Remedy Entertainment’s Quantum Break may well be just the first of many games to be released as part of Microsoft’s version of cross-buy.
Cross-buy has been available for several years on PlayStation home consoles and their portable counterparts and now Microsoft seems intent on offering a similar service within its Xbox and Windows PC ecosystem.
Up until yesterday, Quantum Break was a Xbox One exclusive but now Microsoft has announced that the game is coming to PC and those who pre-order the title on Xbox One will receive a free copy on that platform.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer says Microsoft hopes that this will simply mark the beginning of the process that will see cross-buy extended to other first party and even third party games.
Asked on Twitter whether fans can expect similar announcements on future, Spencer replied:
@Nahkapukki @MSFTY @Nicodemus9 @DCNationSlade We'll make it a platform feature. We think it's good for gamers.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 11, 2016
Fable Legends from Lionhead is set for release this year on PC and Xbox One and offers cross-play compatibility, meaning we can likely expect a cross-buy announcement for that game as well. Comcept and Armature Studio’s upcoming ReCore also seems like an obvious choice.
Whether or not Microsoft will extend the program to major exclusives such as Gears of War and Halo remains to be seen but for the moment, at least, that may well be the intention given Spencer’s comment. How many third party developers and publishers the platform holder can get to agree to participate in the initiative is another matter.
Some fans were angered by the decision to announce Quantum Break for PC, as they argued that it lessened the value of owning a Xbox One, which now has one less exclusive.
