‘We are committed to making this clearer’: Xbox exec says it’s ‘not obvious’ to players which games will be exclusive

Xbox executives say it’s working on making it clearer to players which games will be console exclusives and which will be multiplatform.

After announcing two and a half years ago that it would be making its first-party games multiplatform, Xbox pivoted last month and stated that some of its games will be console exclusives, including Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution.

There has been some confusion since then among certain players, who aren’t sure what this means for console exclusivity in Xbox games going forward. The general message has been that live service and multiplayer games will remain multiplatform, but Gears of War: E-Day being console exclusive appears to contradict this rule.

In an interview with GamesRadar, Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty and chief strategy officer Matthew Ball discussed this, with Ball suggesting that “large live-service titles” would likely be multiplatform going forward, but that this didn’t mean single-player games would all be console exclusive.

“I wouldn’t overly fixate on single-player,” Booty added. “I think that’s a good rule of thumb, but it certainly isn’t something that’s carved in stone.”

Explaining the process behind choosing which games are exclusive and which aren’t, Booty said: “We are the stewards of over 20 game franchises that have made a billion dollars in their lifetime. There are a lot of different games in our portfolio, and we have to think about how different games serve different purposes within it.”

“Not obvious to all of our players”

Booty and Ball conceded that the messaging hasn’t been clear to some players, and that Xbox is working on making sure it’s easier to understand in the future.

“We have a framework for these selections, including how we evaluate them,” Ball said. “I recognize that this approach is not obvious to all of our players, and we are committed to making this clearer.

Booty added: “Something you should look for from us going forward is that when we put a date on a game, we will also announce what platforms it is coming to.”

The publication claims senior officials at Xbox said decisions were still being made on whether to make titles like The Elder Scrolls  6 and other unannounced Activision, Bethesda, Blizzard and Xbox Game Studios titles console exclusives or multiplatform releases.

The pair also reiterated that any games that were previously confirmed to be coming to PlayStation 5 or Switch 2 will still be coming to those systems, despite the recent pivot.

“We have titles where we have made a commitment to our partners and to our players that they were going to be multiplatform,” Ball said. “We will be respecting this commitment.”

“While we’re looking to be nimble, and it’s fantastic to have the energy that’s come with Asha’s new leadership, we’ve also got projects that have been in the works for a long time,” Booty added. “We have to hit the right balance between the work that the teams have invested and a strategy pivot.