Xbox owns the Doom: The Dark Ages studio, but Phil Spencer says the FPS is coming to PS5 because Doom is “a franchise that everyone deserves to play”

(Image credit: iD Software)

Despite Microsoft’s recent spate of high-profile Xbox exclusives, including Starfield, Xbox chief Phil Spencer says that Doom: The Dark Ages is coming to PS5 because “it’s a franchise that everyone deserves to play.”

Speaking at IGN Live, Spencer was asked why Doom: The Dark Ages, a slightly medieval twist on the iconic FPS franchise that was announced earlier today during the Xbox Games Showcase would be coming to PS5. That multi-console release is a distinct departure from Xbox’s recent strategy, which has seen several of the games released in the wake of the company’s purchase of Zenimax Media launch only on PC and Xbox. Starfield and Redfall are both Xbox console exclusives, and games like Avowed and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are both due to follow suit.

On Doom Dark Ages coming to PS5: “Doom is definitely one of those franchises that has a history of so many platforms. It’s a franchise that I think everyone deserves to play.” #IGNLiveJune 9, 2024

Doom: The Dark Ages is set to buck that trend, however, and Phil Spencer says that’s due in part to the franchise’s legacy. He told IGN that “Doom is definitely one of those franchises that has a history of so many platforms. It’s a franchise that I think everyone deserves to play.”

That’s an interesting sentiment, because it suggests that Xbox could decide to pick and choose which games end up going fully multiplatform based partly on legacy. Spencer is right that Doom has released on a huge number of platforms, but so, for instance, has The Elder Scrolls. If Doom’s history is the reason why The Dark Ages is set to release on PS5, could the same fate one day befall The Elder Scrolls 6?

Check out our list of upcoming Xbox games.

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