatever at this point.
I dont care if they put them all over there. I'm just more concerned about what Sony might turn into if that day ever came.
A lot of people drinking the Microsoft koolaid
It's strange to me how Indiana Jones is being taken as a "sign of things to come" and not the outlier it is. We're talking about a game that was not only in development before the aquistion, but was a licensed game inked out before the aquistion. Post acquisition Microsoft had to RENEGOTIATE the contract with Disney to get any amount of exclusivity. MLB the Show was made multiplatform under similar circumstances, and similarly Sony didn't particularly clarify that this first party game was made multiplatform to appease the contract and retain the license to make it to their gamers. Yet people didn't really complain about MLB the show going multiplatform or see it as a sign of doom to come.
I'm just saying Xbox has actual examples and cases to draw from when considering what their multiplatform plans will look like going forward. A game that they had to BACKTRACK and make exclusive shouldn't be what's leading the conversation on future PS ports. In fact, I'm surprised there's not more outrage that the game has any level of exclusivity. Again, it was in development before the aquistion closed and even had a contract inked out that defined it as a multiplatform venture which Microsoft had to then renegotiate to turn into a timed Xbox console exclusive. This is the equalivanet to if say Bungie had been working on a licensed Star Wars game before being purchased by Sony, and said game was inked out to release on all major platforms (save the switch due to technical issues), and then after Sony bought Bungie Sony made Bungie turn it into a PS5 only timed exclusive and renegotiated with Disney to do as much. Then all of a sudden PS gamers got mad when it turned out this originally multiplatform game got a port to Xbox and PC, and console war enthusiasts used it as a sign of Sony going third party.
Like guys, at least save the overreacting for situations where it kinda makes sense. Like when/if (though probably when) Halo gets a PS port. 😒
@Ken_Kaniff Sony doesn't care anymore. There's so much emphasis put on "competition" in a market that basically cannibalized itself to the point where there is no more realistic competition regardless. All three consoles are fairly fixed in their consumer bases and none of them have seen MAJOR growth in decades. I mean let's talk nuclear option and say Xbox stops making consoles... and? Sony would at most get a 50ish million customer boost and funny enough that'd put their current console sales (based on what the PS4 ended on) at just 10 to 20 million more than the PS2 lifetime sales. And realistically all Xbox console customers wouldn't go to PS. First off there's already a good bit of overlap for console gamers who own multiple consoles and even for the Xbox only console owners probably a non zero number would move to PC.
It's really why the console market is so f***** now and all of them are just doing whatever they want. They really haven't been competing for a while, but just following their own strategies to maintain relevance in a reality where the console market has stagnated and become dwarfed by the PC and mobile markets. You already see what Sony is doing without "competition" because they know 1) the majority of their customers are locked in, 2) there isn't going to be a mass exodus from one console to another, and 3) no console is really succeeding in pulling in a significant number of brand new customers. In the wake of this reality, Nintendo and Sony are generally following the same strategy they always have but executing it in very different ways. Nintendo has kept costs low while charging the same prices as the rest of the industry (both in games and hardware; Pokémon couldn't have cost as much as Starfield to make and the Nintendo Switch couldn't have cost as much as the Series S to make (heck, it's weaker than the Xbox One). Sony is holding on prices, proprietary hardware, and raising prices mroe than ever. Nintendo is definitely succeeding more in maintaining good margins and general health, and unlike Sony (or for that matter Microsoft), they don't have to answer to shareholders who question why money is going into a product that isn't significantly growing and not into other business units which are pulling in more money with more growth on the horizon. Both are keeping their closed ecosystems and seem to be focused on not growing their customer base, but instead improving their margins and how much value each customer generates (and limiting the potential loss each product generates). Microsoft on the other hand clearly wants to open up their ecosystem and grow their customer base by reaching out to more platforms and mediums. Sony is also doing this somewhat with their PC ports, but if we're comparing them they're at baby steps while Microsoft has moved on to the next phase (PC ports for Sony are still infrequent and inconsistently handled; whereas Microsoft has established same day with steam launches and their own first party storefront). In general, I'd say as consoles all three have hit maturity and we won't see any significant changes. Like we're past the point of competition mattering for the console market unless something happens where there's a huge new influx of console gamers who platforms CAN compete over (but as of now new gamers are, and have been, skipping consoles to go to mobile, PC, or cloud).
Microsoft really dropped the ball this generation with the Xbox brand in my eyes. They looked poised to come out of the gate swinging after purchasing Bethesda but due to mismanagement and bad PR from games like Redfall and the mixed reception of Starfield, that never really panned out. After spending over eighty billion dollars in the span of just three years, the execs now demand Xbox to become more profitable leading us to where we are now with games once thought to be a red line, never to appear on a competitors platform now are all either being discussed internally or ports have already been worked on and completed. I personally would have MUCH rathered Microsoft spent that eighty plus billion on bringing more games, securing more third party exclusives and improving their development pipeline and management. Now they simply have too many studios and they don't know how to manage them when they couldn't manage the studios they had before.
As an Xbox gamer, I'm pissed Phil dug Xbox into this hole. I bought an Xbox because it had a decent amount of the games I wanted to play exclusive to the console, gamepass was just a bonus. Now however these games are on their way to Playstation and other platforms leading me to wonder why I spent over $600 on a Series X at launch when these games would just be made available to me at some point in the future had i just stuck with a Playstation 5.
I can tell you right here, right now, i don't care if there is another Xbox after this. I'm not going to continue to invest in their consoles unless by some miracle Sony starts porting their games over to Xbox before the next generation starts. In that case having those games plus gamepass would be one heck of a bargain. Helldivers 2 on Xbox would be huge for me and I would buy it again just be able to play it on Xbox instead.
I play Xbox a ton, over 5600 hours this year alone, but if the games rumored to be headed to Playstation are true, such as the Forza Horizon games starting with 5, the next gears etc, that will be where I take my leave from the platform. As I said earlier, I bought Xbox because it was the only place to play these games on console, my preferred way to play. So if they make them available to other consoles I simply don't see the value anymore in owning a Xbox when I could be getting the best Playstation has to offer along with Xbox's over on Playstation.
@oopsiezz Now think, you can play just about every PS5 game on the Rog Ally and other higher performance handhelds let alone PC, you can also play all the Xbox games and use Gamepass, if people stop focusing on just two console brand names they will see most games worth having from Sony and Microsoft are already multiformat.
@oopsiezz reality is at this point it's too early to use argument for xbox games on PS. Aside from Indiana, only a bunch of smaller exclusive games were ported over. This was 9 months ago. Indiana itself a more complex case with licensing costs.
I do agree if ALL xbox games are ported to PS AND ALL new games are day 1 on PS - thats radical situation and is a different discussion. But from what they are saying and actually doing = its not the case. Seems like it will be PC/xbox first and then at some point on PS and not even all games. Moreover, they are still doing 3rd party exclusives even (recent one announced is subnautica 2).
To me it sounds like if you want PS games first and own a playstation and only remotely interested in xbox games - then its a win for you and you are good with PS only.
However, if you are xbox player and interested in fable/gears and such right away on your platform + available on GP then you still need an xbox or PC.
They are not trying to push you away from the ecosystem, they are trying to earn more cash on games that already reached saturation on their own platform.
@oopsiezz as long as you get to play your favorite Xbox games DAY ONE on XSX, why would you even care if “some” Xbox games get ported over to PS5? Obviously if you are keen to play Playstation exclusives, you would already have bought a PS5 by now.
On a side note, Can’t wait to play Indiana Jones on PS5 Pro.
@TheEstablishment They aren't even close to revenue that Sony makes. What a ridiculous statement.
The problem is that they HAVE A BOX and therefore should either decide to support it fully or get out completely and be a publisher.
Why cheer on Microsoft revenue? I don't know about you, but I'm a fan of the actual Xbox and always have been. I'm also a fan of competition, which is when we get better hardware, software and prices.
Sony literally doing NOTHING and getting away with it because Microsoft isn't a threat.
Also equally as funny that Sony is trying to put Xbox out of business and every first party game they put on PS5, Sony turns around and buys exclusive games to keep off Xbox. Black Myth, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 16, Silent Hill 2 Remake, KOTOR Remake, Stellar Blade ECT
So, basically Xbox fans get nothing exclusive and Sony buys even more games to keep off Xbox. Real losing proposition to own an Xbox.
@TheGameThrifter Actually, they are quite close now. Sony did about $28B in 2023, Microsoft has been averaging about $7B a quarter and this upcoming quarter will be huge thanks to holiday sales revenue, GP subscription revenue, Indiana Jones, and BO6. I'm estimating around an $11B quarter for them. Next year they're going to surpass Sony in revenue and by 2027/2028 it won't even be close. Xbox as a brand is growing and adapting/evolving with the industry, while helping to change the industry itself. Look at it however to like, feel about it however you feel, but you can't stop it from happening.
As for the Xbox itself. As a business let it exist and pepper some love on it when you can. After all, the Xbox is a piece of the pie , not the whole thing.
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