The day has finally come - PlayStation has published its popular live-service third-person shooter Helldivers 2 on Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox has published the celebrated Gears of War: Reloaded on PS5. Ever since the original Xbox went toe-to-toe with the PS2, the two brands have been in direct competition. The PS2 soundly dominated the Xbox, but the Xbox 360 gave the PS3 a run for its money and in fact outsold Sony's console for the majority of their generation. Things went off the rails for Xbox in the eighth generation, as the PS4 trounced the Xbox One, and the PS5 continues to vastly outpace Xbox Series X/S.
While Xbox and PlayStation are still technically competing with each other, the two console platforms have started to play nice. Cross-play between the consoles became a serious option about a decade ago, and in the past couple of years, Xbox decided to do away with the idea of exclusives by releasing some of its games on competing platforms. This started with Xbox publishing four of its exclusives on Nintendo and PlayStation and has since expanded with the release of games like Forza Horizon 5 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5. Despite Xbox releasing its games on PS5, Sony didn't seem keen to return the favor, at least, by its own choice. PlayStation-published MLB: The Show games have been coming to Xbox for years now, but thanks to demands from MLB, not because Sony necessarily wanted to port them. But now PlayStation has also taken a major step toward knocking down the barrier between platforms by releasing one of its major console exclusives on Xbox.
Some PlayStation Fans Are Not Happy About Helldivers 2 Coming to Xbox
Across polls, social media, and online forums, many PlayStation fans are voicing dissatisfaction with Sony's decision to launch Helldivers 2 on Xbox.
Helldivers 2 is on Xbox & Gears of War: Reloaded is on PS5
Helldivers 2 is now officially on Xbox. Originally released in 2024 for PC and PS5, Helldivers 2 earned critical acclaim at the time of its launch and became one of the year's most-popular titles. One of Sony's most successful live-service ventures to date, Helldivers 2 exploded in popularity and has continued to engage players with substantial, exciting updates. But Helldivers 2 hasn't just come to Xbox. Xbox has also released Gears of War: Reloaded on PS5, and while this may not be nearly as shocking considering Xbox's current multi-platform strategy, it's still wild to see one of the company's biggest IPs on a competing platform. Gears of War has been an Xbox console exclusive since 2006, but that near-20-year streak has finally come to an end.
One has to wonder if this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to PlayStation and Xbox freely releasing their exclusives on each other's consoles. It seems Xbox is all-in on releasing its big games on PS5, and so rumors like the Halo 1 remake releasing on PS5 day-and-date as Xbox are easy to believe. Sony will likely be far more selective when it comes to releasing its games on Xbox, but one has to imagine its live-service projects will eventually make the jump, at the very least.
There are rumors that the next-generation Xbox console will be able to run Steam, and if that's true, it could mean that all the PlayStation PC games will effectively become playable on Xbox anyway. Time will tell, but regardless, with Helldivers 2 now on Xbox and Gears of War: Reloaded now on PS5, it's clear that the gaming industry is moving into uncharted territory.
Helldivers 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- bitsquid
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
Gears of War: Reloaded
- Released
- August 26, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- The Coalition
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action, Third-Person Shooter, War & Military