Xbox Video podcast. 4 unknown games coming to other platforms. No fundamental change to our approach on exclusivity.

Xbox’s Promise to Bring More Games to More Players Around the World

Today, on a special edition of the Official Xbox Podcast, we shared an update on plans to continue to bring more games to more people around the world, with the exciting news that the first Activision Blizzard game on Xbox Game Pass will be Diablo IV, beginning March 28.

Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty also shared the vision on game exclusivity, the future of Xbox hardware, and the overall Xbox promise. There’s a lot to talk about, so we encourage you to watch the full episode here:



With the combined creativity across Team Xbox, players can expect an incredible 2024 with the likes of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Avowed, Ara: History Untold, Towerborne and more coming your way, alongside continued updates for our blockbuster franchises Call of Duty, Minecraft, Forza, The Elder Scrolls Online and Microsoft Flight Simulator.

There will be even more to play as we begin to fulfill our commitment to offer Activision and Blizzard games with Game Pass, both new releases and classic games from its legendary catalog. We’re happy to share that Diablo IV will be available to play by the 34 million Game Pass subscribers on both PC and Xbox consoles beginning March 28! This is only the start of Xbox players being able to enjoy Activision and Blizzard games on Game Pass – we look forward to sharing more soon.

Our combined studio teams already ship some of the biggest franchises and critically-acclaimed adventures across multiple platforms: Minecraft, Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, The Elder Scrolls Online, and more have built communities across consoles, PC, and mobile. Likewise, Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda have brought dozens of games to Steam alongside Xbox consoles on launch day; the teams at Xbox have extensive experience supporting multiple platforms, while continuing to invest heavily in our studios, our consoles and services.

Indeed, our games are reaching more players than ever; across Activision, Bethesda, Blizzard, King, and Xbox Game Studios, we reach hundreds of millions of players across console, PC, and mobile.

To ensure long-term success for both Xbox and the industry as a whole, we must continue to evolve. Today we announced that we will expand the communities we reach: we are currently in the process of bringing four Xbox games to other platforms. These are titles which have been available to Xbox players for at least a year, including hidden gems that deserve to be experienced more widely, and live service games whose communities will benefit from welcoming even more players. We will share more details on these titles soon.

By bringing these games to more players, we not only expand the reach and impact of those titles, but this will allow us to invest in either future versions of these games, or elsewhere in our first-party portfolio. There is no fundamental change to our approach on exclusivity.

Likewise, our commitment to game preservation is unwavering. Xbox players should have confidence in building your digital library in the Xbox ecosystem. We will continue to reward that with the most robust, player-friendly experiences, including backwards compatibility, cross-play, cross-save progression, convenient cloud gaming, and more. Xbox consoles will continue to provide a flagship experience for players; it’s where you get the best value and convenience, it’s where Game Pass provides unprecedented access to an ever-evolving library of games. To be clear: Game Pass will continue to be only available on Xbox platforms.

This is what it means to be part of Xbox:

The biggest games in the world will be on Xbox.  
Our games will come to Game Pass day one.
A robust and innovative multi-year hardware roadmap
Compatibility with your library is a priority, inclusive of cross-play, cross-save, and robust cloud features.
Xbox will continue to help game creators find the biggest audience possible.

Whether you’ve been with us since 2001, recently joined Game Pass to enjoy games like Starfield or Palworld, or are looking forward to the next season of Call of Duty, the creative teams at Xbox are stronger together – no matter where you play. Xbox will be around for decades to come – we hope you’ll join us on this journey.

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EXCLUSIVE | Microsoft plans Starfield launch for PlayStation 5

For many weeks now, rumours have persisted regarding Microsoft’s intentions to release a number of 1st party games – namely Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves – on rival platforms. According to our sources, who have asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorised to talk about company plans, that list of games also includes Bethesda Game Studio’s Starfield.

Now it looks as though Microsoft are planning on bringing Betheda’s newest RPG universe to an entirely new platform – PlayStation 5.

According to sources, we understand that currently Microsoft are planning a launch for Starfield on PlayStation 5 post the release of the already announced “Shattered Space” expansion for Xbox and PC, which is on target to arrive at some point later this year. We’ve also been informed that Microsoft have made additional investment into PlayStation 5 dev kits to support ongoing development efforts – adding further fuel to the fire.

As the already existing rumours have suggested, the idea of bringing 1st party titles to competing console platforms marks a massive change in strategy for Microsoft and from what I understand, it’s not been without fierce internal debate on this new direction.

According to our sources, Microsoft senior leadership have reportedly debated the various pros and cons of releasing more of their exclusive software elsewhere, and internally, not everyone is necessarily happy with the decision, but recouping the potential money “left on the table” by not releasing elsewhere has arguably won out.

According to sources, Hi-Fi Rush’s release on rival platforms is tentatively planned for Q1 this year, and we’ve been advised to expect Microsoft to make a more public announcement on this new strategy this month.

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rinks wrote:If console sales are partly determined by exclusives, this is an odd move, given how Sony and Nintendo will not be doing the same. Next gen, why buy an Xbox, when its first-party exclusives will be on PS6 eventually, and Game Pass streaming will be available on toasters?

Tomous wrote:

rinks wrote:If console sales are partly determined by exclusives, this is an odd move, given how Sony and Nintendo will not be doing the same. Next gen, why buy an Xbox, when its first-party exclusives will be on PS6 eventually, and Game Pass streaming will be available on toasters?

Next gen, will there be a new Xbox to buy?

rinks wrote:Maybe Microsoft will use Apple silicon.

BOR wrote:May I add that Microsoft and AMD haven't signed an agreement for the next gen console whereas Sony did with AMD.

I wonder if it was one of their strategies?

https://www.eurogamer.net/microsofts-ne ... ker-claims

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Photek wrote:It’ll take a lot of time to port EVERYTHING to PS5 but the games in Development now will certainly go that way. This is the death knell to Xbox imo, In the future they will be out of the console business and Sony can charge €100 per game.

MS will make a lot of money but they will lose out in the long run. I only hope the PS6 has an Xbox type controller because I can’t stand the stick placement on PS controllers.

Christopher wrote:I don’t think this signals the end of Xbox as a platform. I can see them going digital only box under the telly route or even a Game Pass streaming box under the telly route.

But then I can see the other side of the coin, they’ve sunk so much money into Xbox and bar one generation they’ve not be able to make much of a dent into the PlayStation brand. You can see why the people who control the purse strings would say “enough is enough” let’s make money from software.

Nintendo will always provide competition to PlayStation, Japan used to be PlayStation but Switch is way ahead of PS4 and PS5. But not having a strong competitor in the west is a worry.

Phil probably looked at the PS5 line up this year and thought, let’s throw them a bone.