Xbox survey: Microsoft tests exclusivity – even Minecraft without PS5 and Switch
In a survey of Xbox Insiders, Microsoft asks how players would react to Xbox-exclusive games – up to and including Minecraft. Nothing has been decided.
Symbolic image · Photo: Der. Bellemer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Microsoft is asking selected members of the Xbox Insider programme how they feel about more console exclusivity. Windows Central first reported the survey, and according to GameSpot the site confirmed it is genuine. The most extreme scenario: all future games from every Xbox franchise except Call of Duty would be exclusive to Xbox among consoles. Respondents are also asked about Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Diablo and Kojima’s Physint; nothing would change on PC in each case.
The Minecraft section is particularly sensitive: it describes existing versions on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles no longer being sold or receiving new content. According to the survey, games already purchased would be unaffected. As GamesRadar+ notes, Microsoft is in any case obliged to release Call of Duty on other platforms until at least 2033.
None of this is a decision: GameSpot points out that these are hypothetical scenarios and that Xbox Research surveys many topics. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Xbox executive Matt Booty had told staff they would “re-evaluate” their approach to exclusivity. Sharma had previously said Xbox needs exclusives to return to growth.