In February, Microsoft announced that it would bring four of its Xbox-exclusive games to rival platforms from Sony and Nintendo. It looks like the company isn’t stopping at its four first-party games coming to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. A new report claims that Xbox’s parent company intends to make a multi-platform push for more of its games. Under the plan, internally codenamed “Latitude,” new Xbox-first games are being developed for the PS5.
Windows Central’s report doesn’t mention any Xbox games slated for a PS5 release, but claims that the titles are “potentially obvious titles” that could be expected to be released on competing platforms. “More upcoming Microsoft games planned for PlayStation are already in development,” the report said.
Announcing its plan to release some of its exclusive games on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch in February, Microsoft tried to draw the line by confirming that its biggest exclusives, such as Bethesda’s Starfield and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, will not be coming to PS5. . However, a new report suggests that Microsoft is willing to consider a more unrestricted approach to launching its games on competing platforms. “… Microsoft insists there is no ‘red line’ on what games can come to PlayStation, and everything revolves around Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Good’s mandate to increase the margins of each division,” the report claims.
Although the company is working on plans to bring more games to Sony and Nintendo consoles, “Latitude” is not without internal controversy. The report says the plan has sparked debate and concern at Microsoft, with questions looming over its merits.
As part of its announcement earlier this year, Microsoft has already released Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Grounded and Sea of Thieves on rival consoles, indicating a shift in strategy towards exclusivity. The announcement of new upcoming games for PS5 and Nintendo Switch will cement this shift towards finding new players for games outside of Xbox’s own ecosystem.
Microsoft’s gaming division added significant muscle last year with its $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, but Xbox is struggling to see the fruits of its expanding studio roster. Last week, the company announced it was closing three of its studios and absorbing another into its existing team as part of its plan to focus on “priority games.” Hi-Fi Rush maker Tango Gameworks, Redfall developer Arkane Austin, and Alpha Dog Games, makers of the Mighty Doom mobile game, were shut down, while Roundhouse Studios, which also worked on Redfall, was absorbed by ZeniMax Online Studios.
After the shutdown, a Bloomberg report claimed Microsoft was planning more cuts at Xbox, and the company began offering voluntary severance agreements to developers, quality testers and other employees at Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax.
Microsoft has yet to make an official announcement about the studio closures and cutbacks, but the company is set to hold an Xbox Games Showcase event on June 9, where it will reveal its upcoming lineup of exclusive and third-party games.
