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 lines in our portfolio that say ‘thou must not,’” he said.
Halo on PlayStation would perhaps be the biggest Xbox game to go multiplatform so far, given its association with the console over the years. Last month, tech experts said Halo’s move to Unreal Engine 5 would make it easier for developer Halo Studios, née 343 Industries, to take Xbox’s flagship first-person shooter multi-platform, including a launch on PS5.
It’s too early to make any sort of decision on the next version of Halo, Bloomberg quoted Spencer as saying.
As former Xbox boss Peter Moore recently told IGN, Microsoft will be debating whether to bring Halo to PlayStation as we speak. Perhaps a multiplatform release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection or even Halo: Infinite would be more likely in the short term, with Microsoft yet to indicate when the next Halo game will come out.
Photo by Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.