Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer admitted that the surprise push of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to rivals PlayStation was a business decision.
During Gamescom’s Opening Night Live show, a Dec. 9 release date for Indiana Jones on Xbox was revealed, followed by the news that the title will also be coming to PlayStation platforms in 2025.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of Xbox’s biggest platform releases of the year, but the decision to make it a timed exclusive and not a fully-fledged platform exclusive certainly raised eyebrows.
Speaking at Gamescom during Xbox’s first of three presentations on Aug. 21, Spencer gave a frank assessment of the decision by saying that they “run a business,” though the main push is to allow more players to enjoy the title.
Xbox took the first steps in this approach in spring 2024 by releasing Hi Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves on PlayStation. This was a learning experience for the company, but it seems this was considered a success, opening the doors for more titles like Indiana Jones to make similar moves.
Spencer doesn’t believe this reduces Xbox’s strength, however. He declared that Xbox’s “franchises are getting stronger” and player numbers on console in 2024 are as high “as they’ve ever been.”
Though Xbox’s approach may look strange from the outside, Spencer also seems confident this is just one of the big strategy changes players will witness in the years ahead as the industry adjusts.
Spencer expects “more change in terms of traditional ways games are built and distributed,” which will affect the entire industry, but Xbox’s core focus will be “better games for people to play.”
These comments suggest Spencer is hopeful that Xbox’s approach could be reciprocated by Nintendo and PlayStation in the future, though it still seems some way off.
