Brace yourselves, Xbox fans. In a new opinion piece from Window’s Central’s Jez Corden, more Xbox ‘Exclusive’ 1st Party games could be heading to PlayStation, via a new initiative at Microsoft dubbed “Project Latitude”.
In Jez’s opinion piece (go give it a read!), which talks through the impatience and short-sightedness of Corporate Microsoft, he mentions that more games are in development for Sony’s PlayStation 5.
Jez writes: The plan to move Xbox games to other platforms is codenamed “Latitude” internally, and I know there’s debate and unease at Microsoft about whether or not this is a good idea. More upcoming Microsoft-owned games slated for PlayStation are already being developed. At least for now, they’re potentially obvious games you’d most likely expect. And yes, while it’s true Microsoft is a prolific publisher on PlayStation already, it has typically revolved around specific franchises like Minecraft. From what I’ve heard, Microsoft is pushing for no “red line” for what games could come to PlayStation, and it all revolves around Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood’s mandate to increase every department’s margins.
It’s fair to say the rumours of Xbox games heading to PlayStation has been bubbling away since December of 2023, including reports from ourselves that Bethesda’s space-faring RPG Starfield is planned to make it’s way over, and Tom Warren advising that Indiana Jones is also under consideration.
Jez even mentions Halo in the article, which is sure to put die-hard Xbox fans in a right tizzy. Is it just an “experiment” with the 4 games as was previously alluded to, or is this now a permanent path forward?
If, as Jez writes, that Microsoft CFO Amy Hood believes there are no red-lines, it stands to reason that even classic Xbox franchises like Halo, Gears of War and Forza could be on the way to other consoles too.
With the closure of studios like Tango GameWorks and Arkane Austin, it’s clear Microsoft and the Xbox division is going through a transformation following the acquisition of ActivisionBlizzard. Is this the end of Xbox console exclusivity, or the end of Xbox?
With a new Xbox showcase coming in June, all eyes will be on Microsoft and the Xbox team to provide some clarity and some answers to many Xbox fans out there wondering just what the changes are going to be.
