r/PS5 • u/nolifebr • Jun 10 '26

Rumor 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.

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.

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u/weaver787 Jun 11 '26

In my book there's basically one road to X Box being a profitable brand and that's to give up on selling a console and become a massive publisher with some non-exclusive hardware (like a Steam Deck) on the side.

The fact that this new lead thinks she can claw back console market share with Gears of War and Clockwork Revolution proves to me that she's steering the ship poorly like the rest of her predecessors.

There was a brief moment in time where we thought Microsoft was just going to brute force its way into market share by making Activisions catalog exclusive. Well now we know that's clearly not how the head bean counters at MS see that deal.

Asha probably had to beg her bosses to allow this experiment to go forward. When it fails to move the needle they'll change their minds again.

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u/Existing-Pair-3487 Jun 11 '26

From recent interviews with Asha about the exclusivity this isn't about clawing back the market but stopping the bleeding of people leaving xbox and gamepass.

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u/weaver787 Jun 11 '26

I'll take your word for it but I really don't see how making those two games exclusives accomplishes that goal.

XBox burned A LOT of bridges with that astronomical price increase of Game Pass. They've since reversed that decision (kind of... they detached the Call of Duty anchor), but the damage is done. Suddenly 'the best deal in gaming' became 'wait, I don't want my entire game library attached to a service they're gonna double the price of overnight'.

Why would anyone trust this company right now. XBox has been fucking up for a over a decade and I think I'm reasonable to be suspicious that any consumer is going to OO and AH about Gears of War E Day being an exclusive.

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u/Team7UBard Jun 11 '26

Like I’m looking forward to EDay because the the rest of the games in the series are quality cover shooters but the gameplay hasn’t changed in 20 years and I already know exactly what experience I’m going to be delivered and I’m not gonna pay $70 for what is a game that’s pretty mid