Confirmed: Forza Horizon 5 is the next title to make the leap from Xbox to PlayStation

[Windows Central]

Further to Microsoft's pledge to make Xbox more profitable, one of their biggest franchises is arriving on PlayStation soon.

Confirmed: Forza Horizon 5 is the next title to make the leap from Xbox to PlayStation : Read more

 

[Papictu]

Xbox Series is almost dead, in a year or two I imagine support for the system will cease and users will no longer have the confidence to use the Xbox Store. It's been a terrible generation for Xbox, they are seeding an impossible scenario for a next console to stand a chance.

I've been playing on Xbox for 20 years, I hope that before it disappears they get some agreement with Steam or Playstation to be able to export our profiles to these systems and continue there, it would be very sad to see how the profiles, hours of gameplay and achievements unlocked are lost.

 

[RagingTyga]

I disagree, these past few years have been the best it's been to be an xbox user. There's been nothing but absolutely BANGERS available on GP, and they keep coming and it's very hard to keep up. Indiana Jones, Call of Duty BO6,Flinlock, Palworld, Ninja Gaiden Black 2, and games I never made it to, like Octopath Traveler 1&2 etc...Then you got Doom, Avowed, it's nuts.

The only thing Microsoft is doing, is releasing these games on other platforms, which brings in revenue which helps cover the cost of putting them on Gamepass...which is genius in my opinion. Playstation and PC gamers are literally subsidizing the games that come out on Gamepass. The benefit is Microsoft doesn't have to worry about the Hardware sales, and they can focus on making the next gen hardware better when that comes, instead of just "good enough". Plus, it's helping them learn and gain ideas from what's happening in the market, especially now with Gaming handhelds

 

[fatpunkslim]

What is less clear is how the degraded status of "Xbox console exclusives," particularly among its most iconic games, will impact hardware sales going forward

Forza Horizon 5 was released in 2021, 4 years later on playstation. Do you think a player is willing to wait 4 years to play a game? Basically like SOT, another GAAS, After reaching its full potential.

What is the purpose of an exclusive game? To attract players to its ecosystem (gamepass or consoles or both, ....)! For it to work, this exclusivity period must be frustrating enough to push a player to go to your ecosystem. I think that from 1 to 2 years, it's sufficiently frustrating to push a player who wants to play this game to go to your ecosystem.

So, a long enough temporary exclusivity has the same positive effect (or almost) as a permanent exclusivity.

But does a permanent exclusivity exist? Who can today, on this industry situation, say that an exclusivity will be permanent? Even PlayStation can't, especially given the direction they are taking.

It's fine that Forza Horizon 5 comes out on PlayStation. The game has reached its potential and has done its job of attracting players to Xbox.

I think we won't have to wait long to hear about the release of Forza Horizon 6. And that would be very smart:

• The new revenues from Forza Horizon 5 will help amortize the development costs of Forza Horizon 6.
• It will help introduce the franchise to PlayStation players and make them want to play the sequel, knowing that FH6 won't be released on other platforms right away. It would create frustration and push players towards the Xbox ecosystem (Game Pass on PC and/or Xbox consoles).
  
  So it's a very good move ! (Moreover, all the buzz around an Xbox game going to PlayStation will only boost sales, it's really well played)

 

[fjtorres5591]

Forza Horizon 5 was released in 2021, 4 years later on playstation. Do you think a player is willing to wait 4 years to play a game? Basically like SOT, another GAAS, After reaching its full potential.

What is the purpose of an exclusive game? To attract players to its ecosystem (gamepass or consoles or both, ....)! For it to work, this exclusivity period must be frustrating enough to push a player to go to your ecosystem. I think that from 1 to 2 years, it's sufficiently frustrating to push a player who wants to play this game to go to your ecosystem.

So, a long enough temporary exclusivity has the same positive effect (or almost) as a permanent exclusivity.

But does a permanent exclusivity exist? Who can today, on this industry situation, say that an exclusivity will be permanent? Even PlayStation can't, especially given the direction they are taking.

It's fine that Forza Horizon 5 comes out on PlayStation. The game has reached its potential and has done its job of attracting players to Xbox.

I think we won't have to wait long to hear about the release of Forza Horizon 6. And that would be very smart:

• The new revenues from Forza Horizon 5 will help amortize the development costs of Forza Horizon 6.
• It will help introduce the franchise to PlayStation players and make them want to play the sequel, knowing that FH6 won't be released on other platforms right away. It would create frustration and push players towards the Xbox ecosystem (Game Pass on PC and/or Xbox consoles).
  
  So it's a very good move ! (Moreover, all the buzz around an Xbox game going to PlayStation will only boost sales, it's really well played)

You realize logic is wasted on the fen, right?

It's HORIZON not MOTORSPORT.
4 YEARS OLD and a live service time sink; yet another way to eat into Sony's customers' money bags to fund the NextBox which now has another reason to come in 2026.

No date set yet for PS5 INDIANA JONES, right?
My guess was June. Right after the big XBOX summer event, when XBOX gamers have moved on.

 

[CadErik]

This could revive the game and the multiplayer experience, esp since it is a 4+ year old game. This is one of my favorite racing games, from the intro, to the landscapes and some of the iconic locations - everybody wins having this one on PS5.

 

[Hsg]

Forza Horizon 5 was released in 2021, 4 years later on playstation. Do you think a player is willing to wait 4 years to play a game? Basically like SOT, another GAAS, After reaching its full potential.

What is the purpose of an exclusive game? To attract players to its ecosystem (gamepass or consoles or both, ....)! For it to work, this exclusivity period must be frustrating enough to push a player to go to your ecosystem. I think that from 1 to 2 years, it's sufficiently frustrating to push a player who wants to play this game to go to your ecosystem.

So, a long enough temporary exclusivity has the same positive effect (or almost) as a permanent exclusivity.

But does a permanent exclusivity exist? Who can today, on this industry situation, say that an exclusivity will be permanent? Even PlayStation can't, especially given the direction they are taking.

It's fine that Forza Horizon 5 comes out on PlayStation. The game has reached its potential and has done its job of attracting players to Xbox.

I think we won't have to wait long to hear about the release of Forza Horizon 6. And that would be very smart:

• The new revenues from Forza Horizon 5 will help amortize the development costs of Forza Horizon 6.
• It will help introduce the franchise to PlayStation players and make them want to play the sequel, knowing that FH6 won't be released on other platforms right away. It would create frustration and push players towards the Xbox ecosystem (Game Pass on PC and/or Xbox consoles).
  
  So it's a very good move ! (Moreover, all the buzz around an Xbox game going to PlayStation will only boost sales, it's really well played)

I have my doubts about Forza Horizon 6 being a timed exclusive. Games like The Outer Worlds 2 and Ninja Gaiden 4 are coming to PS day one. It seems that the newest Xbox games will also be like that.

 

[fatpunkslim]

I have my doubts about Forza Horizon 6 being a timed exclusive. Games like The Outer Worlds 2 and Ninja Gaiden 4 are coming to PS day one. It seems that the newest Xbox games will also be like that.

Doubts based on what? FH5 follows the same logic as Sea of Thieves, it's an old GAAS game that has reached its full potential.

The Outer Worlds has always been multiplatform, so it has no relevance, and Ninja Gaiden 4 is not an Xbox first-party game, so that's also off-topic.

@CadErik: exactly, Win Win

 

[fjtorres5591]

I have my doubts about Forza Horizon 6 being a timed exclusive. Games like The Outer Worlds 2 and Ninja Gaiden 4 are coming to PS day one. It seems that the newest Xbox games will also be like that.

Four years delay on HORIZON 5.
That makes it timed.

Consider that NINJA GAIDEN is second party, not an inhouse studio game.
Not comparable.

And OUTER WORLDS was multiplatform before MS bought OBSIDIAN. Spencer long ago said they were not looking to take games away from anybody. So yes, OUTER WORLDS 2 will go everywhere the first went, just like COD, DOOM, MINECRAFT, et al.

Is the distinction that hard to follow?

"Case by case."

Seriously, what does it matter to XBOX gsmers if a four year old *live service* shows up elsewhere? Live service games benefit from a broad reach. What's the loss? Bragging rights? "Nyah-nyah, we got Forza Horizon!" Why does it matter that EXPEDITION 33 is multiplatform if you get it day one on game pass and "they" have to pay $70? If you need to brag, brag about that.

Here's two hypotheticals: how old is the MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION? Or what about free to play, live service HALO INFINITY?

What do you buy XBOX consoles for? To play games or to thumb your nose at the rest of the kids? Live and let die. And take Spencer at his word: Some XBOX games will go to other boxes, some will stay exclusive.

And, FWIW, the FORZA that matters to XBOX is the FORZA MOTORSPORT series, the serious driving simulator, not the "lite" live service game. Fun, yes, but people don't spend hundreds of bucks in accessories for HORIZON.

 

[HeyCori]

The ever decreasing number of exclusives puts me in a very peculiar situation. My favorite games for the past several years have been either multi-plat or Xbox exclusive. I don't have a PS4 or 5 because I'm not big on Sony's exclusives. In fact, out of the three PS exclusives that I wanted to play, I played them on PC. Days Gone (mediocre), Horizon Zero Dawn (kind of dull), and Final Fantasy 7 Remake (meh). So I'm in no rush to get a PlayStation 5 for their exclusives. But it's definitely more tempting knowing that Microsoft will (likely) bring more of their titles, even newer titles, to PlayStation at a faster pace.

The logical thing to do is get a PC, PS5, and call it a day. Buuuuuut the PS5 doesn't have Game Pass. GP is pretty much how I play all my games nowadays. And even when I do buy a game, I can very easily wait until it's on a deep sale because I already got plenty on GP to pass the time. Technically, I can use my GP sub to play games on PC... I just don't want to. There was a time in my life when building and playing PC games was super neat. Now I spend 8+ hours solving computer hardware problems, and when I get home, I grab my Surface Pro and revel in its simplicity. I have a gaming laptop, and I will occasionally dip in if I have to. Otherwise, I prefer consoles.

So just stick with Xbox hardware, right? Well, Microsoft can hee and haw all they want about how they're not getting out of the hardware business, but we've seen this playbook before. They'll swear up and down that they won't do a thing before eventually doing that exact thing. I could see Microsoft staying in the hardware business just long enough to fulfill existing contractual obligations to manufacturers. Or only doing handhelds, or only Series S style consoles. Or giving up on competing on hardware entirely. Pretty much any damn thing can happen with Xbox hardware, but rest assured, something will happen in response to constantly declining sales. Because if MS gets out of the hardware business, then all their games will be PC and PS5. After all, Microsoft isn't Nintendo. Even when Nintendo was suffering horrific console sales, they never ported their games to a competitor's system. Not only has Microsoft started to, they're deep in it.

I'm pondering if I should stay the course and hope the other shoe doesn't drop? Learn to love PC gaming again? Buy a PS5? As the saying goes, time will tell.

 

[fjtorres5591]

The ever decreasing number of exclusives puts me in a very peculiar situation. My favorite games for the past several years have been either multi-plat or Xbox exclusive. I don't have a PS4 or 5 because I'm not big on Sony's exclusives. In fact, out of the three PS exclusives that I wanted to play, I played them on PC. Days Gone (mediocre), Horizon Zero Dawn (kind of dull), and Final Fantasy 7 Remake (meh). So I'm in no rush to get a PlayStation 5 for their exclusives. But it's definitely more tempting knowing that Microsoft will (likely) bring more of their titles, even newer titles, to PlayStation at a faster pace.

The logical thing to do is get a PC, PS5, and call it a day. Buuuuuut the PS5 doesn't have Game Pass. GP is pretty much how I play all my games nowadays. And even when I do buy a game, I can very easily wait until it's on a deep sale because I already got plenty on GP to pass the time. Technically, I can use my GP sub to play games on PC... I just don't want to. There was a time in my life when building and playing PC games was super neat. Now I spend 8+ hours solving computer hardware problems, and when I get home, I grab my Surface Pro and revel in its simplicity. I have a gaming laptop, and I will occasionally dip in if I have to. Otherwise, I prefer consoles.

So just stick with Xbox hardware, right? Well, Microsoft can hee and haw all they want about how they're not getting out of the hardware business, but we've seen this playbook before. They'll swear up and down that they won't do a thing before eventually doing that exact thing. I could see Microsoft staying in the hardware business just long enough to fulfill existing contractual obligations to manufacturers. Or only doing handhelds, or only Series S style consoles. Or giving up on competing on hardware entirely. Pretty much any damn thing can happen with Xbox hardware, but rest assured, something will happen in response to constantly declining sales. Because if MS gets out of the hardware business, then all their games will be PC and PS5. After all, Microsoft isn't Nintendo. Even when Nintendo was suffering horrific console sales, they never ported their games to a competitor's system. Not only has Microsoft started to, they're deep in it.

I'm pondering if I should stay the course and hope the other shoe doesn't drop? Learn to love PC gaming again? Buy a PS5? As the saying goes, time will tell.

Wait a bit.
Odds are high and getting higher that the next XBOX will be windows compatible.
(They already are but they don't offer the option. Yet.)

Remember that the XBOX is actually a locked down Windows box. Remember that Bond talked of *forward* compatibility. And that they have mentioned bringing in STEAM and the other Windows game stores. Plus there's the rumor that they will be licensing the XBOX OS to OEMs.

Add it all up and you end up with XBOX as the gaming equivalent of SURFACE.
An installable subsystem for high security PCs, like the Posix, Linux, and (deprecated) Android subsystems.

Want a cheap gaming PC? XBOX. Figure two new models (handheld and living room) and the Series boxes stay as the low end. (I'm betting on a clamshell flip up screen and detachable controllers for the handheld.)

Got the money for a higher end OEM XBOX?
Dell, HP, Lenovo, ACER, ASUS, will fight for your $800+ of money. Regardless, all will pay your library of games, all will offer Game Pass.

While everybody worries about multiplatform software, MS is actually switching to "multiplatform" *hardware*. All the flexibility of PC, all the simplicity of XBOX (if you want it). And how is Sony going to match new XBOX models every year from different OEMs? Coding their PC software not to run on anything with XBOX OS as an option? Giving up on PC? They need that money.

XBOX already changed the rules on software, next they'll change the rules on hardware. Because software is a profit center subsidized and console hardware is a cost center. And because MS always wanted Windows to be the dominant gaming hardware.

It's just tea leaf reading but the leaves have text on them.
They've told us what they're doing.
Listen to them!

 

[Lurking_Lurker_Lurks]

The extreme reaction that surrounds EVERYTHING Xbox does is rather interesting to me. Like Forza Horizon 5 is going multiplatform after FOUR YEARS of being out (the game has been out so long people were expecting a new reveal in the June Showcase (which I feel this probably definitely confirms isn't happening as they wouldn't port Forza Horizon 5 unless they played to keep supporting it for sometime)). It's not even a concern that 6 might be on PS day one (which is possible but unlikely if for no reason other than 5 needing a third party studio to help them port it). After the already four games going over and constant statements that they've done well for Xbox and more statements that there's no red lines and Xbox will continue to release on PS, it's the four year old Forza Horizon 5 that convinces people once and for all that Xbox is dead... again... for the third time this week (remind me to ask who Microsoft's on call Doctor is; Xbox be dying and reviving and dying again a lot).

After about the last time I thought to myself "Wow are the Series consoles doing that bad? Are no exclusives really destroying Xbox?" and unsurprisingly nah, not really. People are focused on year over year reports not understanding that's for shareholders because Microsoft has to report it and any unit sales would be laughably bad even if they sold Nintendo Switch numbers because to Microsoft shareholders the console market is a joke (and it kinda is; it reached a peak nearly two decades ago and the only modern console to reach that peak is the Nintendo switch and Nintendo makes the least gaming revenue (even before Xbox's Zenimax and ABK aquistions) of all three game consoles; there's something fundamentally wrong with the console market and it's inability to grow that gaming media and console warriors refuse to acknowledge and rather have become complicit in). Anyway, Xbox Series sales after 4 years are somewhere between 25 million and 30 million (with exact numbers unknown because Microsoft doesn't share). This is like the definition of mediocre for game consoles. They've already surpassed the GameCube (sold around 20M in 5 years before the Wii) and WiiU (sold a measly 13 million in 5 years before the Nintendo Switch). Historically game consoles have always really struggled with hardware sales. As stated the crown was decided in the mid 2000s with the PS2 at 150m. The Nintendo DS and now Switch also entered this realm and that's it. For more consoles hitting 50m in 5-8 years is an achievement and getting past 100m in that same time is a pipe dream (to date less than 10 consoles have achieved that). People compare Xbox and Sega and umm... no. Sony gave up on console hardware because they were selling like pitiful numbers. As in numbers barely getting past the double digits (as in WiiU numbers). I'd also say consoles realized a long time ago exclusives don't actually matter. I'm not sure why they've become so entrenched. Like exclusives didn't save Nintendo, making a fun and unique product that people actually wanted did. Having so, SO many exclusives on the WiiU and GameCube didn't skyrocket sales. Playstation has also seen that exclusives aren't pulling a significant amount of new consumers. Most PS5 hardware sales are PS4 upgrades (and now some are PS5 bass model to pro upgrades). There aren't that many more new gamers on Xbox or Playstation. As a result both companies are coping in different ways because they've (unlike Nintendo) gave trapped themselves into having high cost games go support. Xbox is expanding both their ecosystem and their presence on other platforms. Sony is raising prices and putting games on PC very slowly.

As we look at the strategies now, it really seems like Xbox is coming off the clear winner. Hardware isn't doing that much worse than what they'd expect around this time in a consoles lifetime based on their other console generations. It is unfortunate the Series never hugely took off, but they also didn't hugely fall off either. Like with previous years if Xbox really wants to see a massive pick up then they'll have to do a major refresh, and I don't think they want to (for costs and possibly rumors of an early next gen Xbox). At the same time their expansion has made them like the biggest publisher on PS (as in with tons of gamers who would never have bought an Xbox regardless of the exclusive) and helped them grow a lot on PC with major trends for cloud as well. They're diversifying where Xbox revenue comes from so they aren't reliant on a single source which hasn't shown growth in decades now (as in the entire market) and regardless peaks out at smaller numbers than are available across the industry. In comparison Sony is holding back and and as a result all they can really do is raise prices for their consumers. They also have to watch as their vast third party exclusives abandon them. Their own first party output has also dwindled due to shrinking margins (does Playstation have a pulse??). The industry is really evolving past them and all they're left with are the entrenched PS4 gamers who are becoming increasingly hard to please.

I think Xbox has the winning strategy. They can win as a platform and a publisher by focusing on their strengths to build a ubiquitous Xbox ecosystem across Console, PC, cloud, and mobile which offers gamers the most value. Sony will also continue to benefit them. I mean 70% is nothing to scuff at when you're the top seller on a platform multiple times over. Xbox hardware is already future proofed with their cloud efforts and actual sales data shows they've hardly failed. Like it's just bonkers to me that Xbox is dead specifically for porting a four year old game according to some reactions and headlines, and Nintendo was just fine with WiiU sales at 13 million (even the 3DS had dropped to like half of the DS). Like are we really tying our worth and the worth of a platform that much to whether or not gamers outside XYZ platform can pay money to that platform?

 

[fjtorres5591]

The main reason the Series Boxes aren't selling are 3-fold:

1- Regional. XBOX is never going to sell in Japan or most of Asia. They prefer to buy local. Europe, the media and even regulators hate MS for daring to make a console at all and love sony. We saw it in the open during the ABK deal with the UK regulators taking Sony talking points.as gospel and the.EU guys openly talking of "protecting *our* PlayStation. You even see some of it here.

2- Fan boy rumormongering. "XBOX is getting out of the middle east." "XBOX is dying.*, " XBOX has no games" (yeah, even now). "XBOX is going all third party so just buy Sony." Half of youtube gaming makes a living feeding the bubble with that clickbait. And it works. Even semi reputable media echoes it.

3- MS is allergic to marketing. Imagine if they spent even a fraction of Apple's media budget on tv and online ads with one message: XBOX SERIES S, all the best new games: starting at $299. The first two they can't do anything about. ADs they could but MS refuses to give money to Google, Amazon, or Facebook. they don't even advertise on Bing. Or TV. And its not just XBOX. you'd think SURFACE or Microsoft 365 family would get a push. Give Spencer some cash to spend on ads!