Microsoft Confirms Plans To Launch These Four Xbox Games On Rival Platforms

Confirming rumors and reports, Microsoft today officially announced that its first-party games Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush, and Pentiment are coming to rival platforms.

Pentiment comes to PS4, PS5, and Switch on February 22. Hi-Fi Rush lands on PlayStation 5 on March 19, with preorders opening February 21 (there was no mention of a Switch release). Grounded, meanwhile, comes to PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch on April 16. Cross-play will be available between all console platforms as well as PC.

Finally, Sea of Thieves is coming to PS5 on April 30, and there will be cross-play support between Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. Microsoft did not say anything about bringing Sea of Thieves to Switch.

"Whether it's Nintendo Switch and PlayStation players surviving in the backyard together in Grounded, or PlayStation players getting to live a pirate's life in Sea of Thieves, with cross-play, these multiplayer titles available will bring more people together and continue to grow their communities of players," Xbox's Matt Booty said.

Gamers on PlayStation and Nintendo devices will have to buy the games outright, though, as Microsoft is not bringing Game Pass to those platforms.

Microsoft is already one of the biggest publishers on PlayStation and Nintendo thanks to the Minecraft franchise, and this reach is expected to only grow further. After all, Microsoft will continue to publish the Call of Duty series on PlayStation, and potentially bring it to Nintendo, following Microsoft's buyout of Activision Blizzard in 2023.

Pentiment and Grounded coming to Switch specifically is no surprise. After all, during the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, Nintendo announced Pentiment and Grounded for Switch.

There are still plenty of unanswered questions going forward, including whether or not Microsoft will bring even more of its games to rival platforms. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has said his job is to increase shareholder value, and bringing Xbox games to rival systems is a way to do that.