If you've been paying attention, you might have spotted that Microsoft now explicitly states when its games are coming to competing platforms during its Xbox showcases. This has become a noticeable part of the company's recent multiplatform gaming strategy. For instance, the latest Xbox Developer Direct presentations for titles like the new Ninja Gaiden, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 concluded by listing PlayStation 5 right alongside Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass availability.
However, this wasn't the approach during Microsoft's June 2024 showcase. While Doom: The Dark Ages was confirmed for PlayStation 5 shortly after the main event, its initial trailer omitted the PS5 logo. Similarly, the reveal segments for games like BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred expansion, and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Shadows only mentioned Xbox Series X|S and PC, leaving out the PlayStation 5 version.
Sony and Nintendo, on the other hand, continue with a different philosophy. Their recent State of Play presentation made no mention of Xbox, even for games that are multiplatform. The segment for Monster Hunter Wilds, for example, ended with a release date and only the PS5 logo, with no reference to PC, Steam, or Xbox. The same was true for Sega's Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, which was shown as coming to PS4 and PS5 despite also being announced for PC (via Steam), Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Onimusha: Way of the Sword followed this same pattern.
It's clear that Sony is sticking with a strategy that has served its gaming business for decades: reinforcing its own consoles as the primary destination for the PlayStation experience. Microsoft's well-publicized strategic shift, however, is now being mirrored by a change in its marketing approach.
Microsoft's head of gaming, Phil Spencer, was asked directly about this new practice of featuring the PlayStation logo in Xbox showcases during an interview with XboxEra.
The question posed was:
Is this just hey, this is the band-aid off guys, there’s still going to be different decisions but this is the new era. Get used to the way things are going to be. How would you frame that to the community?
Spencer responded:
I think it’s just being honest and transparent about where the games are showing, and we actually even had this discussion last year for the June showcase, and by the time we kind of made our decision, we couldn’t get all of the assets done and it felt weird to have some of them in and some of them out.
But I just want to be transparent with people — for shipping on Nintendo Switch, we’re gonna put that. For shipping on PlayStation, on Steam... People should know the storefronts where they can get our games, but I want people to be able to experience our Xbox community in our games and everything we have to offer, on every screen we can.
And obviously not every screen is equal. Yeah, like there’s certain things we can’t do on the other closed platforms that we can do on open platforms, cloud — it’s different. But games should be the thing that we’re focused on. And the strategy that we have allows us to do big games, while also supporting our native platform from hardware to the platform and services that we have and that’s going to be our approach.
And I know it’s not what everybody else is doing, but I just believe games should be the thing that’s at the forefront. Maybe it’s because of how I’ve grown up in this industry. I came from building games. But I think the games are the things that I see growing in their strength in what we’re doing and it’s because more people can play. So yeah, I’m just trying to be open and transparent with people.
Given this stance, expect to see more logos for PS5 and, eventually, the Nintendo Switch 2 in future Xbox presentations. So, when Microsoft inevitably hosts its June 2025 showcase, we will likely see anticipated titles like Gears of War: E-Day, Fable, Perfect Dark, State of Decay 3, and this year's Call of Duty all displayed with a PS5 logo right next to the Xbox branding.
Just don't count on Nintendo or Sony to start doing the same.
