At the beginning of 2024, there was a sudden influx of rumors suggesting that a handful of Xbox first-party games could be coming to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation. Many of those rumors turned out to be true, with Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush, and Pentiment all receiving ports to other consoles during the year. That marked the beginning of Xbox's latest strategy.
For the last year or so, Xbox's management team has been pretty open about the possibility of other first-party games coming to PlayStation and Switch in the future, with Xbox head Phil Spencer himself stating that there are no "red lines" when it comes to which franchises could get a port in the future. That certainly seems to be the case now, with Forza Horizon 5 being the latest first-party Xbox title confirmed to be coming to PlayStation 5. And with that announcement, it feels like the perfect time for Xbox to finally throw the floodgates wide open.
It's Time for Halo and Gears of War to Come to PlayStation
When Xbox first announced its plans to port some first-party titles to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, many were quick to assume that Halo and Gears of War could potentially go multi-platform as well. Various rumors have surfaced over the last year or so that have claimed Halo and Gears are on their way, but nothing has come to fruition just yet.
One of the most recent rumors regarding this came just a few weeks ago, when Nate the Hate claimed Xbox currently has plans to release Halo: The Master Chief Collection on both the PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch 2. Windows Central's Jez Corden has also just claimed that Halo: MCC and Gears of War are coming to PlayStation. And while no such plans have been officially announced, that would make a lot of sense.
Halo and Gears of War Coming to PlayStation Would Be a Win-Win Situation for Xbox
While some Xbox fans still have their reservations about Xbox games coming to PlayStation, it makes a lot of sense, business-wise, for two major reasons. The first is that the games in question have been out for an incredibly long time. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is over a decade old now, and the games inside it are even older. Even the latest Gears of War entry is almost six years old.
At this point, anyone who owns an Xbox and is even remotely interested in playing these games has likely already done so, meaning that sales have likely dried up by now. Porting these older titles allows Xbox to tap into an all-new, potentially very lucrative market, all without needing to put too much work into it.
Bringing these long-standing franchises to new platforms also has the potential benefit of getting more players invested in the IP. And once those players are invested, it's much more likely they'll buy Xbox hardware to play the franchise's next entry if it's exclusive. It might be a little strange at first to see beloved Xbox mascots like Master Chief and Marcus Fenix on PlayStation, but the benefits for Xbox and Microsoft would likely be worth any temporary strangeness.
Forza Horizon 5
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 100%
- Released
- November 9, 2021
- ESRB
- E for Everyone // In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Playground Games
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
WHERE TO PLAY
Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits! Explore the vibrant and ever-evolving open world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in hundreds of the world’s greatest cars.
This is Your Horizon Adventure: Lead breathtaking expeditions across the vibrant and ever-evolving open world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in hundreds of the world’s greatest cars.
This is a Diverse Open World: Explore a world of striking contrast and beauty. Discover living deserts, lush jungles, historic cities, hidden ruins, pristine beaches, vast canyons and a towering snow-capped volcano.
This is an Adventurous Open World: Immerse yourself in a deep campaign with hundreds of challenges that reward you for engaging in the activities you love. Meet new characters and choose the outcomes of their Horizon Story missions.
This is an Evolving Open World: Take on awe-inspiring weather events such as towering dust storms and intense tropical storms as Mexico’s unique, dynamic seasons change the world every week. Keep coming back for new events, challenges, collectibles, and rewards, and new areas to explore. No two seasons will ever be the same.
This is Your Open World: Create your own expressions of fun with the powerful new EventLab gameplay toolset including custom races, challenges, stunts, and entirely new game modes. Customize your cars in more ways than ever before with new options such as the ability open and close convertible tops, paint brake calipers, and more. Use the new Gift Drops feature to share your custom creations with the community.
- Engine
- Forza Tech
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
- Franchise
- Forza Horizon
- Genre(s)
- Racing, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- How Long To Beat
- 20 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 134 GB (November 2023)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
