Microsoft's Xbox division might be leaving the videogame console business it was originally founded for according to multiple sources. As part of this, a number of in-development first-party titles will also make their way to both PlayStation 5 and the rumored Nintendo Switch 2.
The initial report comes from an insider going by the name SneakersSO on the videogame enthusiast forum NeoGAF going. According to them, not onlyis Xbox planning to go third-party, but it already has titles in the works for Sony and Nintendo's hardware.
Meanwhile, on his podcast, YouTuber NateTheHate suggested that he had word that an"acclaimed, game of the year-worthy" Xbox exclusive is set to become imminently available on a competing console platform. Nate's track record has generally leaned toward the accurate side, as such, his proclamations created a wave of speculation on the identity of the unnamed Xbox game.
That Microsoft's Xbox division may be leaving the video game console business may sound shocking to some. After all, the Redwood, WA-based company founded Xbox in the mid-to-late 1990s to specifically break into the console business.
That said, rumors that Xbox would be leaving the console business have become more common as of late, especially after Xbox Chief Financial Officer Tim Stuart mentioned that the division would be bringing more of its games to competing platforms during a Wells Fargo investors meeting.
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer later denied that Xbox, specifically its Game Pass service, would appear on other platforms.
However, a case could be made for the division leaving the console business. Sales of the current generation Xbox Series S and X consoles have lagged behind Sony's PlayStation 5, with the latter outselling the former 3-to-1. This would mark the second generation in a row that Sony's console has outsold Xbox's.
Xbox's deficit to Sony is so bad that the console has been stated to have effectively "collapsed" in some markets, even while PlayStation 5 sales continue to see record numbers.
At the same time, Microsoft and Xbox have become increasingly less reliant on hardware sales, instead focusing more on the Game Pass video game subscription service. (Read: Microsoft admits that Xbox Game Pass hurts game sales)
While Microsoft declines to show both Game Pass subscriber numbers and Xbox Series console sales, CEO Satya Nadella has confirmed that the service has been seeing "better-than-expected" subscriber growth.
With this in mind, Microsoft could possibly be looking at focusing on Game Pass, finally bringing it to other platforms, while dropping its console offerings.
Of course, all this is speculation at the moment, with no concrete evidence that Xbox is leaving the console business any time soon. That said, at least one Xbox exclusive looks to be making its way to other — Hi-Fi Rush has reportedly been rated by the Australian Classification Board for both Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
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