Report: Microsoft is 'considering' bringing its flagship Xbox IP to PlayStation for the first time, but will it?

What you need to know

• Xbox has recently started to bring some of its home-grown exclusives like Grounded and Sea of Thieves to competing console platform PlayStation.

• Microsoft has previously noted that only four of its games are coming across, but has generally declined to prevent speculation that they'll move to release more than those four.

• Speculation runs rampant about which games, if any, could eventually make the leap. However, a report today suggests that Microsoft is "considering" breaking the seal on Halo itself, which has long been regarded as Xbox's flagship IP.

• We've asked Microsoft to comment.

Microsoft has a big Xbox Games Showcase 2024 event coming up this Sunday, and rumors and speculation about what could be in the show are running rife. I corroborated a recent report that the next DOOM will be at the Xbox showcase, alongside the news that it will be also coming to PlayStation, despite now being owned by Xbox.

Indeed, a lot of the discourse about Xbox of late has revolved around Project Latitude, its codenamed strategy to bring some of their Xbox franchises to competing platforms. Microsoft's thought process is that in order for their games to grow into mega franchises like Fallout and Minecraft, they need to be everywhere. The question is, will it come to the detriment of the Xbox console platform. Many millions of players are digitally "locked in" to Xbox. If developers stop supporting the Xbox platform due to decreased usage, stemming from this lack of true "exclusives," it could lead to the eventual death of the platform. Because hey, if I can buy Xbox games on an affordable platform with PlayStation's exclusives, why wouldn't I, right? Well, Microsoft thinks it can compete with PlayStation on hardware and services, such as Xbox Game Pass, even in a universe where exclusive games is less emphasized. The viability of that strategy remains to be seen, and I am at least skeptical for my part, but today we might've caught a glimpse at the next step.

In a report from The Verge (paywalled), Tom Warren claims that Microsoft is "considering" bringing a freshly remastered version of Halo Combat Evolved to PlayStation. The report also suggests that the next Gears of War is, however, not being ported to PlayStation. It should be noted that Warren did not offer a hard confirmation that the plan is to bring these titles day and date to PlayStation, despite what I've seen some outlets running with. But what exactly does "considering" mean in this context? Let's take a look.

Hunt the truth: Will Halo come to PlayStation?

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I've asked Microsoft to comment on this report because Halo coming to PlayStation would be something of a watershed moment for the Xbox platform. Or would it? Halo is already available on PC, and PlayStation too has started to bring its games to Steam and the Epic Game Store on PC. The Steam Deck is a console-like experience that offers both games from Xbox and PlayStation, alongside mountains of PC games via Steam and Proton. The Steam Deck platform is only going to get more powerful and more popular, too, potentially making this whole multiplatform drama a flash in the pan.

The only thing I can confirm at my end is that right now, as Warren said, Gears "6" is not being built for PlayStation. However, I've been told that neither are a variety of the other games The Verge says are being considered right now. In my investigations, I can confirm that games like Age of Mythology Retold, Avowed, South of Midnight, Hellblade 2, and even Starfield (at least as of June 2024) are, right now, not in active development for PlayStation, despite being perhaps "considered" in meetings and discussions. Does that mean never? Maybe, maybe not? I'm not sure Microsoft has nailed down the answers themselves yet to some of these questions, and The Verge report certainly doesn't suggest they have, despite how some have framed it. It's hard to disprove what end up being true in a couple of years or more. It's true that eventually, you've reached every customer you can on your current platforms, and that you're potentially just leaving money to your competitors by not doing a port in today's age. I think Sea of Thieves very accurately fits this description.

The fact that the reports seem to stop short of confirming fully what games when or where will go to PlayStation suggests to me that Microsoft is still taking a "wait and see" approach, as the industry landscape continues to chart its way through a turbulent and unfamiliar post-Covid economic climate. Every entertainment industry is being upended by evolving user habits, from movies to live concerts and, of course, gaming, making businesses take an analytical reassessment to how they commit to their core businesses.

Many questioned whether Microsoft would commit to Xbox Game Pass with Call of Duty, and it has, despite widespread speculation that it wouldn't. Microsoft is widely expected to be working on an Xbox handheld alongside its confirmed next-gen Xbox, despite speculation they would quit hardware.

The only thing I personally expect for sure is that this year's Xbox Games Showcase 2024 will be rather excellent.