It’s the inevitable end to the floodgates that Microsoft and Xbox opened when four of its previously platform-exclusive games broke that exclusivity and came to PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.
A new report from The Verge (paywall) claims that Microsoft is at the very least considering or in the “early stages” of bringing Halo: Combat Evolved to PS5.
Yes, Xbox’s biggest exclusive franchise could cease to be entirely exclusive, with one of, if not the most, iconic games in its franchise crossing over the line to team blue.
The first game in the Halo franchise launched alongside the original Xbox console. It’s long been the series that the world identifies Xbox with. For it to come to a PlayStation device really cements how dedicated Microsoft and Xbox is to its new strategy and desperation to try and bring in more money where it can.
If Halo is on the table as an IP Microsoft is willing to release elsewhere, then everything is on the table. If this does indeed come to pass, then there’s no reason to believe anything that Xbox claims is exclusive will be that way forever.
However it should be noted that the “if” here for “if it does happen” is a pretty big one. Even this report only alludes to early-stages planning, which can be nipped in the butt at any point.
It’s even possible than an overwhelming negative reaction to this report is the thing that stops Xbox from actually doing it.
In any case, whether or not this happens, it sounds like we won’t hear any official word on the matter for some time. Unless of course Microsoft wants to make this article look dated almost immediately and shadow drop it the news at its coming showcase on Sunday.
Source – [The Verge]