The Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield probably aren’t releasing on PS5 or any platform that doesn’t offer Xbox Game Pass. In other words, to play the two games from Bethesda Game Studios, you will need to cop a gaming PC or own an Xbox console. After being cagey about what Xbox’s acquisition of Bethesda means for future Bethesda releases, today Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, more or less confirmed that games not tied down contractually already probably won’t be coming to the PS5. In other words, while Bethesda’s next couple of games — such as PS5 console exclusives Deathloop and GhostWire Tokyo — are still coming to PS5, they shouldn’t be used as an example for the policy going forward.
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Right now, Phil Spencer and co. are leaving the door open ever-so-slightly, but today the Xbox boss did definitively say that Xbox is dedicated to releasing exclusives games on platforms where Xbox Game Pass lives, and there’s no way Xbox Game Pass is coming to the PS5.
“So obviously | can’t sit here and say ‘every Bethesda game is exclusive’ because we know that’s not true,” said Spencer via Nibel. “There are contractual obligations that we are gonna see-through, we always do in every one of these instances. We have games that exist on other platforms and we are going to support those games on the platforms they are on. […] And even in the future there might be things that have either contractual things or legacy on different platforms that we’ll do. But: if you’re an Xbox customer, the thing | want you to know is that this is about delivering great exclusive games for you that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists. And that’s our goal, that’s why we are doing this, that’s the root of this partnership that we are building. And the creative capability we will be able to bring to market for Xbox customers is going to be the best it’s ever been for Xbox after we are done here.”
Again, the door isn’t completely closed, but that seems like PR speak for “future Bethesda games aren’t coming to PS5.” Could PlayStation have some type of contractual agreement for The Elder Scrolls 6 or Starfield or both? Sure, but considering that neither game has even been announced for any PlayStation console, makes this unlikely. We could be reading this wrong, but that’s how many fans of both PlayStation and Xbox are taking Spencer’s words.
