Over the last 18 months or so, we've seen Microsoft pivot to releasing games on rival platforms - including PlayStation of course. While the reaction to this move has been mixed, shall we say, within the community, it sounds as though Xbox developers at large are pretty pleased with the decision.
Talking with 404 Media, Bloomberg's ever-reliable Jason Schreier spoke about the situation, and how "a lot" of these studios are "thrilled that they get to release their games on PlayStation". Schreier hinted at sales pressure being a core reason why the teams are happy to get their games out there on PS5.
"A lot of these [Xbox first-party games] are put on Game Pass, which means they’re not selling as much because people can just subscribe and get them for much cheaper than they would if they bought them. That complicates the math for a lot of these studios. A lot of game studios are now actually thrilled that they get to release their games on PlayStation, which is a recent phenomenon that's been happening in the last year or so."
Coming off the back of a recent report that Microsoft is now aiming for 30% profits from its Xbox gaming division (also via Schreier/Bloomberg), this makes a lot of sense. As the quote above suggests, game sales on Xbox are likely being impacted by Game Pass, so the extra revenue brought in by PS5 sales should be helping the studios hit any internal targets that are being set.
Of course, there's also the fact that game developers just like as many folks as possible to experience their creations. We've seen this being touted as a net positive for the multiplatform push on multiple occasions, so yeah, it makes sense that a lot of the Xbox teams would be happy to get their games out there to more players!
Recommended Comments