Phil Spencer on Why Final Fantasy 14 Isn’t on Xbox and Exclusivity Deals

Square Enix's revitalised MMO Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn will not be coming to Xbox One anytime soon, despite being available on PS4 for some time. 

Speaking to IGN, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said is due to an exclusivity deal between Sony and Square Enix. 

"It's business," he comments, noting that he couldn't speak too candidly about the issue. "As I've grown in this role, and I've tried to learn the third-party exclusivity thing – and you see us doing less of it now – [I've found] it's not something I'm a huge fan of."

Spencer does say that he likes to offer Xbox One owners something extra with games and services on the platform such as Fallout 4 mods and EA Access. He says the situation with Rise of the Tomb Raider – which launches for Xbox One and Xbox 360 on November 10th – is not a usual exclusivity deal, as Microsoft is involved with game's development and publishing. It will be released on PS4 next year. 

However, he adds that business deals change and can create third party exclusives, "Different kind of deals happen, and I know that's part of this business, and maybe it'll be my failing in the end. But it's not something I specifically embrace with any deal that's out there, whether it's something else. It's just not something I can explicitly talk to."

By contrast, PlayStation boss Andrew House said in May of this year that third party exclusives are important to Sony's business plan given that their first party lineup this year is "sparse".