Rumors started circling last month that Bethesda’s much-anticipated Starfield was Xbox exclusive. The same rumors appeared about the sequel to Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds. During the Xbox and Bethesda showcase today, both games were confirmed to be exclusive to Microsoft’s console and they will not be coming to PlayStation.
While this will be a disappointment to players, neither should be too much of a surprise. Microsoft acquired Bethesda and all of its studios in September for the large sum of $7.5 billion. While the majority of its long-term franchises are still coming to PlayStation platforms, Microsoft isn’t going to spend that amount of money and not produce any console exclusives. The good news is that existing PlayStation exclusivity deals will continue to be honored, with Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo continuing to launch first on PlayStation 5.
Microsoft also acquired Obsidian Entertainment in 2018 while The Outer Worlds was in development, although the game and its expansions were later released on PlayStation 4. At the time the IP was published by Private Division and its parent company Take-Two Interactive, but it was confirmed last month that Microsoft would be publishing all future installments in the franchise. The result is The Outer Worlds 2 was also confirmed to be exclusive to Xbox.
While the Xbox and Bethesda show produced plenty of Xbox exclusives, Sony chose not to take part in E3 2021 and the platform holder is yet to announce an event of their own despite rumors they may hold a larger event later this month or early in July. There was a smaller PlayStation State of Play event at the end of last month specifically to showcase Horizon Forbidden West gameplay, although the game is yet to get a release date. In the meantime, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launched just a few days ago to critical acclaim.
