Indiana Jones
Microsoft
In a recent newsletter, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier pointed out that Microsoft's release strategy is fragmented, with three different release types happening simultaneously even within Bethesda: Starfield is an Xbox exclusive and will remain Xbox only for now; Indiana Jones will release on Xbox first, followed by PS5 a few months later; and Doom: The Dark Ages will also be coming to PS5 at the same time.
For lack of a better word, it's a mess.
At this point, Microsoft simply has to choose a path and follow a release strategy, even if it's not what fans want to hear.
Now there's no going back. Pandora's box has been opened and Microsoft has shown they're willing to share formerly exclusive games with even their oldest rivals like PlayStation. They're not going to take it back that easily, and in some cases, like Call of Duty, they can't. The same can be said for Blizzard's Overwatch and Diablo, which of course won't be removed from PlayStation.
The strategy now has to be a band-aid one: rely on third-party developers and release everything simultaneously on Xbox and PS5. Of course, there's one big caveat: Xbox players can get all of these games on day one in Game Pass. PlayStation players will have to buy them. Given the current situation, I don't think there's any better solution than this.
Fable
playground
There's not much point in trying to catch up with Sony in console sales: analysts say the 2:1 ratio that once favored Sony may be closer to 5:1 these days, and even Phil Spencer admits there's no room for competition there anymore.
That doesn't mean Microsoft has to stop making hardware, though. Sure, the PS5 plan will further reduce console sales, but that's a moot point now. If you want the most convenient and probably best place to play Xbox Game Pass games, it's basically an Xbox. Of course, many will buy a PS5 instead, but that's not an issue at this point, since Microsoft isn't really focused on significantly increasing console sales.
It would be at least less confusing if they chose the strategy for every game. Are they giving it to Sony for free? Yes, but they already do, and even games that were supposed to remain exclusive, like Fable and Elder Scrolls VI, are now unclear whether they will. As Spencer recently realized, Microsoft's Xbox division is still a business, which is why these decisions are being made. What's not being said here is that the hardware is basically irrelevant, and Game Pass sales are starting to plateau. So they're selling physical copies of the game on other platforms as another revenue stream.
This will devalue the Xbox brand, but guess what? It's already happened. The Xbox community has barely functioned as a community these days following these confusing PlayStation announcements. The idea that Xbox would once acquire developers to resurrect the console and create a lineup that could rival Sony's highly anticipated first-party studios just hasn't happened. And, once again, there's no turning back now.
Xbox is currently stuck between three or four different strategies. They need to simplify.
Release Xbox Studios games at full price on PS5 launch day. Release Xbox Studios games for “free” on Game Pass launch day. No confusing new tiers. Rely on the idea that the best place to play Game Pass games is on Xbox hardware, even as cloud streaming and (expensive) PCs make Game Pass playable elsewhere. Acknowledge that we've sacrificed our once-loyal community in the name of “playing Xbox games in as many places as possible,” something that finally came true with the release of PlayStation. We can't get them back, it's over.
Is this a great way forward? No, but I would argue it's better than what's happening now, which is confusing, damaging the brand, angering players, and a system that's trying to have the best of both worlds when it's virtually impossible.
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