Xbox representative explained why not all games are released on PlayStation 5 on release day
The head of Xbox Game Studios acknowledged the inconsistency of the approach and promised to act more transparently, but the final decision depends on many factors.
Head of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan commented on the situation with the release of Xbox games on other platforms, including PlayStation 5. In an interview with GamesRadar, he explained why some projects are released on PS5 simultaneously with Xbox and PC, while others reach the Sony console much later.
According to Duncan, a lot depends on at what stage of development the decision was made about a multiplatform release, as well as on the size of the team and available resources. If the strategy changes during production, adapting to additional platforms may be difficult or impractical. Therefore, the difference in release dates, as the manager emphasizes, is more often associated not with politics, but with production constraints.
«Sometimes we are really inconsistent. Somewhere games are released immediately on all platforms, somewhere - no. This is fair criticism, and we will work to act more consistently».
GamesRadar journalists also clarified whether this means that in the future all Xbox games will be released on PlayStation 5 simultaneously with Xbox and PC. Duncan answered in the negative to this question. According to him, for some projects, a simultaneous release simply does not make sense.
«If we cannot ensure a high-quality launch on another platform, then we should not do it right away. It's better to wait a little than to release a flawed port».
As an example, he cited Grounded 2, which was first released in early access on PC and Xbox, but has not yet appeared on other platforms. In general, Xbox plans to act more transparently and consistently, but, according to Duncan, there will still be no "universal rule".
Some projects will continue to be released first in the Xbox ecosystem, and then on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch 2. For example, Forza Horizon 6 is not yet ready for release on PS5 and will appear there later, while Fable, according to current plans, is being prepared for simultaneous launch on all platforms.
