In a move that would have shocked the gaming world just a few years ago, Microsoft has announced that the upcoming Halo remake, Halo: Campaign Evolved, will be available on its rival console, the PS5, and Halo will be on PlayStation moving forward. An Xbox exec explained that the decision is the result of a changing media landscape, where TikTok provides stiffer competition for the Xbox platform than other consoles do.
President of Xbox game content and studios Matt Booty told The New York Times about the company’s changing priorities in an interview. “We are all seeking to meet people where they are,” he said of the decision to put Halo on its competitor platform. “Our biggest competition isn’t another console. We are competing more and more with everything from TikTok to movies.”
Booty explained that Microsoft hopes to bring more players into the Xbox ecosystem by bringing its flagship franchises to a new audience, adding that consumers no longer feel strong attachments to the devices they use to play their games.
Microsoft isn’t the first company to consider competition from outside its own sector of the entertainment industry–back in 2019, Netflix made headlines when it told investors that it competes more with Fortnite than HBO when it comes to screentime. Netflix added at the time that it had thousands of competitors when it came to entertainment options, and now Xbox is taking a similar perspective on competition. That may partially explain it testing a free, ad-based version of Xbox Cloud Gaming.
The competition between Xbox and PlayStation has long been a regular games industry talking point, albeit one where Microsoft often found itself on the back foot. With Microsoft’s recent focus on its Game Pass subscription service, as well as a number of high-profile studio acquisitions, it’s been theorized that the company is looking to move away from competing in the console hardware space. However, Microsoft has confirmed a next-gen Xbox is in development.
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