XBOX gamers everywhere will notice what appears to be a new symbol on their XBOX Series dashboards, proudly identifying certain games as exclusives. This is in keeping with the company’s recent push back into the space of exclusive games in a bid to rebuild some brand identity and (hopefully) start selling consoles again.
It’s a relatively thin slate for now, and it’s a contentious one, as many feel that it’s not the right way to go, but for others, it’s a firm step in the right direction. It’s no big secret that exclusivity in one way or another has helped drive those pesky console wars over the years.
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XBOX Exclusivity is Loud and Clear
Users switching on their Xbox Series consoles might notice what feels like a new arrival on their dashboards. On the thumbnails and header images for certain games, such as the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day, an icon has appeared, branding them as clear exclusives to the platform.
Here’s the icon I’m referring to, captured on my own Xbox Series X earlier today:
I’d like to take a moment to point out that I’m not solely Team Green. I also own a PlayStation 5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Don’t come at me.
- RELATED: Xbox Players Want More Exclusives
It was recently suggested by some that XBOX plans to roll back recent strategy shifts to push for more exclusivity in games, but this was debunked on social media, the most public of forums, by Matt Ball, Xbox’s Chief Strategy Officer. He’s arguably the best-placed person in the world to dispel these kinds of rumors, and he did so quite definitively:
These rumors are false. Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will stay exclusive. There are no conversations and have been no conversations to ‘reverse course.’
And as we said last week, players can continue to expect signature exclusives from us every year.
When the XBOX Games Showcase was held on June 7th, Gears of War: E-Day was confirmed as an exclusive, putting to bed suggestions and claims that had circulated online for some time. In later murmurings, it was said that Asha Sharma, the new(ish) CEO of XBOX, had made a last-minute push for exclusivity, writing PlayStation out of the Gears discussion at the very latest point possible.
Not wanting to have this effort go unnoticed, the XBOX team appears to have added this nice, new emblem to games that fit the bill on the XBOX dashboard.
What do you think? Are you all-in for XBOX exclusives? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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