Former PlayStation chief claims Microsoft's decision to bring Xbox games to PS5 is 'a win for PlayStation owners'.
Yoshida initially expressed his concern that PlayStation could become a "secondary platform."
Shuhei Yoshida, former head of PlayStation, has commented on Microsoft's strategy of releasing games on multiple platforms. Yoshida emphasizes that the launch of Xbox titles on PS5 represents "a victory for PlayStation owners." In a recent interview, he explained that this strategy allows players to access games that were previously unavailable to them.
The former executive expressed that his "nightmare" would be for PlayStation to become "a minority platform." In the context of his career, he mentioned that this would make it impossible to maintain development of first-party games, as the best creators would choose to move to other platforms. He highlighted that these developers are also entrepreneurs who want their games to reach the largest audience possible. According to Yoshida, it is natural for a developer to want to avoid releasing a game solely on a platform with a limited install base, considering it unsustainable.
Yoshida also referred to the increased multiplatform focus of Xbox, which began to take shape early last year. This strategic shift included titles such as Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Pentiment, and Grounded, which arrived on PS5, with the latter two also launched for Nintendo Switch.
Recently, Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, confirmed his intention to continue releasing more games on other platforms. Among the already announced titles are Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which premiered in December for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, with a planned arrival on PS5 in the spring of 2025. Forza Horizon 5 will also be available for PS5 this year, and Spencer revealed that Xbox games will come to Nintendo Switch 2.
