Phil Spencer says Helldivers 2 not being on Xbox isn’t helping the industry

Helldivers 2’s console exclusivity has Xbox players feeling a little left out. Phil Spencer himself commented on the issue and wondered who exactly benefits from the game’s Xbox absence.

Helldivers 2’s chaotic co-op action has captured the attention of gamers everywhere. In a lot of ways, the game has mirrored the success of Palworld, albeit with a lower overall player count.

Its unexpected popularity caused some server issues early on due to the sheer demand of players and the developers have had to expand their team to adjust their content output. This is all happening while Helldivers 2 is only available on PlayStation consoles and PC.

CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer has questioned the decision to keep Helldivers 2 from Xbox consoles. In an interview with Game File, Spencer made his case for sharing the love.

The interview was an effort to contextualize Xbox’s most recent ‘business update’ on the Official Xbox Podcast in which Spencer finally squashed rumors that Starfield was coming to PlayStation 5. He did however reveal that four unnamed Xbox exclusives would be going multiplatform in the future.

Though for Xbox players, there’s no word on whether this sharing of exclusives will be reciprocated by PlayStation and Nintendo. A fact that Spencer appeared to lament, specifically in regard to Helldivers 2.

“I will say, when I look at a game like Helldivers 2—and it’s a great game, kudos to the team shipping on PC and PlayStation—I’m not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox,” Spencer explained.

“But I get it. There’s a legacy in console gaming that we’re going to benefit by shipping games and not putting them in other places,” Spencer added, conceding that exclusives are the norm for all involved. “We do the same thing.”

Spencer did qualify that Xbox’s decision to bring some of its exclusives over to Nintendo and PlayStation wasn’t an effort to have those companies to the same with their exclusives.

“This is not for me, like, some kind of bartering system. We’re doing it for the better of Xbox’s business,” Spencer elaborated. “I will say shipping more games in more places and making them more accessible to more people is a good part of the gaming business.”