Over the last few weeks we’ve seen growing evidence to suggest that Hi-Fi: Rush and Sea of Thieves might be making their way to PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch. If true it would represent a fairly major shift for Xbox as a brand. More evidence came in the form of a data mine. Now though, new reports are suggesting Starfield and even the upcoming Indiana Jones may also be going multiplatform.

Word comes via XboxEra who spoke to anonymous sources who asked to remain nameless due to not having permission to discuss anything.

“According to sources, we understand that currently Microsoft are planning a launch for Starfield on PlayStation 5 post the release of the already announced “Shattered Space” expansion for Xbox and PC, which is on target to arrive at some point later this year.” said XboxEra writer Jon Clarke.

XboxEra also said that Microsoft had invested in more PS5 dev kits to help further its plans. They also go on to state that not everyone is happy with the decision within Microsoft, but that the money being left on the table by not going multiplatform won out. This could be largely due to Microsoft buying Activision-Blizzard for the sum of $69 billion, a hefty chunk of change to recoup.

Nate the Hate and Rand al Thor, both quite reliable leakers and sources of insider information, Tweeted out in support of XboxEra’s report. Rand al Thor in particular stated: “The first of lots to come. Some will shock you”

This report is accurate — Starfield will land on PlayStation.

I've heard similar but opted to wait on reporting this information until the PS5 release timeline was finalized.

As the report states, the PS5 release will come after the arrival of the expansion DLC on Xbox/PC. https://t.co/xV8qTZegIA

— NateTheHate2 (@NateTheHate2) February 4, 2024

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Tom Warren of The Verge, who has been very vocal about Xbox games coming to other platforms, also posted an article in the same day, claiming that Indiana Jones & The Great Circle is also being planned for a PlayStation 5 launch sometime after debuting on Xbox.

Citing an insider source, Tom writes: “A new multi-platform approach for certain Xbox games is emerging inside Microsoft, we’re told, with the company weighing up which titles will remain exclusive and others that will appear on Switch or PS5 in the future. Indiana Jones appears to be part of this new wave of multi-platform games.”

Tom also says that sources have told him and The Verge that Hi-Fi Rush is expected to be announced for other platforms within the next few weeks.

Just a few days ago, it was also rumoured that Xbox Director Sarah Bond will be making some sort of official announcement in Spring to address this radical change in Microsoft’s vision for Xbox, which would essentially see the Xbox brand become the biggest 3rd party publisher in the world, controlling a host of major IPs.

If we factor in how Microsoft recently cut nearly 2,000 jobs at Xbox, this could all be part of a plan to bring down costs and boost revenue from the somewhat struggling Xbox brand. Xbox consoles are being vastly outsold by PlayStation at a rate of 3 to 1 according to the data, and part of the layoffs is said to be department in charge of bringing Xbox games to physical media.

We know for sure that Game Pass remains a big focus for Xbox, so I don’t think its too far fetched to imagine Xbox ditching the idea of exclusives in order to sell games to a much broader market, while also keeping Game Pass as the place to play all the new Xbox games on day 1 for a low cost. For the next generation, they may ditch making their own console entirely, if they could somehow persuade Nintendo and Sony to allow Game Pass on their own machines, although that’s a very big IF. This could also contradict recent reports that Microsoft greenlit various pieces of Xbox hardware.

Whatever Microsoft’s new plans are, the evidence is becoming so overwhelming that its difficult to deny that something must be happening, whether its just a couple of smaller Xbox titles going multiplatform, or even big guns like Starfield and Indiana Jones.