Xbox will make it more obvious which games are coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2
You'll no longer be wondering which Xbox games are coming to other platforms
👏 Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said future showcases won’t hide which consoles a game is releasing on
🤫 Historically, companies only advertise their console when a game trailer is shown
🤷♂️ It happens if a game is releasing elsewhere, which can lead to confusion
👉 However, Microsoft needs to be more clear about its own titles, not just multiplatform releases
As part of Microsoft’s increasing push to publish its games on every platform, Xbox head Phil Spencer has said the company will make it more clear about which games are coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2.
There’s a currently a lot of debate about which Xbox games will end up elsewhere, but new titles shown will at least clearly label if they’re available on other platforms or not.
Speaking to XboxEra, Spencer said that Xbox will start showing PlayStation and Nintendo logo in their showcases.
“I think it’s just being honest and transparent about where the games are showing, and we actually even had this discussion last year for the June showcase, and by the time we kind of made our decision, we couldn’t get all of the assets done and it felt weird to have some of them in and some of them out,” Spencer said.
Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox have historically only shown the logo for its console when revealing a game, even if a title is multiformat. It’s led to many believing a game is exclusive to one system when it isn’t, and left social media teams to pick up the slack and simply say, “Yes, this game is also coming to our console.”
That’s something that Spencer wants to change, and it’s a decision that most gamers will probably welcome.
“I just want to be transparent with people – for shipping on Nintendo Switch, we’re gonna put that. For shipping on PlayStation, on Steam… People should know the storefronts where they can get our games, but I want people to be able to experience our Xbox community in our games and everything we have to offer, on every screen we can,” Spencer said.
Practice what you preach
One area that Microsoft could improve is transparency over its own releases. Spencer has often backtracked on prior comments regarding which Xbox games are coming to PS5, initially saying it would just be four, to then saying there are “no red lines”.
It leaves many wondering whether games like Avowed and South of Midnight will come to PS5 or Nintendo Switch 2 (if the hardware is powerful enough). The consensus is that they will, but without confirmation from Microsoft, all gamers can do is speculate.
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest Xbox game to jump from Microsoft’s console exclusivity to PS5. It’ll soon be joined by Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, and Hellblade 2 is also rumored to release on Sony’s console.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.
