Game Developers Agree: Full Exclusivity No Longer Works

Helldivers on Xbox, Gears on PlayStation - this is the new normal

If you wanted to play Halo, you needed an Xbox. If you were into God of War, it was PlayStation or nothing. But according to a new survey made by Gamescom 2025 and Devcom organizers, game developers are officially over the idea of exclusivity.

What’s going on?

In the survey, 94% of developers said they no longer see full exclusivity as an effective strategy. Only 6% of respondents believe that studios will keep treating exclusivity the old-school way which means one platform and no ports.

32% say exclusivity is totally outdated, while 34% expect to see more timed exclusives for different platforms. And honestly? They might be right.

Exclusive games used to be the whole point of choosing one console over another and they helped sell millions of units. And basically, they defined console generations.

But now we live in a world where Helldivers 2, a PlayStation-published title, is coming to Xbox. Where even Gears of War and Forza Horizon are launching on PlayStation.

Where’s Nintendo in this trend?

While Sony and Microsoft are busy trading games in the same manner as Pokémon cards, Nintendo is still in its own bubble. It doesn’t port its mainline titles to PC. You won’t see Zelda on Xbox. And if you're hoping to play Metroid Prime 4 on anything but a Nintendo console, it won't be happening anytime soon.

However, Nintendo has made a few quiet deals. The Wonderful 101, an original Wii U title, was later re-released on other platforms after Nintendo gave PlatinumGames all the rights. But those are rare exceptions.

At first, Sony used to explore the opportunity of PC ports. But things are changing fast. After announcing Helldivers 2 for Xbox, Sony began actively hiring for a senior director of multiplatform and partner strategy at PlayStation Studios.

And then there’s Microsoft. You can now play Hi-Fi RUSH, Sea of Thieves, Gears of War, and even Forza on PlayStation. The goal? To reach more players worldwide, especially while promoting their Game Pass and Xbox services.

What’s the future?

If these survey results are anything to go by, exclusivity as we knew it is going to disappear. What will differentiate consoles now? Services? Ecosystems? Price? Controllers?

Who knows. But one thing’s clear: The era of “You can only play this here” is coming to an end. And most developers couldn’t be happier.