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Gaming consoles have historically been defined by their exclusive games.

They were the main reason youd choose one system over the others.

PS5 vs Xbox Series X: Which console wins?

Former Xbox exclusives like Hi-Fi Rush are also available on PC and PS5.

you might enjoy Xbox titles on thebest gaming PCsand on mobile devices via Xbox Cloud Gaming.

But now in 2025, its clear that things are changing.

For instance, Blu-ray discs work on any Blu-ray player, regardless of the manufacturer.

Steam Deck OLED vs Asus ROG Ally X

Former Xbox exclusives like Hi-Fi Rush are also available on PC and PS5.

The same goes for streaming services and thebest TVs, or music streaming services on thebest phones.

But for gaming, exclusive games are locked to certain machines.

While having exclusives incentivizes folks toward a particular platform, this practice has slowly gone out of favor.

Hi-Fi Rush screenshot

Former Xbox exclusives like Hi-Fi Rush are also available on PC and PS5.

This is why I tend to buy third-party developed games on PC.

SonysCloud Game Stream Beta for PlayStation Portallets you do the same with selectPS4and PS5 games.

Another reason console exclusivity makes less sense is that gaming hardware is so similar.

Arrow

This is why most games look and run almost identically on Sony and Microsofts systems.

Which begs the question: what is the point of exclusives?

Outlook

I know a world without console exclusives sounds strange.

Arrow

However, given the changing landscape, seems as if possibility will become a reality.

The only exclusives would be a system’s unique features.

But despite minor differences, youd still get the same gaming experience, whether its on Xbox or PlayStation.

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I dont see that as a bad thing.

Of course, if you want true console exclusives, theres always Nintendo with theSwitch 2.

But thats a story for another day.

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