Indiana Jones and The Great Circle has been well received since its release. It wasn’t a smooth launch but the issues the PC and Xbox versions experienced were addressed very quickly. The Steam Deck also received the game at launch but that experience was not optimal and requires further refinement. PlayStation owners, however, have yet to receive the latest Indiana Jones game.
There’s been speculation as to why this is the case. But in a recent interview, Matt Booty an Xbox Studio Boss clarified that it was a strategic move. As reported by Tech4Gamers. Matt Booty stated in an interview with Variety that the move to delay release on another major console was more about ensuring a good experience for Xbox players. Then there would presumably be a delay to ensure the game is further refined. To ensure that PlayStation players have a good experience as well.
“We are very much making the [exclusivity and windowing] decisions on a game-by-game basis,” Booty said. “And each of our studios is in a little bit of a different position. There’s also the production timeline on a game, so the decision on spacing comes there first. We want to make sure there’s a great experience for our Xbox players, and then the gap between [when it becomes available on PlayStation] is as much a production decision as it is anything else. This is a game that was in production before we acquired Bethesda, even.”
The line – “It’s as much as production decision as it is anything else” should be enough to dispense with the notion that the delayed release is the remnant of any console war. The Xbox studio is concerned with offering players the best experience they can at launch. A dual console release, paired with PC and Steam Deck would likely have hurt the quality of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle on the PlayStation. As well as on other consoles.
Sadly a focus on quality is not quite as true with the Steam Deck. However, that may be more of a hardware problem than anything else. The game will likely require further optimization before that issue is fixed. If you’d like to read more on the Steam Deck struggling to run Indiana Jones and The Great Circle then click here.
