We're about to get our first confirmation that Xbox is indeed backtracking on its decision to keep previously exclusive games on PS5 and Switch 2, as it's been claimed that the decision not to put Gears of War: E-Day on PS5 was “just made”.
Xbox has reportedly decided Gears of War: E-Day will leave the PS5
Speaking during GB's second day at Night, Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb claimed that E-Day is no longer coming to PS5, but that this is a decision that Xbox has just made, with its E-Day live a few hours later today. “I'll say it here. Gears of War: E-Day was going to be on PS5. It's not anymore. That just happened. It's just a decision,” Grubb revealed.
The Xbox Showcase takes place later today, the platform's biggest event of the year and the first to air under new CEO, Asha Sharma. E-Day is expected to have a release date and a big presence as it's already been confirmed that there will be a deep dive into the new Gears of War game after the main showcase is over.
The implication was that E-Day would be coming to PS5 despite Gears being an Xbox-exclusive series in general for several reasons. For starters, Xbox is now in the business of putting all of its games on other platforms, seemingly leaving exclusives behind. Grubb claims E-Day will no longer be on PS5 A few hours ago, a PlayStation listing for the first new Gears game of the decade was spotted at Walmart. That listing has now been removed.
Xbox users want exclusive games
However, since Asha Sharma took over as Xbox CEO and started asking its player base what changes it wants to see, the return to the feature has come more than anything else. Right now, on Xbox Player Voice, a site set up by Xbox where its users can have their voice heard about the things they want, the returning feature is still at the top of the pile with more than 22,000 votes and counting.
If E-Day is indeed leaving PlayStation, then it could signal the start of an Xbox Jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis. Gears of War: Reloaded, an upgraded version of the first Gears Ultimate Edition game, released on the PS5, is the first game in the series to be made available on a non-Xbox console. Unlike other exclusives that have dropped on Xbox, this one doesn't seem to make much of a splash.
Maybe for a series like Gears, which PS5 owners don't seem to care if anything goes into Reloaded, the Xbox will keep its games exclusive. However, when Forza Horizon 5 sold millions on PS5 it's hard to imagine the Xbox whole genie being bottled exclusively. It's also too late for Halo: Campaign Evolved. However, if the E-Day claims are true, how the Halo remake sells on the PS5 could determine whether future Halo games are multi-platform.
