After weeks of rumors, Xbox executives Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty appeared on the official Xbox podcast to clear the air around the idea of publishing a few previously released Xbox first party games on other console hardware. While the games weren’t named at the time, Spencer stated that they would be porting four games (for now at least), two more niche single player games and two multiplayer/co-op games that would benefit from continuing to expand their audience. We now (officially) know what those games are and when and where they’re headed.
Pentiment – An award-winning narrative adventure game from Obsidian entertainment launched on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on February 22.
Hi-Fi Rush – An award-winning rhythm-based action game from Tango Gameworks is coming to PlayStation 5 on March 19.
Grounded – A co-op survival adventure game that sees players play as shrunken children working their way across a dangerous backyard is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on April 16. Additionally, crossplay will be supported across all platforms.
Sea of Thieves – A shared world pirate game from Rare will see more pirates sail their way out to the sea when it hits the shore of PlayStation 5 on April 30th. Sea of Thieves also just recently celebrated the milestone of having more than 35 million players set sail across Xbox and PC.
This is not Xbox’s first foray into publishing first party games on other console hardware, nor will it be their last, but it’ll be interesting to see how their criteria may adapt with their strategy over time. With that being said, more gamers will now have access to four awesome games and the ability to play two of them with friends on other platforms.
Image from: Xbox
