Microsoft has considered bringing its online pirate game Sea of Thieves to PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.
The news first came from journalist Stephen Totillo in his newly launched newsletter, Game File. According to Totillo, a source suggested that Microsoft may port Sea of Thieves to PlayStation in early 2024. Separately, Giant Bomb‘s Jeff Grubb said he’d heard about potential releases on both PlayStation and Nintendo.
These comments come after insider NateTheHate claimed that Microsoft was planning to bring an acclaimed title to competitor platforms. Another insider, Resetera user lolilolailo, suggested that this would be last year’s Hi-Fi Rush. Citing sources, Windows Central also said that Microsoft “has been exploring bringing some of its back catalog to other platforms.”
Of course, it remains to be seen whether any of this will happen, especially as there hasn’t yet been any official word from Microsoft. While diehard Xbox fans might bemoan the loss of “exclusives,” it should be noted that multiplatform releases would fall in line with Microsoft’s ever-evolving gaming strategy.
Since the later years of the Xbox One era, the company has emphasized releasing games on both Xbox and PC. Going into the Series X/S generation, Microsoft took that cross-platform idea even further by making its titles available via streaming on mobile and smart TVs through Xbox Cloud Gaming. In previous generations, the only way to play these games would have been by purchasing an Xbox.
That said, releasing games on competitor systems would be fairly new territory for Microsoft. While some of its games are on other platforms, like Minecraft and Psychonauts 2, those were already released — or set to be released — elsewhere before Microsoft acquired the properties.
On the flip side, Microsoft has continued to support games like Minecraft, Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online on PlayStation. It’s also worked with competitors on special crossovers, like licensing Banjo & Kazooie and Minecraft‘s Steve to Nintendo for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
All of this is to say that there’s some precedent for Microsoft looking to extend its catalogue elsewhere. From a business perspective, it also just makes sense to expand the audience, especially for live service games like Sea of Thieves that require consistent investment into new content updates.
It remains to be seen if and when Microsoft might detail some of these purported multiplatform plans. It’s worth noting that the company is rumoured to be holding a Nintendo Direct-esque ‘Developer Direct’ presentation later this month, so it’s possible we could hear more there. Last year’s inaugural Developer Direct was notable for revealing and releasing Hi-Fi Rush on the same day.
Source: Game File
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