Recreation Science, a developer, announced in June that the highly-anticipated release of their action role-playing game, [Game Title], was being delayed for Xbox, citing optimization issues as the cause. Recently, a well-known leaker, eXtas1s, suggested that the technical issue causing the game’s delay stemmed from a memory leak on Xbox hardware – though it appears this information might not have been accurate.
According to reports from Forbes and IGN, the game didn’t bypass a launch on Xbox Series X/S due to technical issues, but rather due to an exclusivity agreement between Sony and developer Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’s publisher, Recreation Sciences, which neither party publicly disclosed, thus retaining the title as a PlayStation console exclusive at launch.
Microsoft previously hinted at this, announcing its partnership with Recreation Science to bring the game to their platforms, while noting that it couldn’t comment on deals between partners and other platform holders.
As a long-standing exclusivity agreement takes effect, it will be intriguing to observe its longevity and the extent to which it keeps the game from being released on Xbox platforms. The lack of transparency surrounding this deal raises further questions: what prevented its publicization, and how did Recreation Science’s earlier statements, which suggested a delay due to technical issues, align with the actual circumstances?
Available now on PS5 and PC. To date, it has successfully sold more than 10 million units.
