Halo coming to PlayStation is one of those events that, five years ago, would have been the tell that “something is not right here” in a show about time travel or alternate universes. Looking at the state of Xbox with its layoffs, game cancellations, price hikes, studio closures, and a soft release schedule light on attention-grabbing titles, it certainly seems like all is not well. But the company’s focus on tearing down the walls of its garden by multi-platforming its biggest exclusives combined with a push to make Xbox games playable on just about anything, denotes a strategy that may be what keeps the green guys in the game for a while longer.
In May, Sony reported that Indiana Jones, The Elder Scrolls V: Oblivion Remastered, and Forza Horizon 5 were among the top downloaded games on the PS5. And while they’re not exclusives, other Xbox published games including Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Minecraft were also on the list. “The biggest games in the world are available everywhere,” said Xbox president Sarah Bond in an interview with Mashable. “The idea of locking [games] to one store or one device is antiquated for most people.” Xbox games have enjoyed more success simply by being available to more people. That openness is supported by the “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign, which aims to bring Xbox content beyond the console itself.
Image: Microsoft
Xbox console sales have always lagged behind PlayStation and Nintendo and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions are slowing down. The Trump administration’s tariff policy has forced all three console makers to raise their prices in contravention of the tradition of consoles getting cheaper as they age. Consumers are increasingly faced with the choice of necessity over luxury.
Xbox’s Play Anywhere and Cloud streaming attempt to get around that choice by taking advantage of devices consumers already have. “We are all seeking to meet people where they are,” said Matt Booty, president of Xbox game content and studios, in an interview with the New York Times. And for the diehard fans who are still interested in having dedicated hardware, Xbox plans to have something for them too. “The next-gen console is going to be a very premium, very high-end curated experience,” said Bond in her Mashable interview. Xbox has already debuted its pricey new ROG Ally and Ally X handhelds, and Bond’s comments suggest that the next console will be pricey and powerful.
“We are all seeking to meet people where they are.”
Image: Halo Studios
Halo coming to PlayStation isn’t the death of Xbox, but instead the clearest indication yet of the company’s shift in priorities. The console wars have long been over and console makers have to contend with a new reality where their biggest competitors aren’t only each other but also other attention and time-consuming platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Fortnite, and Roblox. Xbox can’t do that if its best offerings are siloed on the smallest install base of the three big consoles. And while it feels weird to see Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 someplace other than a Microsoft device, these moves are necessary to ensure the future of Xbox, whatever that ends up looking like.