If you still believe in the archaic concept of the “console wars”, then Xbox is in last place for a very long time. After storming out of the gate with the Xbox One in 2013, it hasn't been able to catch up with the PlayStation since. Nintendo is mostly on the sidelines doing their own thing, but when the Switch is the thing, Xbox is third in a two horse race.
While it boasts a fantastic selection of games, a killer service like Game Pass, and several acquisitions of reputable studios, none of this has moved the needle. Something had to change, and new CEO Asha Sharma and second-in-command Matt Booty are doing everything they can to rebrand Xbox into the video game titan it once seemed capable of being. It all starts with proving that he has experience that you won't find anywhere else.
During its Summer Showcase last weekend, Xbox confirmed that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will be exclusive to Xbox consoles and PC. If a PS5 version was in the works, no more. This could help build much-needed momentum, but it's unclear to what extent.
Is Gears of War: E-Day coming to PS5?
Gears of War: E-Day launches exclusively on Xbox and PC on October 6th. But before last week, many people assumed that it would also be released on PS5. And I bet a lot of developers at The Coalition were making the game under the same assumption. Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb confirmed during Summer Game Fest that this was more or less the case, stating that “there's basically a finished PlayStation version of Gears sitting on a disc” somewhere that will never see the light of day.
Xbox is moving at such a fast pace right now that seismic changes like this have been made in an effort to put the brand on a positive trajectory. It's clear that Sarah Bond's “This Is An Xbox” campaign (who spent millions of dollars telling us we no longer need an Xbox to play Xbox games) alienated the core audience while making the idea of traditional exclusives a thing of the past. I understand where this campaign was coming from, especially in a landscape where Xbox hardware just wasn't selling and Game Pass made it difficult for projects to gain traction, but it felt like Xbox was accepting defeat.
This decision makes the recent PS5 release of Gears of War Reloaded a little embarrassing. Although it was not very well received, it was like an appetizer before the arrival of E-Day.
The numbers stalled and the strategy was all about building a service-based digital ecosystem that was no longer constrained by traditional consoles, all while PlayStation was wiping the floor with the competition by doing the exact opposite. It didn't even release an excessive amount of first-party games in this generation, but they were still selling consoles at cost even before the strategy shifted to abandoned future PC ports. Gamers are fickle and territorial creatures and swear their allegiance to the hardware brands and titles available on their machines, even if it's the saddest thing in the world.
The world of video games is changing drastically, but having a core audience that you can rely on and not betray over and over again is incredibly valuable – even if you go down a lot of other paths. Xbox has left that behind, and the Gears of War: E-Day exclusivity is the first step in building that reputation from scratch. Games like Fable, Halo and a few others are still slated for the PS5 because they probably need a bigger audience to succeed and they made too many promises to their audience to back down.
Xbox could change its mind about exclusives again
Sharma's commitment to cementing the Xbox brand has been everywhere in the past week, most notably the limited edition Xbox Series X console announced with a design inspired by the original hardware. Fan Fest even had four separate rooms that reflected the four eras of Xbox, while making it clear that the brand has a rich history and will be around for a long, long time.
There is no guarantee that this promise will be fulfilled, and I have no doubt that Microsoft will change course if sales do not pick up or public sentiment remains positive. Part of the reason the major titles were ported to the PS5 and Switch 2 in the first place was to make extra profits as the original launch failed and long-held fears that Game Pass wouldn't be enough to support development budgets would come true.
So, if you're a PS5 owner and now you're heartbroken that you won't be able to play Gears of War: E-Day and you don't have the money for another expensive console, all I can say is patience. All the decisions Microsoft is making right now are business moves designed to maximize value and set Xbox up to have the best possible chance of success.
Taking back a core exclusive like Gears and holding it as a signature brand is a bold risk, but one that may not work out in the end. If not, even if it takes a few years, I wouldn't be surprised if E-Day lands on PlayStation platforms by 2030.
Just a few years ago, Phil Spencer told us that such ports would be made on a case-by-case basis, only to abandon that strategy entirely, and then last week it all changed again. If history repeats itself, you can bet that Sharma will return to the idea of triple-A ports of the Xbox giants before you know it.
