Over the weekend, a bombshell set of rumors dropped, that indicated Microsoft is essentially planning to go third party, with games like Starfield, Hi-Fi Rush, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle potentially going to PlayStation and other platforms. That’s big news, but most of the games mentioned so far have been projects that were acquired by Microsoft after they began development, not traditional core Xbox franchises like Halo or Gears of War. Well, it seems like even those may be about to make the jump.
On the most recent episode of Game Mess Mornings, wanton leaker Jeff Grubb had this to say about the possibility of Gears making the jump…
“There does seem to be internal debate about what this should look like and what this should be, but the kinds of games that are being considered… when we first started talking about this a few weeks ago, it was, ‘Yeah, Hi-Fi Rush, that makes a lot of sense. Sea of Thieves, that’s six years old, that makes a ton of sense’ and I think we said Pentiment at the time, and Pentiment is also being considered. Okay, but, the other one that I’ve heard that’s definitely under consideration, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, but is in talks, is Gears of War. Gears of War is being considered for this and that’s, like, Halo then Gears of War in terms of icons of Xbox. You’re not holding anything back, you may as well just put Halo on PlayStation.”
Of course, take this with a grain of salt for now, but all this talk of Xbox going multiplatform basically started with Grubb, so his updates on the situation should be given some credence. Of course, as with the other rumors, it’s said that Microsoft is simply “considering” these things, so Starfield and Gears on PlayStation may not come to pass, but it sure seems like the momentum is heading in that direction.
Later in the show, Grubb also mentions that Microsoft originally planned to provide an update on their change of approach when it comes to exclusives at the end of February, but that could be pushed forward as leaks and speculation runs wild.
What do you think? Could Gears and other legacy Xbox franchises end up on other platforms? And if they do, what does that mean for the industry?
