Microsoft Gaming Boss Phil Spencer Won’t Rule Out Any Xbox Exclusive Making the Jump to PlayStation — Including Halo
With Microsoft’s multiplatform video game release strategy in full swing, some Xbox fans are wondering whether flagship exclusives such as Halo will ever make the jump to PlayStation. But according to Microsoft’s gaming chief Phil Spencer, there are no “red lines” in its first-party lineup.
Microsoft has so-far used older games released over a year ago for its multiplatform push as opposed to brand new games, but that will soon change with the release of Indiana Jones. Microsoft will launch MachineGames' hotly anticipated Xbox game on PS5 just a few months after it launches on Xbox and PC this December.
It’s the latest first-party Xbox game to make the jump to a rival console, following the release of Obsidian’s Pentiment and Grounded, Tango Gameworks’ Hi-Fi Rush, and Rare’s Sea of Thieves earlier in 2024. In June, Microsoft announced Id Software's upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages will also launch on PS5 next year.
Spencer has said Xbox’s multiplatform push is in part about bringing in more money to Microsoft’s gaming business — with the pressure now on to deliver following its eye-watering $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard last year.
“We run a business,” Spencer said in August. “It’s definitely true inside of Microsoft the bar is high for us in terms of the delivery we have to give back to the company. Because we get a level of support from the company that’s just amazing and what we’re able to go do.
“So I look at this, how can we make our games as strong as possible? Our platform continues to grow, on console, on PC, and on cloud. It’s just going to be a strategy that works for us.”
It’s pretty clear at this point that Xbox console exclusives are no longer a priority for Microsoft’s gaming business, but are there some Xbox games that are considered so sacred that they will never launch on PlayStation?
Speaking to Bloomberg, Spencer said every Xbox game is up for grabs when it comes to making the multiplatform jump. “I do not see sort of red
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