@Jez Corden A year ago, you were saying the same thing about Starfield and Forza Horizon 5, and nothing! By throwing out game names randomly, maybe one out of ten false rumors will be true, but that doesn't mean I see Xbox releasing big franchises like Gears, Halo, etc., on PlayStation. If it's Gears 1 Ultimate Edition, it will introduce Gears to PlayStation players and create frustration because the other Gears games, especially Gears E-Day, will remain exclusive, so it's a good move. For Flight Simulator, it's a niche game, so why not. For Halo, I don't think so; it would only make sense if a new Halo were released exclusively at the same time, and even then, Halo is very much associated with the Xbox image, I'm not sure they would take the risk!
Unlike you, even if there are no red lines as you say, it doesn't mean there isn't a thought process (latitude: yes or not multiplat) that goes beyond the simple search for immediate and short-term profitability like you said. Here too, we can quote Phil Spencer, who states that all decisions are made with a long-term logic to support the Xbox ecosystem, its hardware, its games, and its development studios, so it's a bit more complicated than you think, my dear Jez.
They will inevitably stick to the current strategy, which is to maintain a balance between multiplatform and exclusive games, knowing that 99% of multiplatform games were already multiplatform and 99% of exclusive games remained exclusive. So, concretely, we haven't seen a change in strategy, apart from four small games, which is nothing compared to all the Xbox licenses. Your assumptions are only based on rumors. The problem is that it only takes one game to become multiplatform for people to make generalizations and wild assumptions.
You talk about everything being temporary exclusives, when? In how many generations? For how long? Again, these are statements coming out of nowhere except from your crystal ball. Even if that were the case, beyond 2-3 years, the effect is the same as a total exclusive, the majority of players attached to a license are not ready to wait 2-3 years to play a game, so it's the same in the end, the desired effect of frustration and attractiveness is the same at 99%.
Speaking of temporary exclusives, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 7 Remake join the long list of games formerly exclusive to PlayStation that are landing on Xbox: Kena, Sifu, Death Stranding (then Death Stranding 2), Persona 3 Reload, Forspoken, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, MLB The Show, Nioh, spyro, crash bandicoot (because acquisitions for the last 2), etc...
There are more former PlayStation exclusives landing on Xbox than the other way around. It's logical, Xbox has 3X more studios than PS, so more historically multiplatform games like COD, Doom, Outer Worlds but also more exclusive games for the same reasons. And at the same time, most of playstation exclusives are third party, so They can't have exclusivity contracts that long, especially since they are becoming increasingly expensive.
PlayStation already has fewer and fewer exclusives because third-party publishers don't want to make games for just one console (except for very small studios), my prediction is that Xbox already has more exclusives than PlayStation and that will continue. Just look at the 2025-2026 lineup with many exclusives like Fable, Avowed, Gears, Perfect Dark, State of Decay 3, Replaced, Contraband, South of Midnight, etc.... Even if some of these games land on PlayStation say 4 years later, where is the difference? It's the same, the production capacity of Xbox studios is such that they will always have a lead in exclusive games!
It will take some time for people to realize it, but it will happen, and it will completely contradict the assumptions of some who predict Xbox as a full third-party publisher. We'll see in a few months / years who is right, even if people like you slow down this realization because you distort reality, but it's okay.
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