Imagine you are an independent game studio in 2025 working on a new game and need a publisher. Could be AAA, could be a smaller indie. You are watching today's Xbox developer direct and you see Ninja Gaiden 4 announced, published by Xbox Game Studios Publishing. You then see it's on PlayStation. Are you not immediately picking up the phone to pitch Xbox?

The decision by Xbox to start publishing their games on rival platforms has been polarizing to say the least. Some applaud them for breaking down the exclusive walls. Others think it's going to kill the brand, or at least the console, entirely. The jury is still out on how this all plays out, but one thing that's clear to me now is that Xbox the publisher might be the most attractive publisher out there.

Indeed with Ninja Gaiden 4 being announced and published by Xbox it had to have opened some eyes. They are the richest company that's fully invested in gaming, and are changing the way they view the industry. If a developer can tap into that funding and marketing while being on Game Pass it's a pretty enticing deal. Add on the fact that they will publish the game on all the platforms including PlayStation? Almost seems too good to be true right?

But it is the current reality. I have no idea how broad they will take this for their own studios. Both Avowed and South Of Midnight are, at least for now, still Xbox console exclusives. They very well could come to PlayStation (this seems likely at this point), but it's a bit different. The publishing arm however is likely fully open for business.

Can This Lead To More Games Coming To Xbox?

The biggest fear I typically see online these days about Xbox going more third party is that more games will begin to skip the console. But what if the exact opposite is actually true? What if Xbox begins signing all these publishing deals and we actually see less games skipping the platform?

Just look at the Ninja Gaiden 4 developers. They developed Rise Of The Ronin last year, which was PlayStation exclusive. They made 2 Nioh games which were PlayStation exclusive as well. PlatinumGames? Outside of a Nier Automata port they haven't released anything on Xbox in almost a decade.

This is of course just one example, but it can easily become the start of a trend. The last couple of years PlayStation has been making their lineup look strong with a lot of publishing deals and third party deals. With the cancellation of many games recently they might be relying on that a little bit more, but the price of business may have just gone up.

Typically studios have gone to PlayStation because that's where they sell the most games, and for the most part they still allow games on PC. Skipping Xbox wasn't the end of the world because they'd at least get all the sales on PlayStation. But if Xbox and PlayStation are offering similar deals now, which one looks more attractive if one doesn't even care if you are exclusive or not?

At the very least it's got to be a thought no? And unless you are someone who just needs a game to be exclusive to enjoy it for whatever reason, no one loses in this situation. If you are a PlayStation gamer you still get to play the game. And Xbox players get it as well and on Game Pass.

Creative Freedom

Perhaps the most enticing reason to go to Xbox as a publisher is their more recent willingness to be less hands on. What I mean by that is that while they still help with development they appear to be letting the creative process play out without them interfering much.

We see this in a lot of their first party studios. What major publisher is allowing games like Pentiment or Grounded? Xbox just wants quality content now they can sell Game Pass with. The more the merrier. Some might argue they should maybe care a little more about mass appeal, but their thinking is if a game is great people will want it. And if they can get it plus hundreds of others on Game Pass? Well that ups the chances of new subscribers.

So we have a publisher who's willing to put your game in as many hands as possible (Game Pass) and sell it on the larger platforms while being hands off on the creative process. Can we say.....

When Everyone Plays We All Win?

As I said earlier this is so far just a one time thing. This was 1 game being announced. But it's a safe bet to assume it won't be the last and will likely be the new norm. Ultimately how this actually affects a studios thought process and willingness to go to Xbox is to be determined. But at first glance it's got to be a positive.

Xbox has taken to the tag line recently that when everyone plays we all win. It just so happens that the phrase might even extend to studios looking for a way to get their games in the hands of everyone.