Xbox says Gears of War: E‑Day exclusivity will stay in place

A reset is underway at Xbox, and the company’s recent showcase added to the uncertainty when it announced Gears of War: E‑Day will not be coming to PlayStation 5—a reversal from Microsoft’s broader multiplatform approach over the past two years. The move sits uneasily beside a stark memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma about dismal profit margins for the gaming division.

Exclusives can be a cornerstone of a console‑first strategy, but they also lock studios and publishers out of revenue from other platforms, and with mass layoffs on the table some argued the pivot back to exclusivity might be temporary or even a test of exclusives’ financial viability.

Microsoft pushed back. Xbox chief strategist Matthew Ball wrote on X on June 16 that the rumors are false, saying Gears of War: E‑Day and Clockwork Revolution will stay exclusive and there have been no conversations to reverse course.

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