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There’s already a big rumor about a PlayStation game coming to Xbox, if Microsoft can make the deal.
Middle Aged Gamer Guy shared this rumor in a new YouTube video:
So, the word is that there is a negotiation happening that Returnal may make its way to the Xbox consoles. However, there are going to be a ton of caveats put forth by Sony.
The first and foremost one is that it would not be a 70 % – 30 % cut of Sony taking 70% publisher fee versus Microsoft’s 30% that they would get for having it in the store. It would be much higher than that.
…The other thing is that they’re looking for Xbox to pay for the entire port of the game. And then on top of that, they also would need to agree to a certain amount of money for advertising for the game under Sony’s watchful eye.
Is Returnal Worth This Much Effort?
Returnal was Housemarque’s 2021 horror third-person shooter for the PlayStation 5. It is both a technical and artistic achievement. It was one of the first PlayStation 5 games that could run at 4K 60 FPS. This was upscaled from 1080p to 4K, but Housemarque managed to hit these goals while still using real time ray tracing.
Returnal also earned a staggering eight nominations in the BAFTAs. There is no doubt that Returnal would be a jewel to acquire for any platform.
Why Some Of You Don’t Remember Returnal
We already know some of you didn’t even know that this game exists. There are some understandable reasons for this, even if it isn’t fair to the game and to Housemarque.
The elephant in the room is that it released near the start of the pandemic. At this time, Sony struggled to ship and distribute PlayStation 5 consoles worldwide. For reasons outside of Housemarque’s control, most PlayStation 5 gamers today missed Returnal when it originally came out.
To a lesser extent, it is true that Housemarque wasn’t as well known as Naughty Dog or Santa Monica Studio. There are definitely Sony fans who follow and love Housemarque. Returnal should have been their opportunity to become that famous. But as we explained, the pandemic got in the way.
Does Microsoft Need This Game?
Returnal’s and Housemarque’s reputation speaks for itself. On the other hand, Microsoft published 16 of 21 games for this year, and they could still have more games on the way.
We’re sure a lot of people at Microsoft would love to get the rights to Returnal. They’re in the middle of paying back the big investments into Zenimax Media and Activision Blizzard King.
Can Microsoft justify paying big to get Returnal on Xbox Series X|S? It’s easier to imagine they made those big paydays for live service games like Genshin Impact, and also Square Enix’s Final Fantasy games.
If the idea is that Microsoft wants to make Xbox fans happy in a way that embarrasses Sony fans, that’s just ridiculous. Sony and Microsoft have both clearly decided that it is worth dealing with unhappy loyal fans to reach a wider range of gamers.
But then, maybe there is some reason that Microsoft could justify paying big to get PlayStation’s first-person games now instead of waiting for them to do it. Maybe Returnal is just part of a bigger package that includes bigger titles like God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Or maybe there’s an angle that only people in the industry would know about.
At a time when gamers are preparing for the proverbial end of the console wars, it’s interesting to still be pondering questions like this.
