There were rumblings that this was maybe going to happen, but Microsoft never actually announced that Hi-Fi Rush would expand beyond Xbox and Game Pass and head to rival systems like PS5 and Nintendo Switch.
Well, now a new, confirmed datamine says that is all but certainly happening. There are three different upcoming shirts whose texture files have been found. One is blue and says “I’m here baby!” another is red and says “Rock out anywhere!” There’s also a green one for the OG Xbox. I’m not quite sure about the blue PS reference, or if it is one, but “rock out anywhere” is obviously tied to the Switch’s portability.
Again, this has not been announced, but these files are real and I mean, come on. No more pretending this isn’t happening.
As such, expect it to restart the great debate of whether or not Xbox should be bringing its exclusives to other platforms. Hi-Fi Rush was Xbox’s most-awarded/nominated game in 2023, a wildly successful shadow drop that seemed to indicate Microsoft had some surprise hits in them. But now the question is whether it “devalues” the game by bringing it to other platforms. It’s in line with Microsoft’s stayed “play Xbox games anywhere” idea, but it’s hard to see the opposite of this ever happening. Games like Horizon Zero Dawn or Mario Kart 8 could be “old enough,” but PlayStation or Nintendo would never give them out to their rivals regardless.
The attached rumor to this makes slightly more sense, that Microsoft may plan to bring Sea of Thieves to PlayStation and/or Nintendo as well. While another exclusive game, it’s at least one that relies on online multiplayer, so expanding the playerbase would be a good thing. And that game is very old, so I don’t see this as much of a philosophical issue. After all, Sony-owned Bungie has Destiny 2 on all platforms (well, not Switch), and will release new MP game Marathon on multiple platforms as well.
The question is where you draw the line. A thought experiment, if not a potential rumor, was that something like Halo Infinite’s free-to-play multiplayer could expand to PlayStation. Again, you can use the “game is old, game is multiplayer” idea of Sea of Thieves to justify that, but do you really want to put Master Chief on PlayStation? Really? I guess that’s for Microsoft to decide.
The only thing right now that appears to be definitely happening is this Hi-Fi Rush expansion. I expect it to be announced soon, and a debate that happened a few weeks ago will no doubt start percolating again.
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