A lot of PlayStation fans have expressed discontentment over Sony’s recent decision to bringHelldivers 2to the gaming giant’s key rival, Xbox. This subset of enthusiasts believes that portingHelldivers 2to Series X/S might just end up being PlayStation’s first step into embracing a multiplatform strategy in the same vein as Xbox.
Sony’s penchant for game exclusivity is a tale as old as time. Historically, PlayStation first-party games would be found nowhere but on PlayStation systems, a strategy that allowed Sony to rack up immense amounts of success in every console generation. However, Sony’s grip on exclusivity has loosened in recent years, as the platform holder startedporting PlayStation first-party games to PCin 2020 and remains committed to the initiative. Sony has even begun licensing some of its older IPs to third-party studios to develop multiplatform ports - likePataponandEverybody’s Golf: Hot Shots- both of which are coming to Nintendo Switch.
One would’ve noticed by now, though, that Xbox has been absent from Sony’s plans to make PlayStation games more widely available, which isn’t too surprising given the long-running rivalry between both console platforms. However, July 09, 2025, marked a major moment in PlayStation history, asHelldivers 2was confirmed to launch on Xbox Series X/Sthat day. The announcement came as a total shock to Xbox and PlayStation fans alike, but while the former group is celebrating the news, a subset of the latter finds itself disillusioned with Sony. Across social media and online forums, many PlayStation enthusiasts haveexpressed outrage againstHelldivers 2coming to Xbox.
Some Fans Believe Helldivers 2’s Xbox Launch Will Damage the PlayStation Brand
PlayStation-centric outletPushSquare polled over 1,300 usersaboutHelldivers 2’s Xbox port, asking whetherSony is diluting the value of its own platformor if more players for the live-service game is a win for everyone. At the time of writing, 44 percent of respondents believeHelldivers 2launching on Xbox is a good thing, while a lower-but-still-substantial 29 percent believe it’s detrimental to the PlayStation brand. The remaining 26 percent were apathetic to the same. Meanwhile, a lot of fans also took to platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and even thecomments section of PlayStation Blogto complain, opining that Sony will likely head down the same multiplatform path as Xbox has over the past year and a half.
Up Until Now, Sony Didn’t Voluntarily Bring a PlayStation Game to Xbox
There is some merit behind this theory, because while a few PlayStation games have shown up on Xbox in the past -MLB The Show 21through25andDeath Stranding: Director’s Cut, along with Bungie’s upcomingMarathon- these were born from situations outside Sony’s direct control.MLB The Showgoing multiplatform was demanded by MLBitself,Death Stranding: Director’s Cutcame to Series X/S due to the IP ownership transferring to Hideo Kojima last year, andMarathonwill launch on Xbox because Bungie negotiated full freedom for multiplatform releases before being acquired by Sony.
However,Helldivers 2marks the first instance of Sony voluntarily bringing a PlayStation game to Xbox. TheHelldiversIP is fully owned by Sony, and evenHelldivers 2developer Arrowhead confirmed last year that porting it to Xboxis entirely up to the PlayStation parent. If this wasn’t enough proof,Helldivers 2’s Xbox port was developed by Nixxes - Sony’s in-house porting team - and the game will be published by PlayStation Publishing on Series X/S. Therefore,Helldivers 2making it to Xbox is clearly an intentional move on Sony’s part, and it should be interesting to see how the gaming giant addresses this decision in the future.
