While there are plenty of differences between the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5, one of the strategic differences between Microsoft and Sony has always been approach to backwards compatibility, and support for new games. You can be pretty much certain that Sony’s first party games for the PS 5 will likely only be available on the PS 5. However, Microsoft is taking a different route. The company wants to make its first party games available on a range of hardware instead of making them exclusive to the Series X.
The company confirmed as much when Phil Spencer wrote a new blogpost addressing this approach. “You won’t be forced into the next generation. We want every Xbox gamer to be able to play all the new games from Xbox Game Studios” writes Phil. He also added “That’s why the Xbox Game Studios titles we’re releasing in the next few years – like Halo Infinite – are – will be playable on both Xbox Series X and Xbox One. We’re not forcing you to upgrade to Xbox Series X to play Xbox exclusives at launch”
This is good news for people who own an Xbox One X, or who buy one (even though it is being discontinued now) before the Series X is launched.
The same intent was earlier mentioned by Xbox Game Studios head, Matt Booty, who said “With our content coming out in the next year or two, all of our games, it’s kind of like the PC, will be compatible up and down the devices in this series”. He added, “We want to make sure that if someone invests in an Xbox between now and the Xbox Series X, that they will feel like you’ve made a good investment, and we’re committed to their content.”
It’s noteworthy that even though Xbox Game Studios’ titles will not be Series X exclusive, other developers are working on games exclusively for the next-gen console. Titles like Scorn will only be available for the Xbox Series X.
