Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves are headed to PlayStation 5. Pentiment and Grounded are also coming soon to PS5 and Nintendo Switch.
The four announced titles were confirmed in a recent Nintendo Direct and Xbox Podcast alongside plans for the future of Xbox.
Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming stated “We see an opportunity to utilize the other platforms as a place to just drive more business value out of those games.”
Today, we announced the four fan-favorite Xbox games coming to Nintendo Switch and Sony platforms this spring.
Our studios have drawn on their multi-platform experience to open their worlds to even more players. More info here: https://t.co/yWuzSJuhcK
— Xbox Wire (@XboxWire) February 21, 2024
The news is coming after Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The decision is said to be a mistake by fans of their games.
However, Matt Booty, Head of Xbox Game Studios disagrees by saying “These multiplayer titles available will bring more people together and continue to grow their communities of players.”
He added, “Whether it’s Nintendo Switch and PlayStation players surviving in the backyard together in Grounded, or PlayStation players getting to live a pirate’s life in Sea of Thieves, with cross-play, these multiplayer titles available will bring more people together and continue to grow their communities of players.”
Despite being a mistake in the eyes of the fans, they expected the lineup of games that were announced to be multi-platform featuring cross-play functionality.
Crossplay functionality will be available between all consoles and PCs. Sea of Thieves and Grounded are amongst the two confirmed to feature cross-play.
“It’s those jumping into Grounded and Sea of Thieves who will ultimately be rewarded, with full cross-play across platforms building the player base immediately on launch in April,” Spencer added in an interview with BBC.
Spencer has even admittedly stated that the gaming division would not need to undergo a series of fundamental changes simply to ensure the success of their developing game strategy with the introduction of the announced titles coming to PlayStation 5.
In an interview with The Verge, Spencer stated that there is room for more games to arrive on PlayStation but the four announced are the only ones that’ll be available currently.
Spencer added, “I don’t want to create a false expectation on those other platforms that this is somehow the first four to get over the dam and then the dam’s going to open and that everything else is coming, that’s not the plan today. I also don’t want to mislead customers on those other platforms.”
Regardless, he clarified which games weren’t coming to PlayStation by confirming the exclusion of Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from the lineup.
Spencer recently commented on Nintendo and Sony’s approach to exclusivity in the lucrative games industry by mentioning the newly released Helldivers 2.
“I will say when I look at a game like Helldivers 2 and it’s a great game, kudos to the team shipping on PC and PlayStation. I’m not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox. If you try to twist yourself to say, like, somehow that benefited somebody somewhere,” stated Spencer in an interview with Press Start.
He added, “But I get it. There’s a legacy in console gaming that we’re going to benefit by shipping games and not putting them on other places. We do the same thing; I will say shipping more games in more places and making them more accessible to more people is a good part of the gaming business.”
Helldivers 2 has sold approximately 1 million copies and reached an all-time peak of 457,649 concurrent players on Steam. It’s even outperforming Call of Duty and Fortnite on the PlayStation Network (PSN).
Over the last few months, gamers have been speculating about Xbox exclusives becoming multiplatform. Spencer confirmed their approach to exclusivity in Xbox’s Podcast by allowing games to be enjoyed on multiple platforms. He believes by making games accessible to all, despite the box of plastic you play on, sales rise and the consumer wins.
He added, “I do have a fundamental belief that over the next 5 or 10 years, exclusive games, games that are exclusive to one piece of hardware, are going to be a smaller and smaller part of the game industry.
This isn’t just what Xbox believes. PlayStation has reportedly been interested in bringing more of its titles to other platforms which was confirmed in a recent earnings call with Sony’s interim president Hiroki Totoki.
It’s believed that Totoki is referring to continuing their initiative in bringing PS5 games to PC a few months to years post-launch.
“When you consider the depth of the cooperative play found in those titles, the moves make complete and utter sense,” Spencer told the BBC.
Like, Totoki; Spencer has a responsibility to the shareholders of the company. Spencer believes the future of Xbox is in the multiplatform and crossplay markets which would be for the benefit of all gamers.
Sea of Thieves arrives on PS5 on April 30 with full crossplay functionality. Hi-Fi Rush comes to PlayStation 5 on March 19 with Grounded releasing April 16 on Switch, PS4, and PS5. Lastly, Pentiment arrives on PS4, PS5, and Switch on Feb 22.
