Last Updated on Jun 7, 2026 @ 21:08:25 PM.
It’s an open secret that XBOX is a shadow of its former self. Failure after failure has occurred, resulting in it losing a huge market share compared to what it once had, and continues to lose the battle against PlayStation year-on-year this generation (neither attempt to go against Nintendo).
That’s why, when Phil Spencer announced the crossover of ‘just four games’ that would cease being XBOX exclusives and land on PlayStation, it surprised very few people. The company was bleeding money, players and had little direction. The push to multi-platform and more of a third-party publisher stance made sense, both from a gaming point of view, and an industry point of view. And so the slow start of XBOX Games appearing on other platforms began. First it was those four, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded, and then more were announced. Starfield and Gears of War: Reloaded both landed too, with Halo: Campaign Evolved, Fable and Gears of War: E-Day announced to be following. All in the space of two years since that original February 2024 announcement.
Fast forward to June 2026, and XBOX is a slightly different beast. Phil Spencer, the progenitor of the multi-platform push? Gone. Replaced with a self-confessed non-gamer in Asha Sharma. His protege, Sarah Bond, seemingly ousted without warning as well. Now XBOX is pivoting as well. Minor name changes, from Xbox to XBOX, achievement upgrades, Project Helix reveals and more have followed, but the big question remained as to whether we’d see the re-emergence of true console exclusives for XBOX. Until now, it seemed we wouldn’t, with radio silence being the way forward on that subject, but after an explosive opening salvo in the XBOX Games Showcase, that’s all changed.
Yep, Gears of War: E-Day is now only releasing on the XBOX Series range of consoles, abandoning its release on PlayStation. With the game releasing October 6th this year, four months to the day, it’s a shocking and surprising move that certainly shows Asha isn’t afraid of making waves, both in the industry and within her own company, except, it just doesn’t make sense at this point, for several reasons.
Jeff Grubb originally leaked the announcement, so it wasn’t the biggest surprise, and he followed that with the fact the game was all but ready for the PS5 as well. So, assuming that is the truth, and it’s pretty much playable, as you’d expect four months out from release, you’ve wasted thousands of manhours and wages getting that ready for a console it now won’t play on.
Secondly, and a much bigger point, the message is muddy and unclear. Sure, bring back exclusives. They’re important to a platform’s ecosystem and more or less the only reason an individual buys a specific console, barring social circles. However, Gears of War: E-Day wasn’t the only one launching on PS5. What of Halo: Campaign Evolved? Fable? Senua, the third entry in the Hellblade series? Will these get the rug pulled from under them too, or are they still good to launch on XBOX’s rival platform? If the latter, why target Gears of War: E-Day specifically? Is it just a goodwill gesture to the core XBOX audience? What specific data or direction forced this decision?
Lastly, why was it such a late decision? That screams panic to me. I’m not a CEO, nor as business savvy as Asha Sharma, but to me, this changes nothing other than costing XBOX money. They’ve wasted the time and manhours on a version of the game that’ll never see the light of day, they’ve lost out on a player base that I expect would have rallied behind the game, and therefore future purchases, both sequels and microtransactions too, and instead ensured the game stays in an ecosystem where it’ll launch Day One on GamePass, which famously developers hate, and does restrict actual sales of games.
Surely, the smarter play is to have kept it launching on PS5, to a far higher playerbase, hook new players to the franchise, and then when they’re hooked, then make any future releases XBOX exclusive, forcing them to buy Project Helix? I expect that’s the plan with Fable and Halo sequels. I can’t imagine the developers are particularly happy, seeing their latest project becoming the sacrificial lamb, either.
It has to be said, the change doesn’t affect me playing the game. I’ll play it on XBOX or Steam anyway, but in a time where XBOX Series consoles (and PS5, to maintain fairness) are more expensive than ever, selling less than they did the previous month consistently, this just doesn’t make sense.
What do you think? Am I wrong? Right? Let me know in the comments.
For more from us, check out our review of Hollowbody.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
