Xbox Series X: New console will not have exclusive first-party games, Microsoft says

New games will be available for Xbox One and PC

(Microsoft)

Microsoft will not release any games exclusively for its new Xbox Series X, it has said.

The new console is set to arrive later this year, but there will not be any first-party games that can only be played on it, Microsoft revealed.

Instead, those new first-party games will be playable on the PC and the old Xbox One, Microsoft Studios head Matt Booty said in an interview with gaming website MCV.

The strategy is in keeping with Microsoft's "Play Anywhere" strategy, which has seen it aim to make the process of moving between different platforms more seamless.

It is also in line with Microsoft's indications that the new console will be seen as more of an evolution from previous versions, rather than an entirely new break with what has come before.

“As our content comes out over the next year, two years, all of our games, sort of like PC, will play up and down that family of devices,” he said.

“We want to make sure that if someone invests in Xbox between now and [Series X] that they feel that they made a good investment and that we’re committed to them with content.”

That does not mean that first-party games that are coming at the launch of the new Xbox will not take full advantage of the consoles' abilities, he said.

“Our approach is to pick one or two IP that we’re going to focus on and make sure that they’re there at the launch of the console, taking advantage of all the features. And for us that’s going to be Halo Infinite, which is a big opportunity," he told MCV.

“It’s the first time in over 15 years that we’ll have a Halo title launching in sync with a new console. And that team is definitely going to be doing things to take advantage of [Series X].”

Sony has not said whether the new PlayStation 5, which is also set to be launched towards the end of this year, will have games that can only be played on that platform. It has promised that it will be backwards compatible with PlayStation 4 games, but not whether the same compatibility will extend the other way.