Ori and the Blind Forest being ported to the Switch offered a moment of brightness for fans expecting other first-party titles to come to other platforms, sadly, Microsoft has revealed that this isn’t a sign of things to come. Microsoft supports Minecraft on PlayStation and Nintendo platforms so games like Ori and the Blind Forest are not the only games getting this treatment, just don’t expect it to happen too often.
In a statement to Gamesindustry.biz, Microsoft has revealed that it has ‘no plans’ to release more exclusive Xbox games on other consoles.
“The past year has been an exciting time for us as we have more than doubled the internal creative teams making up Xbox Game Studios,” a representative said in the statement. “As these new studios transitioned in, we were aware of some existing commitments to other platforms and will honor them.
However, going forward these new studios will focus on making games for our platforms. We have no plans to further expand our exclusive first party games to other consoles. We continue to believe deeply in cross play and progression of games with the right flexibility for developers to insure a fair and fun experience.”
So while it’s a sad bit of news, it’s entirely understandable. As the console market heats up ahead of the launch of the next generation of consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett, the company will be looking to pull more gamers away from the jaws of PC gaming with enticing exclusives. This strategy is echoed by other elements of Microsoft’s statements which reinforce a commitment to making more exclusives.
So while it’s sad for owners of other platforms, the quality of games coming from Nintendo and Sony should more than make up for it. And with Microsoft pushing PC gaming more and more as a pairing with the Xbox brand, things are looking up for those gamers on the green team.
