Xbox's Confusing Exclusivity Criteria Now Aided by 'EXCLUSIVE' Label on Console Dashboard

Xbox has rolled retired a caller statement for console exclusive games, disposable present connected your Xbox Series X/S dashboard.

This month, Xbox confirmed it had decided to marque the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day a console exclusive erstwhile it arrives connected October 6. Clockwork Revolution volition besides beryllium a console exclusive erstwhile it launches successful 2027.

Now, Gears of War: E-Day features a marque caller "EXCLUSIVE" label, akin to different erstwhile crippled labels that denote a crippled is optimized for Series X/S, oregon featured arsenic portion of a subscription work specified arsenic Game Pass oregon Ubisoft+.

Gears of War: E-Day present features an EXCLUSIVE label. Image credit: Xbox/IGN.

The statement surely makes wide the crippled volition nary longer beryllium arriving for PlayStation 5 (as had erstwhile been planned), though it's worthy remembering that the rubric volition inactive besides motorboat connected PC.

Still, the statement volition apt beryllium utile helping people retired the titles that Microsoft has decided it volition marque exclusive — thing main contented serviceman Matt Booty has said volition beryllium chosen connected a "case-by-case basis", but not see "big multiplayer games and live-service games," which volition stay multiplatform.

There's nary motion yet of a akin statement connected the game's Xbox.com store leafage (or the 1 for Clockwork Revolution), but with its motorboat inactive not for respective months, there's inactive time.

"We privation a crushed for radical to get connected committee with Xbox, we privation them to person a crushed to bargain an Xbox, we privation them to person a crushed to beryllium an Xbox fan," Booty said previously. "At the aforesaid time, we privation to reward each our players that person been with america for a agelong clip — we cognize that exclusives are important, and that's wherefore we've got Gears coming successful 2026 and Clockwork [Revolution] coming successful 2027."

"We besides privation to beryllium wide that our large multiplayer games and live-service games are going to proceed to beryllium multiplatform," helium continued. "If we've promised thing to players already, we're going to grant that promise. And past — I deliberation Asha said it — we're going to marque the close determination and not the accelerated decision.

"We're going to support reasoning astir this going forward," Booty concluded, "and, I deliberation you guys cognize already, our rule is erstwhile we denote the date, we denote the platforms. So, it's going to beryllium case-by-case, but we're going to beryllium clear, that erstwhile it's got a date, it's got a level and you'll cognize what the prime is going to be."

This attack has been dubbed arsenic confusing by immoderate fans, and feels similar it volition instrumentality a portion to settee down. As newly-installed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has said, the institution volition firstly grant each previously-announced games coming to PlayStation (including Halo: Campaign Evolved, for example) and look to marque much unannounced games exclusive if and erstwhile the company's finances improve.

In different words, for now, expect much announcements of caller Xbox titles wherever PlayStation 5 and adjacent Nintendo Switch 2 versions are confirmed arsenic well. This was the lawsuit conscionable this month, erstwhile Xbox made State of Decay 3's PlayStation 5 mentation made official, Hellblade threequel Senua was unveiled and confirmed for PS5, and Spyro: A Realm Beyond was elaborate arsenic coming to Xbox, PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2.

Meanwhile, it's been reported that a caller PlayStation concern papers has highlighted an authoritative alteration to Sony's ain merchandise strategy, with PC nary longer described arsenic portion of the company's first-party motorboat focus.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social