Microsoft Wants PS4 Console Exclusive 'No Man's Sky’ On Xbox One

Hello Games’ supremely ambitious PlayStation 4 title, “No Man’s Sky” is a timed PlayStation exclusive and will make its way to the PC at some point after its console release. However, the game has never been confirmed for Xbox One. A new statement from ID@Xbox director, Chris Charla indicates Microsoft wants that to change.

I would love to see [‘No Man's Sky’] on the Xbox One, but that it was up to the game's developer, Hello Games. If you're worried about policies, we try to be really easy to get in touch with, when we talk to developers, we try to be really transparent,” said Charla during an interview on the latest edition of The Inner Circle Podcast on YouTube.

Charla added that when it comes to signing games for the ID@Xbox program, the team at Microsoft adopts a healthy mix of being proactive and approaching developers, and accepting applications from new devs. He stated that the team has done a lot of work to reduce the barriers developers might encounter while trying to get their games on any of the Xbox platforms, noting that updates and certification are now free.

Charla also spoke about the notorious Xbox One parity clause, which some believe may have been partially responsible for Hello Games and a number of other developers opting to publish on Sony’s platform ahead of Microsoft’s. While specific details of the clause are hard to nail down, public information provided by Xbox head, Phil Spencer to IGN in Oct. 2014 states that the goal behind the clause is to ensure developers release their games at the same time on Xbox One as they do on competing platforms. The issue many indie developers have highlighted is the fact that indie teams are typically small, and thus can only support release on one or two platforms at launch.

During the interview, Charla acknowledged that he was unable to discuss specifics of the clause, but intimated that the ID@Xbox team was willing to make concessions for smaller developers of 1-3 people. He said the team works with developers on a case-by-case basis, as long as they understand that the developers simply don’t have the bandwidth for a simultaneous launch.

As noted by Gamespot, Charla added that the issue with the parity clause arises when a developer takes money from a publisher on a competing console for exclusivity and decides to bring the game to Xbox long after. In these instances, Charla says Microsoft requires that new content be added to the game to make it fresh for Xbox audiences, echoing Phil Spencer’s sentiment on the matter.

The highly procedural and nearly infinite universe of “No Man’s Sky” has captured gamer’s imaginations since its initial reveal. Gamer's will be able to build ships, explore planets, mine for resources, trade, engage in space battles and more as they journey toward the centre of the galaxy. The game is scheduled for release on PS4 some time in 2015, with a PC release set to follow at an unannounced date.