5
During E3 2021, Microsoft announced that Obsidian Entertainment was already working on The Outer Worlds 2, being presented as a title that would come exclusively to Xbox and exit to Xbox Game Pass. As was logical after the acquisition of the studio, those from Redmond decided to boost their catalog of exclusives with the sequel to this RPG, although it seems that this decision could change, or at least that’s what they say from Xbox.
Microsoft’s trial against the FTC for the purchase of Activision Blizzard is leaving really interesting statements, such as the fact that Activision demanded more money from Microsoft to work on the Xbox Series S version of Call of Duty. However, it is not the only outstanding thing that is being known these days, since now it is spoken No decision has yet been made as to whether The Outer Worlds 2 will be exclusive or not..
Will The Outer Worlds 2 be exclusive or not?
The FTC lawyer asked Matt Botty (via IGN), the head of Xbox Game Studios, if Microsoft’s intention was because The Outer Worlds 2 will be exclusive to the company’s consoles or not, once the agreements are finalized. The collaboration between Obsidian and Sony came to an end with the first installment, as happened with Deathloop or Ghostwire Tokyo in the case of Bethesda.
Botty responded that “no decision has been made” on the exclusivity of The Outer Worlds 2, despite the fact that at the time of the announcement it was revealed as an “Xbox Console Exclusive”. So why this change in discourse with the game developed by Obsidian Entertainment? The answer finds its reasoning in Starfield and Redfall. The FTC used as an argument in its defense the fact that Microsoft canceled the PS5 versions of both games once certified the purchase of Bethesda, something that has ensured that they can extrapolate to Call of Duty if they buy Activision.
PlayStation provokes Activision: If the agreement with Microsoft goes through, they will not have access to PS6 or exclusive hardware improvements
we are xbox.com
This has been an argument that has gained special strength during the trial, since it has shown that, IPs that were multiplatform at the time of their announcement, became exclusive after the acquisition of the corresponding studio (something logical, if you want our opinion). However, Microsoft’s argument in its defenses has been that Call of Duty will not be exclusive to Xbox even if they buy Activision, but the FTC is suspicious of the record in this case.
For this reason, Matt Botty has assured that a decision has not yet been made on whether or not The Outer Worlds 2 will be exclusive to Xbox. The intention of the boss of Xbox Game Studios is that the FTC cannot strengthen its position with another case similar to that of Starfield and Redfall, so it will not say publicly if the game will come exclusively to the Redmond consoles.