Xbox Game Pass games on PS5 and Switch? That’s what Microsoft wants

The days of platform-exclusive games might be numbered. Xbox CFO Tim Stuart recently told attendees at the 2023 Wells Fargo TMT Summit that he wants to see Xbox Game Pass games on “every screen” possible, including rival consoles like the PS5 and the Switch.

Here’s the full quote, via Gamespot:

"It's a bit of a change of strategy. Not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences [and] our subscription services to every screen that can play games," Stuart said. "That means smart TVs, that means mobile devices, that means what we would have thought of as competitors in the past like PlayStation and Nintendo."

At a glance it looks like good news, doesn’t it? No more arbitrary borders between console ecosystems. Free travel between virtual entertainment destinations. Mr Ryan, tear down this wall, and all that.

But Stuart’s comments come after the completion of a massive acquisition deal, two years in the making, that saw Call of Duty and Overwatch owners Activision-Blizzard come under Microsoft ownership.

There was opposition to the deal from several authorities including the FTC before it made it over the line, on the grounds it might create a monopoly for Microsoft.  And that casts a different light over Microsoft’s plans to bring Game Pass to rival consoles.

This isn’t an entirely new stance from Microsoft though. Phil Spencer said bringing Game Pass to other consoles was “a long term goal” as far back as 2019.

Of course, Microsoft’s plans for Sony and Nintendo consoles are independent of Sony and Nintendo’s plans. Back in 2014 Sony blocked EA’s Access subscription service from appearing on its platform on the grounds that it didn’t “represent good value” to the player. Whether the company’s position on subscription-based games libraries from outside providers has changed since then remains to be seen.