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Xbox Prez, Sarah Bond Declares the Age of Exclusives Is Over: “Players Want to Play Everywhere”
October 26, 2025Sarah Bond, president of Xbox, just called it: console exclusives are relics of the past. In a new interview with Mashable, she doubled down on Xbox’s now very public push to break down platform barriers.
Asked about the future of Xbox’s so-called “blockbuster exclusives,” Bond didn’t mince words. “The idea of locking it to one store or one device is antiquated for most people,” she said. There’s a new standard: games that are everywhere, and friends who can team up, no matter the box under their TV.
The biggest titles? Already cross-platform. “You look at Call of Duty, you look at Minecraft, you look at Fortnite, you look at Roblox,” Bond listed off. “That’s actually what’s really driving community in gaming.” People want to jump in regardless of device, and Xbox sees that as the way forward.
Xbox’s Multiformat Push Isn’t Theory, it’s Happening
This isn’t just talk. Xbox began its multiplatform pivot in early 2024, taking four games, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded, and sending them to PlayStation. That opened the floodgates.
By April 2024, the results were very real. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said they were starting to see the benefits pay off: in one standout stat, Xbox had more games in the PlayStation Store’s top 25 best-sellers than Sony itself. That’s not just success, it’s a shot across the bow in the platform wars, and a sign that Xbox’s business model is prioritising reach and revenue over exclusivity.
The wave only picked up speed. Since that announcement, more former Xbox-only hits have jumped the fence: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Forza Horizon 5, and Gears of War: Reloaded all found new audiences on PlayStation systems. Xbox isn’t being coy; every game in its portfolio is potentially fair game for other platforms if it helps build stronger communities.
The Next Xbox: Openness Goes Both Ways
This cross-platform approach isn’t just about Xbox putting its games elsewhere. Bond hinted that the next Xbox console will double down on openness for players, too.
Here’s the kicker: she referenced the Asus ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, which already let gamers access not just the Xbox PC Store, but Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG. The next Xbox, Bond says, will “share some of the thinking” behind these devices. Expect the new console to play nice with a wide range of digital stores, following where players already are, rather than walling them in.
For longtime fans raised on exclusivity, this might feel like heresy. For Xbox, it’s a calculated bet: gamers want to play together anywhere, anytime, and the company is all in on making it happen. For now, one thing is clear: the old rules of gaming are breaking down, and Xbox is happy to lead the way into a new, borderless era.
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