As Halo: Campaign Evolved and Fable bring those respective series to PlayStation 5 between this year and next, the big hold-out for Xbox exclusives remains Gears of War: E-Day. But apparently, even that almost made the jump before a recent decision prevented the COG soldiers from joining Sony's stable.
So recently, a significant amount of work was already done on a port before plans were changed, according to a report from The Verge. As part of Xbox's offerings at Summer Game Fest 2026, it was revealed that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution represent the exclusives on the green console family.
These are first-party projects, and as E-Day comes out this year and Clockwork next year, they're clearly being positioned as lynchpins of a renewed push towards putting out more Xbox-only games. But going by this report, that's a relatively fresh strategic outlook.
Xbox has undergone some upheaval over the last six months. Longtime boss and face of the brand Phil Spencer retired from his position in February, with Asha Sharma taking over in his stead. Since then, the "This is an Xbox" publicity campaign's been quietly shelved amid acknowledgment that there's a need for course correction due to flagging sales.
During SGF, Xbox CCO Matt Booty went on record about the purview of what'll get ported and what won't. Everything live-service is still going to PlayStation 5, likely due to how difficult it is to make these releases sustainable or profitable long-term, whereas more single-player-centric experiences are decided "case-by-case."
Sony shares some of this mentality, since Bungie's Marathon launched on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, despite the team being acquired back in 2022. But you don't see the likes of God of War or Insomniac's Spider-Man heading to Xbox in the same way the opposite is true.
We'll see what the future has in store for Marcus and Dom. But for now, you'll need a modern equivalent of a Duke in your hands to enjoy guiding them through E-Day.
