Starfield and Indiana Jones are going to be huge when they come out on Xbox Series consoles. However, previous plans to sell these games on PlayStation 5 were forecasted to sell 10 million copies, a massive success for Bethesda
Xbox CFO Tim Stuart testified that Microsoft forecasted 10 million copies being sold for both games if they were released on PS5. According to the document (recapped by Stephen Totilo), Microsoft decided not to release the games on PS5 because they can recoup through Game Pass and Xbox sales.
“Microsoft believed it could offset losses incurred from taking ZeniMax games exclusive through upside to Game Pass and increased console sales,” the document reads. “Mr. Stuart testified that Microsoft needed fewer dollars in the short term to make up for the financial impact of exclusivity of ZeniMax games on Microsoft.”
When Microsoft purchased Zenimax, they honored previous deals with Sony to release Ghost City: Tokyo and Deathloop as temporary PS5 exclusives. After honoring those deals, every Bethesda game since has only been Xbox exclusive, with Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall being major examples.
Indiana Jones was originally coming to PS5 before the Zenimax buyout happened, which reportedly angered LucasFilm. Starfield was probably coming to PS5 as it was announced before the Zenimax acquisition happened and Sony fans wish that was still the case.
Considering all of the hype surrounding Starfield, there’s very little chance the game will be coming to PlayStation. The recent gameplay showcase actually increased sales for Xbox Series systems, showing everyone the power of console exclusives.
Very little is known about the Indiana Jones game, though rumours claim that players will switch between first and third-person perspectives. Jens Andersson, who previously worked on the acclaimed Chronicles of Riddick video game, is also part of the development team.
Starfield is coming to Xbox Series and PC on September 6. The new Indiana Jones video game is still in development and currently has no release date.