One of the biggest surprises of E3 2019 was no doubt the announcement that Phantasy Star Online 2 would finally be releasing outside of Japan. Perhaps an even bigger surprise was the revelation that it would be debuting in North America exclusively on the Xbox One and PC. While it wasn’t clear at the time whether or not we would be seeing on Phantasy Star Online 2 on other platforms, it has since been confirmed that it will eventually make its way to other systems.
Phil Spencer himself confirmed the news during a sit-down interview with Giant Bomb’s Jeff Gerstmann. Talking about everything at Microsoft’s press conference, from Project Scarlett to Keanu Reeves, Gerstmann also touched upon Microsoft’s unexpected partnership with Sega.
After Spencer stated Sega was “ultimately responsible” for the deal, he said the partnership came out of a desire to “do something with Sega.” While the launch of Phantasy Star Online 2 is mainly a Microsoft affair, Spencer did confirm that “it’ll end up on all platforms.” While it’s said as more of an aside, it will probably do a lot to reassure fans.
We don’t have any sort of timeframe for on when it will expand to other platforms, but at least fans know that Phantasy Star Online 2 will likely come to their system of choice. Considering it’s already playable on the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in Japan (and the Vita, though we’re unlikely to get that out West), it won’t be too difficult to bring the popular online RPG to those systems.
As for whether players will be able to transfer their Japanese accounts to the North American version, Spencer wasn’t sure. “I honestly don’t know,” he said, which makes sense, as that’ll be Sega’s call in the end. He also had nothing to say on a release for territories outside of North America, which is also up to Sega. Sega had previously said it wanted to invest in more online titles in the West.
However, Spencer does believe Phantasy Star Online can become a “meaningful franchise.” He compares it to Monster Hunter, which saw a surge in popularity following the worldwide release of Monster Hunter: World.
Phantasy Star Online 2 will release in North America in early 2020 for the Xbox One and PC. It will release on other platforms in the future.
