An Xbox executive has said it no longer sees other consoles like PS5 and the Nintendo Switch 2 as competition, as Halo goes multiformat.

Microsoft’s multi-platform shift with Xbox has been going on for the past several years, but it reached a new milestone with the announcement of Halo: Campaign Evolved.

Along with Xbox Series X/S and PC, the upcoming remake is heading to PlayStation 5 when it launches next year. This is the first time Xbox’s most iconic mascot, Master Chief, will be on a rival console, following other IP like Gears Of War and Forza Horizon.

It’s a significant announcement, as Xbox’s last key exclusive falls in line with its broader cross-platform strategy, but one which is emblematic of where Microsoft sees itself now in the gaming space.

According to Matt Booty, president of Xbox game content and studios, gamers no longer have a strong attachment to the actual devices they use to play games.

‘Our biggest competition isn’t another console,’ Booty told The New York Times. ‘We are competing more and more with everything from TikTok to movies.’

Speaking about the decision to put Halo on other platforms, he added: ‘We are all seeking to meet people where they are.’

His comments echo those from Xbox president Sarah Bond recently, who made the strange claim that exclusive games had become ‘antiquated’, in the age of Minecraft and Fortnite, despite the Switch 2 being the fastest-selling console ever.

In Booty’s case, however, there’s more truth to his comments – even if it isn’t exactly a new revelation. Ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden shared the same sentiment last year in an interview with Eurogamer, saying: ‘We’re losing the next generation to TikTok. The competition for gaming isn’t Xbox and Nintendo. It’s everything else in the freaking zeitgeist that can take your time away from your gaming activity.’

In many ways, this has always been the case but it’s been emphasised recently because the the growth of the gaming console market has notably slowed down over the past few years – with concerns platforms like TikTok are pulling young people away from playing games, as the average age of gamers gets olders.

Xbox hopes this multi-platform shift will expose its IP to new audiences, while going some way to bumping up its profits, but it’s hard to see how a remake of the original Halo will pull people away from TikTok – no matter what platform it’s on.

The franchise has dwindled in relevance since developer 343 Industries took over from Bungie, and the most people interested in a remake will be those nostalgic for the first Xbox.

It might have helped if Halo: Campaign Evolved was coming to Switch 2, as well as PlayStation 5, but despite Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer’s repeated promises (most recently to Famitsu) to support Nintendo’s console, there’s still little to show for it.

The only confirmed Xbox-published game for Switch 2 so far is Indiana Jones And The Great Circle (another aging IP forolder fans), which is slated for sometime in 2026. Other games have been rumoured but nothing else has ever announced by Microsoft.

A revamped Halo – but who does it appeal to? (Xbox Game Studios)

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