Summary
Bethesda won’t say whetherBladeis an Xbox console exclusive or not. TheBladereveal was one of the most shocking moments atThe Game Awards 2023, with Arkane Studios confirming the new third-person action game as its next project. SinceBlade’s reveal, though, much of the discussion has been focused not on the game itself, but on whether it will be released as an Xbox console exclusive or not.
Arkane and Bethesda are owned by Xbox, and so it stands to reason thatBladewill be an Xbox console exclusive. Despite this, the Xbox logo was nowhere to be seen in theBladereveal trailer, which left a lot of fans scratching their heads. Even stranger was the lack of an Xbox Game Pass logo. Since all first-party games come to Xbox Game Pass on day one, one would think Xbox would want to useBladeto promote its Game Pass subscription service.
The refusal to include Xbox or Game Pass branding with theBladetrailer has left many to assume that the game may be a multi-platform release and not an Xbox console exclusive. It would be odd, but it is entirely possible that Xbox plans on releasingBladeon PlayStation or other competing platforms.VG24/7 reached out to Bethesdato get clarification on the matter, but apparently it declined to comment on whetherBladeis an Xbox exclusive or not.
There have been many theories put forward as towhyBladewas announced with no mention of Xbox exclusivityor Game Pass. One theory is that pressure from the FTC over Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard informed Xbox’s decision to keep its branding off theBladetrailer. Another theory is thatBladewill indeed be multiplatform. Unfortunately, Bethesda’s refusal to comment onBlade’s potential Xbox exclusivity means fans will be left in the dark about it for now.
It wouldn’t make much sense forBladeto release for PS5. After all, PlayStation has its own Marvel exclusives that it doesn’t release on Xbox, and so it would be strange for Xbox to put its Marvel game on a competing console. Not only that, but Xbox already has licensed games in the works that will reportedly be Xbox exclusives,like Bethesda’sIndiana Jonesgame, and so it’s unclear why an exception would be made forBlade.
For now, theBladegame fromArkane Studioswill have to remain shrouded in mystery. Hopefully Marvel fans don’t have to wait too long to get solid answers about the game.
