Xbox boss Matt Booty addressed the reasoning behind Indiana Jones and the Great Circle not coming to PS5 at release.
After more than a decade since his last video game adventure, Indy is back with his hat and whip in hand with the new digital adventure from Wolfenstein developers Machine Games.
The Great Circle was first announced back in January 2021, mere months after Machine Games' parent company Bethesda was purchased by Microsoft.
This put the game in a murky spot when it came to its potential exclusivity, a talking point even further complicated as Xbox Games Studios titles have recently started to make their way over to PS5.
Xbox Boss Talks Indiana Jones on PS5
As Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is released on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox boss Matt Booty remarked on what went into its PS5 release date decision.
Back in August, it was revealed that The Great Circle would be the latest Xbox exclusive to come to Sony's game machine; however, it would be doing so several months after the title's original launch on Xbox and PC, in a nebulous Spring 2025 release window.
In the wake of the game's Xbox release, Microsoft President of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty addressed this staggered release while talking to Variety.
"We are very much making the [exclusivity and windowing] decisions on a game-by-game basis," Booty posited:
"We are very much making the [exclusivity and windowing] decisions on a game by game basis. And each of our studios is in a little bit of a different position. There’s also the production timeline on a game, so the decision on spacing comes there first."
He also revealed that the PS5 release decision was ultimately a "production" one over anything else:
"We want to make sure there’s a great experience for our Xbox players, and then the gap between [when it becomes available on PlayStation] is as much a production decision as it is anything else. This is a game that was in production before we acquired Bethesda, even."
Why Is Indiana Jones Taking So Long to Come to PS5?
Thus far in Xbox's changing release strategy, there has been no solid pattern for when games come to PlayStation 5.
Fans have yet to see an Xbox Game Studios title come day-and-date to Sony's console as well as Xbox. Most releases so far have been legacy titles from over a year ago like Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be the first tentpole release from Xbox to make its way over to PlayStation 5 so close to release, perhaps setting the standard for how things will work going forward.
With the game given a Spring 2025 PS5 release date, that could mean The Great Circle may take several months before coming to PlayStation. Spring in the gaming industry could mean anywhere between March and June, leaving plenty of questions about the release still hanging in the ether.
Because, as Booty noted, the Machine Games Indy game (which takes place a year after the first Indiana Jones movie) was in development before Machine Games parent company Bethesda was purchased by Microsoft, this delayed launch could be a result of pre-existing agreements in place before that deal.
If that is the case, then not much can be gleaned about Xbox's overall strategy when it comes to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
However, industry insiders like the well-connected Xbox journalist Jez Corden have recently indicated that "Xbox won't have exclusives going forward," instead only working with timed exclusives from now on:
"Xbox won't have exclusives going forward. Everything is timed exclusive at most."
So, that could also mean Indy may actually be the trendsetter for the company going forward.
With all the variables surrounding the Great Circle, it may not be the best bellwether for fans to use, instead focusing on when/if upcoming Xbox Game Studios titles outside of Bethesda like Fable and Gears of War: E-Day (read more about Gears of War: E-Day release projections here) are released on PS5.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle comes to PS5 in Spring 2025 and is now available on Xbox Series X/S and PC.
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