"Doing it too early": Digital Foundry criticizes Xbox console exclusives returning and fears studios paying the price

Xbox moved away from console exclusivity for its games during the latter half of ex-CEO Phil Spencer’s tenure. The move was seen by many as Xbox transitioning from being a console and a platform to a game publisher. This made sense as Xbox is currently one of the largest game publishers, owning giants like Bethesda and Activision/Blizzard. So, when the new CEO, Asha Sharma, announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 that Gears of War: E Day and Clockwork Revolution are Xbox console exclusives, it ignited a debate online.

While the hardcore Xbox fanbase celebrated the move as Xbox returning and catering to its core audience, the reaction from the media was mixed. Digital Foundry falls in the latter category as the outlet has discussed how the Xbox’s sudden shift back to console exclusivity for some of its titles appears confusing.

DF’s Oliver Mackenzi thinks that Xbox’s latest experiment with console exclusivity will be short-lived. Per Oliver, for a game like Gears of War: E-Day with an enormous budget, being an Xbox console exclusive might not be financially viable, as Xbox has a small install base compared to the Sony PS5 and the Nintendo Switch 2. Moreover, since many Xbox players will play Gears of War: E-Day on Game Pass, it further adds to the financial hit that The Coalition, the studio behind Gears, might face.

John Linneman appears to share this concern, as he explains being worried about the studios that will be impacted by the decision. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma recently shared an internal memo with Xbox employees, which detailed the precarious financial situation that Xbox is in.

So, if Gears of War: E-Day fails to be as big a hit as it could’ve been if it were also releasing on the PS5, things could get ugly for the people working at Xbox Games Studios. We’ve already seen Microsoft close studios and fire thousands of people. So, the threat of more mass layoffs is very real here.

Interestingly, John Linneman thinks that Xbox should’ve saved this return to console exclusivity for the next-gen Xbox Helix. He suggests that, since Xbox fans were never going to leave the platform anyway, reinstated console exclusivity won’t “move the needle”. In other words, John thinks that it is unlikely that Xbox will manage to sway or onboard more people to the platform with a 6-year-old console that now costs much more than it first launched.

On one hand, DF’s concern regarding console exclusivity makes sense. Xbox has a relatively small number of players, and many, if not a majority, of these players have Game Pass. So, AAA games exclusive to Xbox are limited in their financial capacity. This puts extra strain on the studios that will eventually either have to sacrifice quality to get budgets down or downsize to become cheaper to run.

That said, we can’t deny that people do buy consoles to play games that they want. There is a reason why almost every new generation of consoles launches alongside exclusive games that are meant to attract people to the console. While Microsoft’s primary rationale for bringing back console exclusivity might be to strengthen Xbox's brand identity, we can’t dismiss the pulling power of a great game.

For instance, Halo Campaign Evolved is launching on July 28 on the Xbox Series consoles, the Sony PS5, and PC. This will expose millions of PlayStation gamers who’ve never played Halo before, because it was an Xbox exclusive, to one of the most defining Xbox games. This could result in many players getting interested in the franchise and buying an Xbox to play other Halo titles.

In the end, only time will tell how well Xbox’s latest pivot pans out. The new Xbox CEO looks to be taking the job seriously, and there appear to be many new developments regarding Xbox on the horizon.

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