Starfield is highly anticipated by many gamers and will be released for PC and Xbox. Xbox chief Phil Spencer has now stated that Starfield almost became an exclusive title for the PS5.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer explained in an interview that the RPG Starfield could have been PlayStation-exclusive. Microsoft bought Zenimax, which includes Bethesda, specifically to prevent an exclusive deal. Sony was reportedly already negotiating such a deal.
This is exactly the kind of deal they wanted to prevent so that Xbox would also have a chance for Starfield. In Bethesda’s explanation of why Starfield is not coming to the PS5, it was argued that it was too complicated to develop a game for three platforms. There was no mention of possible exclusivity here.
Xbox wanted to prevent Sony from negotiating a deal with Bethesda
What did Spencer say? When he spoke with the FTC about the acquisition of Activision Blizzard (via The Verge), Spencer revealed that Sony regularly negotiates deals with developers to release games exclusively for PlayStation.
To prevent this, Microsoft felt compelled to buy Bethesda. This was the only way to ensure that Starfield would not become a PlayStation-exclusive title. Spencer explained in the interview:
When we acquired ZeniMax, one of the reasons was that Sony made a deal for Deathloop and Ghostwire… to pay Bethesda not to release those games on Xbox. When we heard that Starfield might also skip Xbox, we couldn’t let ourselves fall further behind with our content as the third-place console, so we had to secure content to remain viable in this business.
Is Elder Scrolls VI also coming only for PC and Xbox?
What about other games from Bethesda? Spencer did not want to comment further on Elder Scrolls VI. He evasively stated that they are not yet sure what they will do with the next game in the series, as the release is still too far away:
I think we were a little unclear about which platforms it will be released on, as the game is so far in the future. It’s difficult for us to pin that down at the moment.
A desperate PS5 player is trying to avert the inevitable with an online petition, demanding that Bethesda’s upcoming RPG Starfield is released for the PS5. Exclusively for the PS5. However, whether this will really work is questionable:
Desperate petition demands: Starfield must give up PC and Xbox and be exclusive for the PS5
