Today’s Xbox Games Showcase was the first under the leadership of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who has pledged to consider making changes to Xbox’s exclusivity strategy. Now, another Xbox executive, chief content officer Matt Booty, has clarified Microsoft’s position on exclusives going forward.
He told Gamertag Radio, “Our big multiplayer games [and] live-service games are going to continue to be multiplatform.”
So why isn’t Gears of War: E-Day going to be on PS5, and is instead an Xbox console exclusive? The game has multiplayer, after all, and it’s expected to get ongoing updates over time. Booty didn’t say outright, but it might have something to do with how Microsoft never announced the game for PS5 in the first place. The game was reportedly planned for PS5, however, and was apparently canceled for Sony’s console late in the game.
“If we promised something to players, we’re going to honor that promise,” Booty said. He added that when Microsoft announces a release date for a game, it will also announce the platforms, so players will “know what the choice will be.”
