With Xbox now full force into transitioning into a third party publisher, the notion of a full exclusive game on Xbox hardware is over. Halo is now coming on PlayStation and Pandora's Box is now fully open and anything is possible. But when it comes to console exclusives, is the Series S/X worth it? With no lists visible anywhere, I am going to take a look at the full Series exclusives that cannot be found anywhere else other than PC. Let's take a look!
Release: 2023
The latest, and possibly final release in the Forza Motorsport series has
finally been put on hold with the final update hitting in December.
Microsoft is now all in on the more popular Horizon series, which saw great
sales on PS5. Unfortunately, the Motorsport series dropped off in popularity
which wasn't helped by this disappointing release. Marketed as a new Forza
Motorsport for the new generation, it's sterile presentation and slow
progression system soured people compared to the content packed 7th entry.
It's still worth playing, despite the lack of content, due to it's great
physics and visuals. The chance of a port is unlikely, but with Horizon's
popularity surging in popularity, it would have been a great opportunity to
bring some life back into Motorsport. However with Gran Turismo 7 still
receiving updates thanks to it's popularity, and the fact that most of the
Motorsport team have been laid off, it's looking increasingly unlikely we
will see this ported elsewhere.
Change of Port: 4
Release: 2021
Flight Simulator was a great success on Xbox, evening running fairly
comfortably on the Series S at the time. Even players who were not into
simulation games nor flying, could appreciate loading up and aircraft, have
a nice selection of assists turned on and visit a home town of theirs.
Despite having a sequel launching later on in the generation in 2024, the
release was plagued with performance issues due it's heavier reliance on
cloud streaming. Flight Simulator (2021) still receives regular updates due
to it's online storefront and has it's merits despite the sequel iterating
and expanding on the original vision. In some respects, this earlier exceeds
the sequel as it's more focused on offline rendering as apposed to a heavily
reliance on online servers. A chance of a port is fairly low as the sequel
is now in the hands of PlayStation gamers. Still, there's still a very slim
possibility possibly as a bundle to add extra value and the fact that this
title is not numerical mean it's not at first glance instantly outdated -
but don't hold your breath.
Change of Port: 2
Release: 2021
Halo is now going to be on PlayStation on the first time, so what are
the chances for Halo Infinite? This entry - hence the name - was going
to be a 10 year title which was going to be infinitely expanded on. In reality, things didn't really plan out. Updates were
painfully slow, and the reliance of custom made maps as apposed to
premium maps seen in the Bungie era really impacted player retention. If
multiplayer wasn't your thing, the single player was a good time and
stands on it's own as a fun experience despite never hitting the highs
of the Bungie era Halo's. PlayStation fans will be getting a fresh start
with a remake of Halo Combat Evolved and a new multiplayer project is
rumoured to be in development. As it stands, Infinite has now wound down
and won't be receiving any major updates. Putting all this into
consideration, there's a realistic chance it could, but I feel Microsoft
wants to start fresh with the Halo franchise now more eyes are on
it.
Change of Port: 5
Release: 2023
Redfall was once the punching bag of the internet for a little while.
Understandably so, horribly broken, and not living up to the reputation
you would expect from Arkane's reputation. Unpopular opinion - I thought
the game was alright. Sure, it wasn't a masterpiece or close to it, but
it did provide some good fun playing 4 player co-op. Would my experience
have been different solo? Sure, like they always say; any game is better
with friends. I wouldn't recommend anyone go out of their way to play
it, but if you have friends and come across it cheap, you could
definitely do worse. Redfall's launch reputation now heavily outweighs
any commentary around the game. The damage has been done, and I think
Microsoft would be best to let this one be left behind.
Change of Port: 2
Release: 2023
Starfield is another title which saw a problematic launch. It was
never going to live up to the monumental hype as it's reputation
reached levels unrealistic for even the best of developers. Removing
that aside, there's a fun game here with Bethesda still working on
updates to evolve it's solid foundation. No port has been announced
at the time or writing, but rumours of a port has been going on
since 2024. It seems inevitable that this will be hitting
PlayStation 5 in 2026. New DLC and updates should revitalise the
title for existing owners as well as new owners on PlayStation.
Microsoft would be stupid to to leave this trapped on Xbox when
advertising it as an exclusive barely moved the needle.
Change of Port: 9
Release: 2025
One of the smaller titles that is still holding on to console exclusivity. It's not clear if Microsoft had any involvement with it's release as it's rather unusual for a smaller indie title to withhold the opportunity to release to as many eyes as possible. There's still a chance, launching late in 2025, there maybe some exclusivity deal in place. Not a title I've played, but judging by the reception and reports of game breaking bugs, I don't think you're missing much.
Change of Port: 8
Release: 2023>
Finally the last one on the list is one you may have heard of as it initially launched in Early Access, it was released on GamePass arguably during it's peak popularity with everyone doing the stacking trick for £1. admittedly I have not played this for a while, but if memory serves, I didn't enjoy my time. Recent Steam reviews show more positive reviews thanks to Workshop support which the Xbox version sadly lacks. I think there's a chance this may come to PlayStation, but would do so without much of fuss.
Change of Port: 7
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