The latest rumor is that Starfield could be coming to the PlayStation 5 console once Microsoft has released its first post-launch DLC. The idea that Starfield could be coming to Sony’s current consoles could be seen as a bit odd given that Sarah Bond, President of Xbox, had previously said the blockbuster game would be an exclusive, something that Xbox CEO Phil Spencer has echoed. However, if anything, Sony has gone on to prove that exclusive is a relative term and Microsoft has been rumored for some time to be releasing more of its 1st party games on other platforms.
Rumors, dev kits, and more…
XboxEra spoke to an unnamed source, who asked to remain anonymous due to not having permission to make such an important announcement, and they said that leadership at Microsoft has been debating whether or not to bring Starfield to the PS5 for some time. Now it seems that following rumors about two other 1st party titles, Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush, Starfield‘s name has been thrown into the hat of games getting cross-platform releases, which according to The Verge could also include the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
XboxEra added that “Microsoft have made additional investment into PlayStation 5 dev kits to support ongoing development efforts – adding further fuel to the fire.”
The belief is that PlayStation 5 owners will get to play Starfield sometime after its “Shattered Space” expansion-DLC gets released sometime this year. While that launch date has not been announced XboxEra has gone on to say that Hi-Fi Rush is expected to arrive in Q1. Meanwhile, the conjecture regarding Microsoft’s cross-platform strategies stems from both XboxEra’s source, ongoing rumors, plus comments previously made by Xbox CFO Tim Stuart, who while at a Wells Fargo TMT Summit said (via The Verge) the following.
Per Tim Stuart (via The Verge):
“Not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences [and] our subscription services to every screen that can play games,” said Stuart. “That means smart TVs, that means mobile devices, that means what we would have thought of as competitors in the past like PlayStation and Nintendo.”
Xbox boss Phil Spencer did have to do some damage control following Stuart’s comments saying that Nintendo and Sony have a big say on what gets released on their consoles but did not counter Stuart’s comments either. Despite rumors, conjecture, leaks, etc., it seems clear that leadership at Microsoft is mulling over what titles to bring to other consoles and is in the process of doing so. It also is becoming clear that, much like character deaths in comic books, exclusivity is more of a relative state of being when it comes to some game releases.