Xbox reportedly used Palworld as an example of its cross-platform ambitions

Over the past few days, rumors shaking up the video game industry have started to swirl on social media.

What started with Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush quickly encompassed titles like Starfield, with rumors also swirling around Halo and Gears of War.

What were these rumors about? According to some anonymous sources, a seismic shift in Xbox’s strategy is to be expected, hinting at a cross-platform pivot about to come to fruition in the very near future, with some of the titles mentioned above heading to the PS5 and perhaps even the Nintendo Switch.

While Xbox has yet to officially respond to these rumors, new reports now indicate that these plans could be set in stone.

On top of that, the company’s top executives even reportedly used Palworld as an example of their strategy in action.

Xbox games could soon be available on new platforms as the company looks to expand its reach.

According to anonymous Microsoft employees in correspondence with Inverse, a public meeting was held on February 6 as the rumors mentioned above spread online.

“Every screen is an Xbox,” company president Sarah Bond reportedly said during the conversation. The idea being that, in the future, tablets, TV screens, monitors and portable devices will all be able to deliver Xbox experiences.

To illustrate this strategy, company executives allegedly displayed images of Palworld on a multitude of devices. The surprise hit has been a near-unstoppable phenomenon since the start of 2024, and it’s clear that Xbox bet on the right thing by bringing it to Game Pass from the start.

Leveraging its early insight into the mega-popular game, Xbox proudly showcased Palworld at the town hall, rather than any other IP actually owned by Xbox.

While this strategic shift will apparently be discussed publicly during a podcast on February 15, Xbox is also expected to clarify the company’s future as a hardware manufacturer.

According to comments from Phil Spencer, there will indeed be “future hardware” from the Xbox brand, regardless of where its software ends up in the long term.