Microsoft has denied they have ever pulled games like Redfall from PS5 and PS4 to make them exclusive to Xbox. The denial comes after reports surfaced a few days ago that Redfall was originally coming to PS5 but this version was canceled when Microsoft acquired Bethesda.
Microsoft moves to quell players’ fears over Xbox exclusivity
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer has already claimed Microsoft does not want to keep existing PlayStation games off those consoles, and this is the main argument in their fight to acquire Activision Blizzard and the Call of Duty franchise. Redfall director Harvey Smith’s assertion that Redfall was canceled on PS5 goes directly against that claim, so a Microsoft spokesperson released a statement to GameSpot refuting the allegation the game was pulled from the platform:
We haven’t pulled any games from PlayStation. In fact, we’ve expanded our footprint of games that we’ve shipped on Sony’s PlayStation since our acquisition of ZeniMax, and the first two games we shipped after closing were PlayStation 5 exclusives. We did the same thing since our closing of Minecraft as we extended the reach of that franchise. All of the games that were available on PlayStation when we acquired ZeniMax in March 2021 are still available on PlayStation, and we have continued to do content updates on PlayStation and PC. We have always said that future decisions on whether to distribute ZeniMax games for other consoles will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Microsoft spokesperson
While the Bethesda deal did still allow Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo to enjoy PS5 exclusivity for 12 months, once existing contracts had passed things haven’t been so encouraging. Both Starfield and Redfall are exclusive to Xbox, and there are rumors that The Elder Scrolls 6 will follow suit despite being an existing PlayStation franchise. Regardless of whether Microsoft or Harvey Smith is correct, the future doesn’t look bright for future Bethesda games on PS4 and/or PS5.
