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The temporarily challenged PS5 shooter Deathloop looks set to hit Xbox consoles soon, ending the PlayStation console exclusivity.
A year after Deathloop launched as a PS5 exclusive, an ad for the game appeared on the Xbox Series X|S home screen. In the ‘Store’ section of the dashboard, a tile displays a promotional image of the game, with the text ‘Pre-order now’ above it.
The ad is currently not functional. The Microsoft Store app appeared briefly when I clicked on it, but got stuck on a buffer screen. The ad was probably released too early, but suggests Deathloop will be coming to Xbox in the near future.
Perfect timing
Deathloop is set to hit Xbox consoles by the end of the year. A gameplay trailer (opens in new tab) released before launch suggested the game wouldn’t be available on other consoles until at least a year after its release – making September 2022 the most likely period for an Xbox port to appear.
The move to Xbox Series X|S is also something of an inevitability. Although Deathloop was released exclusively for the PS5, it was published by Bethesda and developed by Arkane – two studios owned by Microsoft. Sony arranged the game’s PS5 exclusivity before Microsoft completed its purchase of Bethesda, forcing the Xbox owner to publish a game on its biggest rival’s console.
Deathloop will likely launch on Xbox Game Pass as well. Microsoft is keen to put first-party titles and Bethesda-published games on the subscription service to increase its value. With Dishonored 2 and Doom Eternal already on the platform – and Starfield on the way – we suspect Deathloop will be joining them soon.
The game won’t leave the PS5 behind, though, as Sony only recently added it to the Extra and Premium tiers of PS Plus.