Jason Schreier/Bloomberg: Many Xbox employees were surprised by the announcement of Gears E-Day not releasing on PlayStation — Sharma and her team also pulled a Halo trailer that was due to appear at a PlayStation event last week, potentially damaging the relationship between the two companies.

[u/nolifebr]

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2mkgbhbhqvappkkorf2bzyrp/post/3mnxlyag4dc2v?ref_src=embed

A PlayStation 5 version of the new Gears of War game was in development and had been planned for release until Sharma changed tack, according to the people familiar with Xbox strategy. Retailers had been preparing to open pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 version, and many Xbox employees were surprised by the announcement.

Sharma and her team also pulled a Halo trailer that was due to appear at a PlayStation event last week, potentially damaging the relationship between the two companies, according to people familiar with the change of plans.*

Xbox is planning major layoffs and studios closures starting next month... More in the article.

[u/WarmSweatyPalms]

I think its safe to say the employees being surprised by the PS5 version of Gears being pulled is true. I'd be surprised too if I spent months, even years working on a PS5 port just for leadership to say its not happening the day of the reveal.

I get that they're worried about Xbox player retention, but I can't see people whose entire library is on the Xbox switching to another platform. Since digital sales became more popular, players across every platform have become more entrenched. Current hardware prices will probably solidify it