Summary
Early last year, it was rumoured thatXbox was porting Starfield to PlayStation 5. This gained a lot of traction, to the point where many were waiting for the announcement. However,one of the leakers then backtracked on this, saying he got it wrong, and that that game was not “destined” forPS5.
Now, almost exactly one year later, it seems thatStarfieldcould come to PS5 after all. In an interview with the journalist Destin Legarie, Xbox boss Phil Spencer was asked if Starfield is “staying put” for the time being. His answer was a definitive “no”, as he stresses that no game has been ruled out for a multiplatform release.
Starfield Isn’t A Guaranteed Xbox Console Exclusive
Phil Spencer reaffirms that no game is ruled out in Xbox’s multiplatform strategy
“There’s no reason for me to put a ringfence around any game, and say this game will not go to a place [where] it would find players, where it would have business success for us,” says Spencer. “Our strategy is to allow our games to be available. Game Pass is an important component of playing the games on our platform, but to keep games off of other platforms, that’s not a path for us”.
Legarie then asks Spencer about concerns from fans, as many have been less-than-optimistic about Xbox’s pivot to focusing on Game Pass, rather than securing console exclusives. In response, Spencer admits that Xbox’s identity will “evolve”, but argues that it “always has”.
Starfield coming to PS5 would certainly be a huge milestone in Xbox’s new strategy. Before the game’s launch in 2023, it was one of the most widely anticipated games to be kept off PS5 and Switch, and was also dropped on Game Pass from day one. However, it seems that this wasn’t enough to beat PlayStation at its own game, as Xbox is now instead focussing on selling Game Pass subscriptions, and making its games available elsewhere.
