"There has to be a reason for people to buy an Xbox": Making sense of Microsoft's messy return to console exclusivity

Xbox announced a return to console exclusivity on June 7, a move intended to draw players back to the platform after a challenging generation. A lot has happened since then. By July 7, devastating layoffs fractured the foundation of the platform. Studios are fighting for survival, and some of the video games that would have defined Xbox in 2027 are now in the hands of new owners.

There's been a lot of noise and uncertainty. So much so that a significant shift in strategy for Xbox barely had time to breathe before attention was forced elsewhere. After making a bet on going multiplatform, Xbox is now pulling some of its tentpole titles back from the PS5 and Nintendo Switch.

Some, but not all.

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The long-awaited (and debated) return of Xbox console exclusivity isn't clean; it's messy. Rumors started circulating 48 hours before the strategy was revealed to the public, with developers across the Xbox portfolio openly trading rumors on the ground at Summer Game Fest in search of some clarity. It may appear, then, that this was a snap decision from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma – made in some vague effort to celebrate her first 100 days in office with a bold statement of intent.

I'm told that wasn't the case. "It's true that the news was a surprise to a lot of people in the company; that's because we wanted it to be a surprise to players," says Matthew Ball, chief strategy officer at Xbox.

​"This specific decision was made very early. Asha believes that to build a platform, you must have exclusive services and software – in this case, games. And so to return our platform to consistent growth, we need a reliable pipeline of exclusive games."

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The return of first-party exclusives

Of the 16 first-party video games developed out of Xbox Game Studios for the Xbox Series X, just three remain truly platform exclusive: Halo Infinite (2021), Forza Motorsport (2023), and Keeper (2025).

That list is about to grow.

Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are leading Xbox's return to console exclusivity, the former emerging on October 6, 2026, and the latter in 2027. Xbox gambled on going multiplatform two years ago, and it lost. "Our business is not healthy," says CEO Asha Sharma. "We must reset Xbox."

Sharma is leading "the most significant restructure in Xbox history." A devastating realignment of the content portfolio, costing 3,200 jobs and no fewer than four XGS teams. Dozens of senior developers across the portfolio tell me that morale is at an all-time low, exacerbated by an expectation that the Xbox ecosystem captures one billion daily active users with fewer resources than before.

I can confirm that Xbox has no plans to back away from a return to console exclusivity following the restructure. Xbox leadership believes that it can push towards its goals by reinvesting in its biggest franchises, and that console exclusives will play a big role in restoring faith in the brand. "There has to be a reason for people to buy an Xbox," says Matt Booty, Xbox's chief content officer.

Booty believes that exclusives can serve as "a reward" of sorts, both for the players who have supported 25 years of Xbox and for those still in search of an incentive to invest up to $800 in new Xbox hardware. "We want there to be something for those players. That principle is what drove the decision."

Chief strategy officer Matthew Ball tells me that E-Day and Clockwork "are not timed exclusives but permanent ones" and that Xbox has no plans to change course here. You should also expect more first-party games to embrace exclusivity in the future.

"I can assure you, Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are not the only titles we're planning," says Ball. "To grow a platform like ours, you have to have exclusive games and services. These are not going to be the only two titles."

It's unclear what the third exclusive will be, and whether it will come from Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, or Xbox Game Studios. Ball says that "large live-service titles" will be multiplatform moving forward, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all of Xbox's single-player games will be console exclusive either. Booty adds: "I wouldn't overly fixate on single-player. I think that's a good rule of thumb, but it certainly isn't something that's carved in stone."

How then does Xbox decide what will and won't be an exclusive? "We are the stewards of over 20 game franchises that have made a billion dollars in their lifetime," says Booty. "There are a lot of different games in our portfolio, and we have to think about how different games serve different purposes within it."

Ball adds: "We have a framework for these selections, including how we evaluate them. I recognize that this approach is not obvious to all of our players, and we are committed to making this clearer."

Why are Fable and Halo still coming to PS5?

Clockwork Revolution and Gears of War: E-Day may be console exclusives, but there's plenty of other games coming out of Xbox in the next five months that won't be. Grounded 2 (August 11), Minecraft Dungeons 2 (Sep 29), and Forza Horizon 6 (Nov/Dec 2026) are heading to PS5.

Campaign Evolved is on track to become the first Halo game to release on PlayStation in its 25-year history on July 28. There's no doubt that re-establishing Halo's console exclusivity would have been a powerful statement of intent, but the game's executive producer is adamant that a multiplatform approach is the right move for this remake.

"We're going to meet the players where they are," says Damon Conn. "Maybe you have a friend that you haven't connected with in a long time, maybe they moved to a Sony platform, and you stayed on Xbox. Now you're able to play together again. Halo has always been about shared experiences; this is something we're really excited about."

With Ninja Theory and Undead Labs sold to new ownership as part of the Xbox restructure, both Senua and State of Decay 3 will also remain multiplatform – although I'm told that it's no longer a guarantee that either will land in Game Pass. The fate of Marvel's Blade remains unknown, with Arkane Lyon in consultation over its future. Beyond these titles, Xbox has announced only three first-party games for 2027 and beyond: Clockwork Revolution, Fable, and The Elder Scrolls 6. ​

Playground Games' founder and general manager Ralph Fulton tells me that Fable will still land on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X on February 23, 2027. "We're still coming to all the platforms we said we were at the Developer Direct. We look at this as an opportunity to get this game – in a franchise that has been out of circulation for some 15 years – in front of as many fans who want to play it as possible."

Fable is undeniably one of the most impressive upcoming games out of Xbox, the sort of bold and ambitious project that could genuinely convince RPG fanatics to invest in a Series X. Given that the game isn't due to land for another seven months, why hasn't Xbox given Fable the same treatment it gave to Clockwork and E-Day?

Senior sources at Xbox say that it would simply be too difficult to reverse course with titles already announced for PS5. Partnerships are in place, marketing is in production, and the gears of the printing, shipping, and retail businesses are already in motion.

Ball says: "We have titles where we have made a commitment to our partners and to our players that they were going to be multiplatform. We will be respecting this commitment."

"While we're looking to be nimble, and it's fantastic to have the energy that's come with Asha's new leadership, we've also got projects that have been in the works for a long time," says Booty. "We have to hit the right balance between the work that the teams have invested and a strategy pivot."

Despite assurances from leadership, some developers within the ecosystem have expressed concerns to me that Xbox could still indeed reverse course on these commitments – pulling titles already in the public sphere (that are either in development internally or published with third-party studios) into exclusivity – which would impact everything from development budgets to relationships with partner studios.

I put this to Paul Yan. He's studio head at the newly independent Toys for Bob, who partnered with Xbox to build Spyro: A Realm Beyond. Yan remains convinced it will stand land on PS5 and Switch 2 this spring. "That's what we're working towards, absolutely. Our goal is to get this game into as many hands as possible. If there are strategic shifts, that's out of my hands – I can't speak to that. But we are absolutely planning on shipping this to the platforms we announced."

What about multiplayer games?

Xbox has invested heavily and successfully in live-service multiplayer over the last decade. Xbox Game Studios steered Grounded and Sea of Thieves through contested waters; Activision Blizzard has competitively maintained Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft; Bethesda has upheld frantic schedules for Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online. Xbox says that it has no plans to push players out of these communities, despite the wider shift back to console exclusivity.

"We are responsible for managing big franchises, including some big multiplayer, live-service games. They will continue to be multiplatform," says Booty. "These games have built massive communities, and they depend on having big audiences – we don't want to be in a position of taking something away; we want to be additive."

Ball tells me that "Call of Duty is an easy example" of this strategy shift in action. "There are a series of titles that are large live-service titles which we are going to keep multiplatform because it makes the experience much better for all players, including Xbox players."

Call of Duty may be an easy example, but it's also a slightly disingenuous one. The FPS will remain a multiplatform release because it has to be.

To alleviate regulatory concerns raised by the wider video game industry in 2023, during Xbox's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft signed legally binding contracts with Nintendo, PlayStation, and Steam to ensure that the franchise would continue to release outside of the Xbox ecosystem for 10 years. These agreements expire in 2033, but there's no telling what will happen then.

Perhaps a more apt example would have been Grounded 2. The live-service survival game entered early access for PC and Xbox Series X last July – and Obsidian never publicly committed to a PS5 launch. Xbox Game Studios could have, theoretically, kept Grounded 2 as a platform exclusive. Instead, it recently announced that Grounded 2 will become non-exclusive on August 11. "Launching on PlayStation 5 effectively makes this our second launch," says game director Chris Parker. "It's huge for us."

"As a game developer, what I want is for the most amount of players to love my game on their platform, whatever that might be. I'm going to put a lot of work into this thing. I'm going to put my heart into it – so I want you to love and enjoy it too," Parker continues. "There are other people above my pay grade who might have other opinions about what needs to happen with all that. It's not up to me. I'm just going to give our game to as many people as I can."

Do exclusives really matter?

As Xbox celebrates its 25th anniversary, it's arguably never been in a weaker position. CEO Asha Sharma says that "we are operating at margins that are 3–10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses," and explains that Xbox "entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multiplatform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected."

The multiplatform experiment is just one piece of the puzzle. Another is hardware. Xbox is committed to releasing Project Helix a next-gen system that will play games from your PC and Xbox digital libraries. It's expected that first-party titles will land with a version specifically optimized for the powerful system.

It may be too late to reverse the fortunes of the Series X now, but ensuring the console's final years (and the first of Project Helix) are supported with platform exclusives is a priority for the new Xbox leadership.

"To return our platform to consistent growth, we need a reliable pipeline of exclusive games," says Matthew Ball. "Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are just the first."

But can exclusives really turn the dial when Xbox seems to be fighting fires on many different fronts? "There is scant evidence of any platform ever being built, let alone sustained, without having exclusive content," Ball continues. "It doesn't matter whether we're talking about cable networks, streaming video channels, broadcast, terrestrial radio, a Hollywood studio, a music label – you need it."

Ball believes that exclusives will play an important role in strengthening the platform's foundations, particularly in an era when rising component costs have led to successive price increases for the Series S and Series X.

​"We should narrow in on the literal role of these titles. We are asking players to make an investment in our consoles. These investments are real; they involve trade-offs in life. Given this, we need to give players a clear reason to pick us. And even after they chose us, we still have an obligation to earn that purchase," says Ball.

Gears of War: E-Day creative director Matt Searcy tells me that The Coalition is 'stoked' to lead the line. "We couldn't be more excited to be an Xbox exclusive. Gears and Xbox have been tied so tightly together for 20 years now, so it's an honor and a privilege to be seen as a flagship title in this way."

Staff at inXile Entertainment that I have spoken with are divided. While there's certainly excitement about Clockwork Revolution being a console exclusive – recognition that the studio's new IP can stand as an ambitious system seller – there is some trepidation after Xbox's devastating layoffs. "I hope this doesn't put a target on our back," said one senior employee, granted anonymity to speak candidly.

A studio lead from elsewhere in the portfolio had this to say: "We know that console exclusives aren't a silver bullet; nobody is saying that. But what we were doing before wasn't working, so clearly something had to change. If this is a way for us to rebuild trust with the Xbox community, and give players a reason to return home, then it has to be worth a shot."

Final Verdict: Xbox and Exclusivity

After speaking with dozens of senior leaders across Xbox, opinion is divided on whether a return to console exclusivity is the right move for the platform. Some believe that Asha Sharma's general approach – described to me as being aggressive, fearless, a little chaotic – is the only way Xbox can grow.

"Asha and Matt have been very transparent about the challenges. Decisions made in recent weeks have real cost, but we're making choices that we believe are best for players and best to grow the platform," says one senior source at Xbox, granted anonymity to speak.

Others believe that the prior administration's multiplatform strategy was the only real path out of the mess the company is in, and that returning to console exclusivity is a performative action that serves social media more than the needs of the business.

"The number of players we can reach across PlayStation and Nintendo is absurd, so is now really the time to pull games away from those platforms?" says another source, granted anonymity. "I hope it works, but I'm unconvinced."

In a company as large and diverse as Xbox, total alignment is near-impossible. Perhaps there's a little truth to each perspective. Matthew Ball sees the challenge clearly as Xbox considers its next steps:

"There have been a lot of companies that have tried to come into the console or video game platforming business, lacking franchises such as ours and the player connections we have today, and instead just believing technology is going to get you across the line. It doesn't."

So it's all change at Xbox. A somewhat messy return to console exclusivity is just one piece of the puzzle. The commitment to shipping Helix remains, I'm told, despite spiraling costs of components. The once enviable network of studios developing video games for the ecosystem has been severely disrupted, and at a time where Xbox needs new titles now more than ever.

There's no telling if this new strategy will work, or even what the shape of Xbox will be a year from today. It's clear that for this shift to have any real purchase with players currently outside of the Xbox ecosystem, the platform needs to make faster and firmer commitments around what will and won't be coming to PS5. But for now all we can do is look towards October 6, when Gears of War: E-Day kickstarts yet another new era for Xbox.