James Ratcliff joined Game Rant in 2022 as a Gaming News Writer. In 2023, James was offered a chance to become an occasional feature writer for different games and then a Senior Author in 2025. He is a third-generation Texan who has written professionally for over a decade at local newspapers, addressing various topics for his readers. Since 2024, James has shifted his complete focus to covering gaming news.
Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty said that console exclusives should be a “reward” for players who have invested their long-term support and prospective users looking to justify purchasing a Microsoft console. As of this writing, only two first-party Xbox titles have been announced as console exclusive to the Xbox Series X/S lineup.
Xbox Console Exclusivity Remains a Fluid Situation
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Dominik Bošnjak / Game Rant | Source image: inXile Entertainment / Xbox
Although Booty previously stated that Xbox console exclusives would be on a case-by-case basis, he said that gamers should not focus too much on one aspect. In a GamesRadar+ interview taken after the June 2026 Xbox Games Showcase, Booty said, “There has to be a reason for people to buy an Xbox.” While Xbox already confirmed that live-service games will remain multiplatform, Booty said that single-player games being console exclusive to Xbox is not an absolute. However, Booty acknowledged that it is a “good rule of thumb” for players to bear in mind, while reassuring that there will be more than two Xbox-exclusive games. Booty said that, given Xbox’s portfolio of over 20 gaming franchises that have earned over a billion dollars in revenue each, Xbox Game Studios must carefully consider what to make a console exclusive. Given that this portfolio includes studios under Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, Booty said it’s up to Xbox to make its decisions clearer to users.
