Gears Of War: E-Day Skipping PS5 Means Reaching Fewer Players, And Microsoft Is OK With That

Gears of War: E-Day was reportedly planned for PlayStation 5, but Microsoft has opted to skip a Sony version. The decision was apparently not made at the last minute as some suspected. In any event, the developers at The Coalition are OK with the game skipping PS5, even if it means reaching fewer players, and presumably making less money, overall. The Coalition studio creative director Matt Searcy told Eurogamer, that, We never talked about bringing E-Day to PS5 in the first place. That is true--the game was never even confirmed for PS5, but people suspected it would come to Sony's flagship console considering 2025's Gears of War Reloaded did and because Microsoft has been more receptive to launching its games on rival platforms in recent times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh5Swf5p4jo However, after Asha Sharma was named Xbox CEO, things seemingly changed, as Sharma began to shift back to exclusives to help revive an Xbox brand that Microsoft said was languishing under the leadership of Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond. Searcy went on to say that E-Day as an Xbox-exclusive game makes a ton of sense, going on to say it's an honor, and exciting to be an exclusive next to Clockwork Revolution. The developer added that it would be awesome if more people got to play E-Day, but for Xbox and PC, you've got what is out there. Art director Aryan Hanbeck, meanwhile, said, We're not too concerned about the size of the audience. We've shipped to audiences smaller before, and there are great shooters on Xbox already. Focus on the future In an interview with Game Informer, Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty addressed the exclusivity issue as well. He was asked if Microsoft is doing a disservice to fans by bringing Reloaded to PS5, getting those fans excited about Gears of War, and then making E-Day exclusive to Xbox. Booty didn't respond directly but suggested that things changed when Sharma took over as Xbox CEO. We've had an opportunity with Asha coming in to really take a look at our strategy and, I'd say, put the focus on the future. I think that it's that focus out of which that decision came, he said. Microsoft's policy around exclusives going forward is that big, multiplayer live-service games will continue to be released on a multiplatform basis (except E-Day, which does also have multiplayer), while games that were already announced--publicly or otherwise--for platforms beyond Xbox will still come to those systems. With respect to new games, however, Booty said Microsoft is going to be really thoughtful about what we do for future exclusives. I think, in general, you can look for us that when we put a date on something, we're going to put a platform on it. So that's going to be the approach. I think the thing that ties those two things together that you talked about is really a drive for that clarity, he said. We want there to be a reason to believe and a reason to buy Xbox, and for there to be a reward for our loyal fans. For her part, Sharma recently told Fortune, It's hard to find examples of platforms out there that don't have exclusive services and content. She added: This is a journey for us. Our business isn't particularly healthy. We're starting by introducing 1-2 signature exclusives, and as the business is healthy, we'll look to try and do more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0hMSekk4XE E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are not timed-exclusives for Xbox, Microsoft has said, suggesting they may never come to PS5. That being said, Microsoft said Starfield was not a timed exclusive for Xbox, and then it came to PS5. As for E-Day, the new Gears of War game releases in October, and a multiplayer beta is coming ahead of launch. After playing the game at Summer Game Fest, we found it to be bigger, bolder, and more ambitious than we expected.