We have an interesting new rumor about Microsoft’s new push to publish their games on rival platforms.
As shared on the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit by user IcePopsicleDragon, eXtas1s has a rumor about Forza Horizon 5. To use IcePopsicleDragon’s translation:
“Forza Horizon 5 has already been ported to the PS5, but its release was halted (not canceled) last summer. Of course, considering that it’s a game that could work very well, it will arrive, I don’t know when, but it will arrive.”
This corroborates what we know about Microsoft’s current strategy when it comes to their video games coming to PlayStation and possibly Nintendo. Microsoft has already been publishing games on PC for some time now, including their rival platforms there in Steam and Epic Game Store.
And then, early this year, Microsoft published four of their games to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. Most recently, Microsoft Gaming head Phil Spencer stated that they have no ‘red lines’ when it comes to what games they can now bring to those rival platforms.
Forza Horizon 5 is certainly a good candidate to get such a port. Whilethe 2023 Forza Motorsport reboot is the most recent title in the franchise, that game is a live service title, that is still a bit fresh for such ports. Turn 10 Studios is definitely still busy in making fixes and upgrades to bring the game to a state that will make current players happy.
Forza Horizon 5 is the last game in the franchise that has finished development, and is in an ideal position to be ported. Subsequently, Forza Horizon 4 is set to be delisted this coming December. So, among the Forza games that could get ported, Forza Horizon 5 is in the perfect position where Microsoft can still port it, hopefully to find more players and fans.
But console warriors who were hoping to make this little rumor fodder should think twice about what this rumor means. Microsoft stating that they would bring their games to rival platforms doesn’t actually mean the ‘floodgates’ have opened for Xbox games on PlayStation.
For all the discourse about Microsoft games, one may observe that Starfield has yet to come to PlayStation 5. Some gamers may claim they don’t care and are not interested, but consider the narrative here: Sony was going to make Starfield a PlayStation 5 exclusive, Microsoft bought Bethesda to make it an Xbox exclusive instead.
And today, even after we know that Microsoft wants to make money on PlayStation, they still won’t bring Starfield over.
Microsoft certainly has control over what games they will bring to PlayStation and Nintendo platforms, including what prices they will set and when they will port the games. While Phil Spencer has expressed his distaste for “slimy platform things” before, that was around making games and content exclusive.
And while Microsoft has certain commitments to keep doing business around the world and keep regulators satisfied, that didn’t include bringing literally all their games to other platforms, and it also doesn’t require them to set a schedule for all those games. If Microsoft can create a situation where they are a dominant publisher on PlayStation, and for that matter, Nintendo platforms, they could take control of the industry, in ways that regulators may only have themselves to blame.
So that’s what is implied by Microsoft making PlayStation 5 ports of their games, and then choosing to hold them back. It will all depend on how many PlayStation gamers play Xbox games, and last we checked, Xbox games are really popular there.
