Microsoft confirmed this week that its flagship title, the triple-A exclusive Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, will in fact be a timed exclusive on Xbox. The action-adventure title will first launch on Xbox Series S/X, Game Pass, and PC in December, followed by PlayStation 5 early next year, Bethesda announced at Gamescom on Tuesday. Following the confirmation, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer spoke about the company’s intentions and future direction when it comes to releasing first-party games on competing platforms.
In an interview with Xbox President Sarah Bond on the Xbox On YouTube channel, Spencer responded to a question about the release of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5 and stated that Xbox is focused on developing its games.
“In terms of the PlayStation announcement, of course, last spring, we released four games — two of them on Switch, four of them on PlayStation — and we said we’re going to learn,” Spencer said. “We said we’re going to observe, and I think at the show I could tell we’re going to do more of our learning,” he added, referring to Microsoft’s announcement earlier this year that it would release four of its exclusive games on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
While Spencer did not directly link the decision to bring Xbox games to a competing platform to business considerations, the Xbox boss said the gaming division has to run a business and answer to its parent company, Microsoft.
“When I look, I see our franchises getting stronger, and Xbox player numbers are as high as they’ve ever been this year. So I look at that and I say, ‘OK, player numbers are growing on the console platform, our franchises are as strong as they’ve ever been… and we’re in business,'” Spencer said.
“The same is certainly true for Microsoft—the bar is set high for us in terms of the quality of service we have to provide to the company because the level of support we get from them is just incredible in what we’re able to do.
“I’m looking at this: How can we amplify our games as much as possible, as our platform continues to grow across consoles, PC and the cloud, and I think this is just a strategy that’s going to work for us,” Spencer said.
The Xbox boss did not elaborate on the decision to bring a major first-party title like Indiana Jones to PS5, nor did he clarify whether more big, Xbox exclusives will be available on other platforms in the future. However, industry insiders believe that more of Microsoft’s first-party titles will likely be available on multiple platforms. Another Bethesda title, Doom: The Dark Ages, announced at the Xbox Games Showcase in June, is set to release on PS5 alongside Xbox Series S/X and PC.
However, Spencer admitted that the video games industry as a whole is under “pressure” and spoke of stagnant growth in the sector, indicating that “more changes are coming.”
“The last thing I’ll probably say is I think the industry is under a lot of pressure right now. It’s been growing for a long time, and now people are looking for ways to grow,” he said. “And I think that we, as fans and gamers, just have to anticipate that there’s going to be more changes in the way that some of the traditional games are made and distributed — that’s going to change for all of us.
“But the end result has to be better games that more people can play. If we’re not focusing on that, I think we’re focusing on the wrong things,” Spencer said.
He concluded by saying that the “most important” issue for the company remains the health of Xbox and its games.
Developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is set to release on PC, Xbox Series S/X, and Game Pass on December 9. The action-adventure title will launch on PS5 in spring 2025. After Bethesda confirmed on Tuesday that the game would be released on PlayStation, game director Jerk Gustafsson said, “We want everyone to be able to enjoy this adventure.”
