Xbox executives have acknowledged that the company's approach to game exclusivity is not "obvious" to players, while insisting that upcoming titles Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will not be the only games kept off PlayStation. Chief strategy officer Matthew Ball and chief content officer Matt Booty made the comments in an interview with GamesRadar, seeking to clarify Microsoft's strategy following last month's Xbox showcase and subsequent cuts of 3,200 jobs alongside several studio divestments. The issue matters because Xbox's exclusivity policy has appeared inconsistent, particularly given Halo's imminent debut on a Sony console and last year's surprise PS5 release of Gears of War: Reloaded.

Ball stated that exclusive games and services remain essential to growing the Xbox platform, confirming further exclusives are planned beyond the two titles already announced. Speculation had suggested Microsoft favours making single-player games Xbox-exclusive while keeping live-service multiplayer titles multi-platform for wider reach, but Booty pushed back, saying he "wouldn't overly fixate on single-player" and that no such approach was "carved in stone". Ball conceded the current strategy might not be "obvious to all our players", though no definitive policy was set out. The comments come amid ongoing fallout from the layoffs, with a further 1,600 job cuts expected between now and next summer.