What you need to know
- Microsoft is working on porting Xbox games to the PlayStation, according to a strategy outlined earlier this year.
- Microsoft has not clarified which games will be ported, which has led to a lot of speculation. So far, Pentiment, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves have been ported.
- Now well-known insider Shinobi602 has hinted that another “big” Xbox game for PlayStation will be announced next week, at the same time as Gamescom 2024.
If recent rumors are to be believed, another Xbox game will soon be released for PlayStation.
Earlier this year, Microsoft broke its previous promise to gamers to develop permanent exclusive games for the Xbox platform by launching ports of games like Pentiment, Grounded, Sea of Thieves, and Hi-Fi Rush on rival arch-console PlayStation, leading to widespread doubts about Microsoft’s commitment to the future of the Xbox platform and its users. Despite this, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella repeatedly claims to investors that Xbox has more console users than ever before, and has even launched plans to build a new generation of next-gen hardware that the company says will represent Xbox’s “biggest technological leap.”
Some Xbox fans are concerned that if Microsoft pulls its exclusives from the platform, fewer gamers will be interested in buying an Xbox, which in turn will mean fewer developers wanting to make games for the Xbox – sending the platform into a tailspin. The four games ported so far haven’t exactly led to a mass exodus of users, but with games like Black Myth Wukong and Capcom’s back catalog avoiding the platform, the size of the installed base has repeatedly raised questions about how important the Xbox is to developers in general.
For users with such concerns, reading the latest rumors will not have a reassuring effect.
Well-known insider and generally nice guy Shinobi602 announced on a forum (via XboxEra) that Xbox plans to unveil another “big” Xbox game for PlayStation as early as next week – the same week that Gamescom 2024 takes place.
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Responding to a user discussion about when the next round of games would be announced for PlayStation, Shinobi replied, “Where are you next week?” and then clarified that he didn’t know if it would be “multiple” ports, but it would at least be a “major” port.
Some users speculated that it would be Forza Horizon 5, Microsoft’s premier racing sim that already has tens of millions of users on Xbox and PC. My sources suggest that Forza will not be announced for PlayStation next week. However, I cannot yet confirm which game, if any, will be announced as a port next week. Shinobi602 is a completely reliable source, so I suspect it’s only a matter of time before he’s proven right.
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said in an interview last June that more games will come to platforms like PlayStation, “You’re going to see more of our games on more platforms, and we just see that as a benefit to the franchises we’re building, and we see that with players, and players love being able to play.”
So, if not Forza, what could Xbox port to PS5 next?
Microsoft’s presence at Gamescom 2024 will be its biggest ever, with a mountain of first- and third-party games available to play, including titles like Age of Mythology, Stalker 2, Towerborne, and many more. However, this latest round of rumors is likely to pose an ongoing problem for Xbox’s communication with its core users, although it is generally understood that “more titles” will be ported eventually.
Xbox is seeing higher revenue than ever thanks to its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. Service games like Candy Crush, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 are a major contributor to Xbox’s growth. However, much of that growth is coming from the Xbox console, whose sales have generally declined year-on-year following the pandemic.
However, other platforms are also seeing a decline in hardware sales as service games give previous generation games an unnaturally long lifespan. Mega franchises like FIFA, Call of Duty, Fortnite, etc. are constantly being updated on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One X and Xbox One S consoles, limiting the appeal of current-gen consoles and the need to upgrade. However, major new-gen exclusive release events like Grand Theft Auto 6 could start to change the landscape there.
For Xbox and other platform operators, the dilemma is how to achieve growth while costs continue to rise. The total number of installed console users has remained steady at around 250 million for several years according to most analysis, with the overall console industry set to see a 1% decline, according to Newzoo, while PC and mobile have seen slight gains of 4% and 3%, respectively. This statistic is why Xbox and even PlayStation have embraced PC gaming more than ever. God of War: Ragnarok, a former PS5 exclusive, is set to launch on Steam on September 19, 2024. Microsoft has also included Xbox Game Pass in the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K lineup, hoping to find users who find console prices too high.
Still, when porting games to your direct competitor on a closed platform, it’s probably wise to proceed with caution. For this reason, I suspect that many Xbox games will remain timed exclusives for Xbox and Windows platforms, at least in the short to medium term, while Microsoft mines its back catalog of older games for porting.
Forza Horizon 5 is probably not the game that will be announced next week, but if I had to guess (and it is really a guess, not a guess) I could see something older like Killer Instinct, State of Decay 2, or Halo: Master Chief Collection making their way there. I’m sure those games have pretty much achieved all they can in terms of users and sales on Xbox and PC, much like Sea of Thieves and Grounded before them.
In any case, we can only speculate at this point. I will be sure to keep you updated if my investigations bear fruit.
