Summary

  • Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has confirmed that Xbox first-party games will "continue to extend" to PlayStation and Nintendo.
  • The CEO's statement refutes a recent rumor alleging a slowdown in Xbox first-party ports for PS5.
  • Some Xbox franchises could still be off the table for PlayStation and Nintendo, depending on Microsoft's belief in future consoles.

Microsoft seems to have confirmed that Xbox first-party games will continue to make their way to rival platforms PlayStation and Nintendo. A recent rumor claimed that the release cadence of Xbox's multiplatform ports might have been slowed down or put on hold, but statements from Microsoft's CEO supposedly suggest otherwise.

Ever since Xbox opened the floodgates with its multiplatform initiative in early 2024, there has been a barrage of rumors about which first-party games could make the leap to PlayStation and Nintendo. Speculation ranges from smaller Xbox games like Towerborne going multiplatform to even the highly-anticipated Gears of War: E-Day launching on PS5. So far, four Xbox first-party games have made their way to PS5, and 2025 will bring Doom: The Dark Ages and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to users on the Sony platform.

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However, credible Xbox insider eXtas1s recently alleged that fan backlash to Indiana Jones' PS5 announcement apparently made Microsoft slow down future PS5 ports of Xbox first-party games. It seems that this rumor was quickly debunked, though, that too by Microsoft itself. In a newly-published annual letter from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about the company's fiscal year 2024, he praised the success of the first four "fan-favorite titles" from Xbox's multiplatform initiative, namely Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Pentiment, and Hi-Fi Rush, and interestingly concluded his quote with "we continue to extend our content to new platforms."

Microsoft is Very Pleased With Xbox Games on PlayStation and Nintendo

This seems like a fairly clear indication that there won't be any let-up in Microsoft's plans to keep publishing Xbox first-party games on competing platforms. After the closing of the gargantuan $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard merger last year, Xbox is likely facing much heavier scrutiny internally for a return on investment. Sea of Thieves reportedly shifted one million copies on PS5, so Microsoft's interest in further pursuing multiplatform ports doesn't come as much of a surprise. However, there's still the question of which Xbox franchises will remain closed off to PlayStation and Nintendo.

Finally, we brought four of our fan-favorite titles to Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation for the first time, as we continue to extend our content to new platforms.

Many will contend that the obvious candidates for multiplatform "red lines" are Halo, Gears, and Forza, the first-party franchises most instrumental in popularizing the Xbox platform back in the 360 days. All of this depends on Microsoft's belief in future Xbox hardware, though. If the tech giant reckons that Xbox's rumored next-generation console lineup still has a chance at mass-market adoption, it'd likely allow the prospect of walling off a handful of first-party franchises from PlayStation and Nintendo. Otherwise, Xbox may just be heading down the third-party publisher path.

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Xbox Series X Tag Page Cover Art-1
Xbox Series X
Display card main info widget
Brand
Microsoft
Operating System
Proprietary (Windows-based)
Storage
1TB WD SN530 NVMe SSD
VR Support
No
Resolution
720p - 4K UHD
App Store
Microsoft Store
Display card main info widget end

Microsoft's ninth-generation console, the Xbox Series X is a powerful machine that can support 4K resolution and 60 fps, depending on the game. Released alongside the Xbox Series S, the Series X has a Custom AMD Zen 2 CPU, a Custom RDNA 2 GPU, and 16 GB of RAM. 

Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11ac
Ports
AC, Ethernet, USB x3, Storage Expansion, HDMI
HDR Support
Yes
Original Release Date
November 10, 2020
Hardware Versions
Xbox Series X
Original MSRP (USD)
$499
Weight
9.8 LBS
Dimensions
151 x 151 x 301 mm
Processor
Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 3.8 GHz
$487 at Amazon