Jonathan Blow Explains Why ‘The Witness’ is a PS4 Exclusive

Jonathan Blow is an outspoken game developer who rarely, if ever, minces words on the decisions he makes with the games he creates. Known for his seminal work, Braid, Blow is currently developing a new adventure/puzzle game called The Witness, which he unveiled at Sony's PlayStation 4 conference.

In a recent interview with Edge, Blow explained why he opted to make his game for the PS4 and not Microsoft's next-gen platform. He says that Microsoft's decision to turn away from its core audience of gamers with the next Xbox was a turn-off for him.

“There were a lot of reasons why it was a good choice,” he said. “Some were technical – we haven’t officially been disclosed on Microsoft’s next console, but we do see the same leaks as everyone else has, and they seem plausible.

“To me they talk about a console that is not strictly about games. It’s trying to be the centre of the living room device, which is fine and maybe it’s the right thing for Microsoft to do, business-wise."

Blow further explained that dealing with Microsoft was a difficult process, and that many friends of had bad experiences with the company.

“Other developers who are friends of mine have had a horrible time, so the idea of signing up again with Microsoft isn’t something I’d have ruled out, but there’s a certain amount of dread I have about doing that again.

“I don’t have that with Sony. Who knows, maybe it’ll turn out to be just as bad at the end! But I don’t think so. The people we’re talking to on a daily basis there are just really good people, and we’re happy to work with them. We’ll see how it goes.”

In addition to its console-exclusive release on the PlayStation 4, The Witness will also be available on the PC.