Gears of War’s Xbox exclusivity could be hanging in the balance
Phil Spencer's Xbox plans have been revealed, and it looks like Twitter was overreacting. Who'd have thought? It's admittedly a big change, as Xbox plans to bring a small collection of its previously exclusive titles to consoles elsewhere.
It indicates that games that deserved more recognition and titles that rely on a live service will be spreading their wings to Switch and PlayStation. Rumours are starting to swirl as to what these games are (though Sea of Thieves seems to be a sure thing).
In the meantime, we're just going to have to wait and see what comes next for the games that have made their home on Xbox. Now, a new rumour suggests that long-time Xbox exclusives could be making the giant leap over the console river.
Gears of War rumoured to leave Xbox exclusivity
Click to enlargeAccording The Verge's Tom Warren, Microsoft is still umming and ahhing about some franchises making it to platforms other than those owned by Microsoft, with Gears, Flight Sim and DOOM being considered for a major upheaval.
"I understand that Microsoft has also previously been weighing up the idea of bringing Gears of War, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and even the next Doom game to rival platforms," Warren says. "Final decisions haven’t been made on these other games, but there’s bound to be more than just four."
Suggesting that this is just the tip of the iceberg, Warren says, "As this strategy evolves, it’s clear there will be some interesting decisions being made about the future of Xbox games and exclusivity." We've heard a lot about Gears 6, but as its development gets drawn out, could it be moving closer to a multi-platform release?
Still, the idea is that instead of releasing on multiple platforms, some Xbox games will 'eventually' move around. With final decisions still up in the air, it looks like Microsoft could be about to make some major changes to even the most presiding franchises under its watch. Things could be about to massively change.
Are any games confirmed to come to PlayStation and Switch from Xbox?
Click to enlargeMuch like Gears and DOOM, we don't have any confirmation on what games will be coming to other consoles from Xbox. It's heavily rumoured that Sea of Thieves will be making the jump after Phil Spencer alluded to live-service games coming to other consoles as Microsoft's leading live-service title.
Alongside the seafaring adventure, fans are expecting that Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, and Pentiment could be made available on different consoles, too. We're going to have to wait for details from Xbox when it comes to confirmations, but as it currently stands, the gaming industry is clearly up for a major shake-up.
We all want something new from Gears of War, but not being able to blast Locust scum from the comfort of our Xbox consoles would definitely feel weird. Brace for impact unless you're a dedicated Xbox player, in which case, do nothing. Everything is fine.
