Xbox Losing Award-Nominated Console Exclusive to PlayStation & Nintendo Next Week

By Tyler Fischer

Xbox is losing an award-nominated console exclusive game to PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch next week, or more specifically, in four days on January 25. In 2021, Xbox released two huge console exclusive games in the form of Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5. While this pair of games are the 2021 Xbox console exclusives everyone knows about, they weren't the only console exclusives for the brand last year. In 2021, The Artful Escape was released via PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X, and now it's finally coming to the aforementioned PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.

Developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur and published by Annapurna Interactive -- the latter best known for games like What Remains of Edith Finch, Outer Wilds, Donut County, and The Pathless -- The Artful Escape orignally released on September 9, 2021 to an 80 on Metacritic. It's unclear how the game sold, but come the end of the year it was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best Score and Music at The Game Awards 2021. 

Below, you can read more about the game, and check out a recent trailer for it as well:

"On the eve of his first performance, Francis Vendetti battles with the legacy of a dead folk legend and the cosmic wanderings of his own imagination," reads an official blurb about the game. "Francis, a teenage guitar prodigy, sets out on a psychedelic, multidimensional journey to inspire his stage persona."

On PlayStation and Nintendo consoles, the game will cost $20, just like it does on Xbox consoles and PC. At the moment of publishing, there's no word of a retail release, and considering a retail release didn't happen in September when the game was originally released, there's no reason to expect this trio of ports will get physical editions.

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