Xbox fans left with digital blue balls after Microsoft-owned game hits PlayStation Plus before any Xbox release

PlayStation owners were downbeat after Microsoft’s $7.5 billion purchase of ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks in 2020. The acquisition left Microsoft in control of huge franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and DOOM, as well as promising new titles like Starfield. But, more than two years on from the purchase, many are raising an eyebrow that one of Bethesda’s best-reviewed recent games not only hasn’t arrived on Xbox, but is now going to be added to the PlayStation Plus catalog.

We’re talking about Arkane Lyon’s Deathloop, a first-person shooter time loop caper that tasks you with taking out eight targets and breaking out of their ultraviolent take on Groundhog Day. Released in September 2021 on PlayStation 5, it received positive reviews but wasn’t released on Xbox due to Microsoft honoring Sony’s existing one-year exclusivity deal. That is now expiring, though we still have no confirmation on when it’ll arrive on Xbox.

So, it’s rubbing salt into the wound that Sony has just confirmed it’ll join the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium Game Catalog in September:

Xbox fans aren’t happy:

PlayStation fans are being a teeny bit mean in the replies:

Should Xbox prioritize their own customers?

Many are concluding that Microsoft ‘dropped the ball’ with Deathloop:

After a year of hearing about it, some Xbox fans are already over the game:

Sony’s deal with Bethesda was for a year of console exclusivity, so many were hoping that Deathloop would arrive around the 15th of September. That may yet happen, though we still don’t have an official announcement from Microsoft as to when it’ll be released on their own console.

It’s a shame, because Xbox owners are missing out on a stylish and creative first-person shooter from one of the best developers in the business. Let’s hope they get it soon. But if you’re a PlayStation owner and have Plus absolutely check out Deathloop.