Home Gaming Don’t expect any first-party console exclusives on the next Xbox for at least two years

Don’t expect any first-party console exclusives on the next Xbox for at least two years

4 min read
12
XboxSeries

This impending new console generation’s going to be…different. For starters, both Sony and Microsoft are taking a few more cues from PCs in how games will work. We know that PlayStation (at the very least) and Xbox One (and all previous Xbox generation) games will work on the new consoles, allowing players to bring their existing libraries into the new generation.

We also know that for a whole at least, Microsoft’s been trying to do away with the entire notion of console generations. They’ve also been pushing Xbox as more of an ecosystem than any single product, so it should come as absolutely zero surprise to anybody that the next Xbox Generation – if which we know only about the Xbox Series X – will share its new games with the old generation of consoles. And, says Microsoft’s Matt Booty, it’ll stay that way for at least two years.

Speaking to MCV, the Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty confirmed that first-party games (that’s the ones made and published by Microsoft’s studios) will work across existing Xbox systems and PC for at least two years. That means you’ll probably only see the first “true” Xbox Series exclusive in 2022.

“As our content comes out over the next year, two years, all of our games, sort of like PC, will play up and down that family of devices,” Booty said.

“We want to make sure that if someone invests in Xbox between now and [Series X] that they feel that they made a good investment and that we’re committed to them with content.”

That means you can expect new first-party games from the company to work on Pc and the Xbox One consoles. That includes launch title Halo Infinite and the recently announced Hellblade 2.

It does take the ceremony out of the Xbox Series X launch, as usually, consoles have these great big launch games that make them exciting prospects to pick up. They do usually end up being poorly regarded in retrospect, so maybe this is a fine strategy.

“Our approach is to pick one or two IP that we’re going to focus on and make sure that they’re there at the launch of the console, taking advantage of all the features,” Booty said.

“And for us that’s going to be Halo: Infinite, which is a big opportunity. It’s the first time in over 15 years that we’ll have a Halo title launching in sync with a new console. And that team is definitely going to be doing things to take advantage of [Series X].”

They do realise this is a very different strategy to what Sony did with the PlayStation 4. Noteworthy, because it’s Sony’s exclusive games that are usually highlighted as the reason that the Japan company “won” this generation.

“First of all, Sony’s done a fantastic job just across the board in terms of what they’ve done with building an audience, selling consoles, obviously, a number of amazing, great games that have come out of their first party teams. I try to stay away from framing things as a head-to-head bout with

Sony, instead I think that it’s just up to us to focus on three things. First of all, we need to deliver on the promises that we make. So if we say a game is going to ship at a certain time, we’ve got to get that done, we just need to get better at executing.”

“We need to make sure that we hold the bar high on quality, and that we’re releasing games that we can be proud of and that the fans can be proud of as Xbox exclusives.”

It’ll be an interesting generation, that’s for certain. Having new tent-pole games work across existing hardware does mean that potentially millions more people will be playing those games (even if they’re not explicitly playing for them, thanks to services like Game Pass). It does, however, take away a bit of the lustre – making this new-gen more like the launch of a new GPU from AMD or Nvidia than a brand new console. We’ll have to see if it’s a clever strategy or one that leaves Microsoft eating PlayStation dust once again.

Last Updated: January 13, 2020

12 Comments

  1. Original Heretic

    January 13, 2020 at 08:43

    Is Hellblade 2 now a XB and PC exclusive?
    Disappointed by that.
    Having a sequel to a game that was on all platforms suddenly be exclusive makes me wish I never played the first one.

    Reply

    • Geoffrey Tim

      January 13, 2020 at 09:23

      Well, yes. MS bought the Ninja Theory, the developer.

      Reply

  2. Yozzie

    January 13, 2020 at 09:12

    I have watched this Hellblade trailer so many times last year, youtube now recommends me only death metal.

    Reply

  3. Alessandro Barbosa

    January 13, 2020 at 09:50

    Yeah I see no downside to this, and quite honestly I expect Sony to follow suit. If you’re going to be developing launch titles that end up selling purely because theyre on new hardware, why not open that up to a user base of millions too for the first teething months of the new gen. It’s a smart move

    Reply

  4. Kromas

    January 13, 2020 at 08:37

    Good guy MS??!!!

    WTF is happening!!!!

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      January 13, 2020 at 08:43

      Looks like MS has 2020 vision

      Reply

      • HvR

        January 13, 2020 at 08:43

        And 3 decades of hindsight

        Reply

        • Original Heretic

          January 13, 2020 at 08:43

          Took them long enough.

          Reply

  5. G8crasha

    January 13, 2020 at 10:12

    I’m just happy I don’t have to get an Xbox and a PS5 to play exclusives. Now I only need a PS5!

    Reply

    • InCognito

      January 14, 2020 at 09:08

      I dont think you understood the article. Xbox will still have exclusives they will just not be exclusive to Xbox Series X for 1 to 2 years, meaning they will continue to develop for the Xbox One. I mean Halo 6 is an Xbox exclusive, though the games are available on PC.

      Reply

      • G8crasha

        January 14, 2020 at 09:14

        I do understand, very much so. The only reason I would have considered getting an Xbox is for the exclusives, regardless of when they are released, but considering it seems Xbox exclusives are also coming to the PC platform, I do not have a reason to get an Xbox as I can use my gaming PC. I only have to worry about PS5 exclusives as they will only be on the PS5.

        Reply

        • InCognito

          January 14, 2020 at 09:14

          True true, will probably do the same thing. Might decide to get the Xbox once its on special, PC or my One X should suffice for some time.

          Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Manchester United Sues Football Manager Over Use of their Name and Fan Mods

Manchester United, that massive global football brand whose fans are as equally annoying a…