- Written by Tom Gerkin
- Technology reporter
Image source, Xbox game studios
Four games that were previously exclusive to Microsoft will soon be available on competing consoles.
Hi-Fi Rush and pirate game Sea of Thieves are coming to Sony's PS5 only.
Meanwhile, narrative adventure game Pentiment and co-op game Grounded will be available on PS5 as well as Nintendo Switch.
Until now, it was not known what those addresses were.
Two of the games were revealed on Wednesday at Nintendo Direct, the company's online showcase, before Microsoft confirmed the full list in a blog post.
“These accessible multiplayer titles will bring more people together and continue to grow their player communities,” said Matt Botti, head of Xbox Game Studios.
TheXboxHub editor Neil Watton said fans wouldn't be too surprised by the names of the games chosen to appear on other consoles, after several weeks of rumours.
“It's those who jump into Grounded and Sea of Thieves who will ultimately be rewarded, with full cross-platform cross-play to build the player base upon launch in April,” he told the BBC.
“When you think about the depth of co-op play found in those titles, the actions feel complete and utter.”
Several other titles coming to the Nintendo Switch were also revealed during Nintendo's event, including a new Endless Ocean game, Monster Hunter Stories, and a remake of the 2010 Disney hit Epic Mickey.
Viewers were also surprised when the developers of Sonic Mania, a huge hit in 2017, unexpectedly announced their latest game.
Penny's Big Breakaway, developed by Evening Star, is a platform game with a distinct '90s look.
“I think the 3D platformer genre at the moment is going through a bit of a renaissance,” developer director Christian Whitehead told the BBC.
“There's a lot to choose from, even just on Steam and Nintendo Switch,” he added.
Image source, Evening star
Penny's Big Breakaway has a look that's strongly based on the '90s
Evening Star was formed by several people who worked on Sonic Mania as independent contractors.
This game was a huge hit in 2017, receiving an average score of 86 on review aggregator Metacritic along with a nomination at that year's Game Awards.
Although fans were highly anticipating a sequel to this game, it never happened, and Sega instead released Sonic Superstars in 2023, which was designed by the original Sonic designer.
Sonic and Mario – the mascots of Sega and Nintendo – were considered rivals in the 1990s, but after Sega stopped making its own consoles in the 2000s, it began releasing Sonic on competing consoles.
Nowadays, Sonic games appear on Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft consoles.
Argick, a Scottish Twitch streamer with about 20,000 followers, said he plans to spend his evening playing Penny's Big Breakaway on stream.
“Sonic Mania was an exceptional critical success, and fans and critics loved it,” he told the BBC.
“Just looking at the footage of Penny's Big Breakaway, it looks so smooth, fluid, fast and fun – and it's really easy to pick up and play.
“But he's also really silly and doesn't take himself too seriously.”
Elsewhere on Wednesday, gamers less interested in Nintendo updates received a trailer for the upcoming expansion to 2022's Game of the Year winner Elden Ring.
Shadow of the Erdtree is scheduled to be released in June on PC, Xbox and PlayStation in the UK.
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