Bethesda’s Starfield is Reportedly Coming to PS5, Indiana Jones Could Be Next

Microsoft may be about to completely change its approach regarding Xbox-exclusive games this year. While Hi-Fi Rush, a Bethesda game Microsoft shadow-dropped on Xbox and PC last year is reportedly coming soon to the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, XboxEra reported yesterday that Microsoft is now planning to release Starfield on PS5.

Starfield was the biggest Xbox-exclusive game of 2023, crossing 13 million players since launch, and it had the biggest launch in Bethesda’s history. Despite its day-one availability on Game Pass, the game also sold very well on Valve’s Steam platform. However, that may not be enough for Microsoft.

“According to sources, we understand that currently Microsoft are planning a launch for Starfield on PlayStation 5 post the release of the already announced “Shattered Space” expansion for Xbox and PC, which is on target to arrive at some point later this year,” XboxEra reported yesterday. “We’ve also been informed that Microsoft have made additional investment into PlayStation 5 dev kits to support ongoing development efforts – adding further fuel to the fire.”

The news of Starfield possibly coming to PS5 has left most Xbox fans scratching their heads, and for good reason. When Microsoft announced the acquisition of Bethesda/Zenimax back in 2021, Xbox head Phil Spencer said that this was about “delivering great exclusive games” on “platforms where Game Pass exists.” We also learned during the FTC. v. Microsoft hearing last year that one of the reasons Microsoft acquired Bethesda was to prevent Sony from making Starfield a timed exclusive game on PS5.

Well, Microsoft’s new strategy regarding some of its exclusive games may be a timed console exclusivity period on Xbox. Those games would still ship on day one on Game Pass for consoles and PC, and players and other consoles would need to wait a year or more to get finally access to them. This is also something has started doing with its PlayStation-exclusive games, which are now coming to PC a year or more after their PlayStation release.

According to XboxEra’s sources, “Microsoft senior leadership have reportedly debated the various pros and cons of releasing more of their exclusive software elsewhere, and internally, not everyone is necessarily happy with the decision, but recouping the potential money “left on the table” by not releasing elsewhere has arguably won out.”

In a separate report, Tom Warren from The Verge explained that Microsoft is also considering a PS5 release for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, another Bethesda game that was the highlight of Xbox’s Developer_Direct event last month. And the upcoming game may come to PS5 even faster than Starfield could.

“While Bethesda will launch its Indiana Jones game first as an Xbox console exclusive, it’s currently set to have a rather short period of exclusivity we’re told. A release for PS5 is being considered for some months later, with Bethesda tentatively targeting a December 2024 launch for the Xbox and PC versions,” the report reads.

While nothing is official yet, Microsoft will likely have to detail this new strategy very soon as the online discourse on social media is already going out of control. If Microsoft starts to ship Xbox-exclusive games on other consoles, the company risks alienating Xbox fans and making Xbox consoles even less attractive than they are today. Ultimately, that could lead to less support from third-party developers. This is something we’ve already seen with Baldur’s Gate 3 shipping late on Xbox Series X|S, or games like Final Fantasy VII: Remake skipping Xbox entirely.