Beloved Square Enix RPG Series Could Finally Sort Out Its Messy Exclusivity
Square Enixâs pledge to end all its console exclusivity nonsense is already bearing fruit. As spotted by the eagle eyes at Gematsu, beloved RPG Octopath Traveler has been rated in Taiwan for PlayStation, and Octopath Traveler IIâpreviously announced for Xboxâcould appear as soon as this month.
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As that suggests, Octopath Traveler has had something of a peculiar time. The first game, released in 2018, began life as a Switch exclusive, before gradually finding its way to PC in 2019, then Xbox One in 2021. But a PlayStation version never appeared. Come 2023, Octopath Traveler II was simultaneously released on Switch, PC and…PlayStation. Huh?
Both Sony and Microsoft love a good exclusive. Sometimes each company will get publishers and developers to agree to at least a timed period where a game can only be played on their own console. The theory being, if youâre trying to choose between an Xbox or a PlayStation, youâll pick the one that plays the most games youâre interested in. But while this theoretically benefits the consoles, itâs only a short-term win for the developers, who need to be sure the financial incentives will match the potential loss of half of all possible console sales.
But the real losers are us, the players, the people who own the âwrongâ console. And that has been especially the case when it comes to those who own either am Xbox or a PS4/5 who want to enjoy the Octopath franchise. It seems that this silliness could well be coming to an end, given that Taiwanâs ratings board has listings for both games on their previously missing platform.
The original Octopath Traveler has listings for both PS4 and PS5, although with no release date yet attached. And weâve known for a while that Octopath Traveler 2 is due an Xbox release, given Squareâs trailer released during Tokyo Game Show last September, although only that it should arrive âEarly 2024.â
Thatâs clearly been missed, given weâre now midway through the year, but according to Exputer (also spotted by Gematsu), a leaker has suggested it could be appearing on Game Pass this June. Rumored to be a day-one Game Pass release, thatâll be a pleasant surprise for those who have been waiting three years for the follow-up.
With Squeenixâs promise to avoid all this tiresomeness in the future, youâd hope itâd clear a path for a potential Octopath Traveler 3, although unfortunately the simultaneous promise to focus more on âqualityâ games (read âAAAâ) does suggest this could be unlikely to exist at all.
Weâve reached out to Square to ask for confirmation regarding these rumors, and to enquire about the chances of an Octopath Traveler 3.
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