Just in case you missed it, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, MachineGames’ first new game—Legacy of Rust was more of an expansion/re-release—under the Xbox Game Studios banner is coming out later this year on the Xbox Series S/X. It’s also one of the first Xbox-exclusive games confirmed to be headed to PlayStation soon after coming out, which is part of Microsoft’s strategy to bring more of its first-party titles to competing platforms.
After the game becomes available on Xbox on December 6, this adaptation of the iconic Hollywood legend will be headed to the PS5 by Spring, presumably right around late March, just before the fiscal year closes.
Either way, when it does come out on PS5, the best way to enjoy this Xbox exclusive will be on the still-to-be-revealed PlayStation 5 Pro, not the Xbox Series X.
In a Eurogamer interview, creative director Axel Torvenius expressed his excitement about bringing the game to more people, adding that because the game will use the latest version of the multi-platform iD-Tech engine, bringing it to the PS5 and, by extension, the PS5 Pro, won’t be a problem. At least, not for MachineGames. For Xbox, it could be disastrous for the brand.
Microsoft’s video game division is already on the receiving end of cruel jokes and mean comments after basically becoming a third-party publisher and losing out on best-selling multi-platform titles partly because of its own faults. Now, one of its most highly anticipated games will be coming to the PS5, where its best version will be available.
According to Indiana Jones and the Great Cricle’s page on the official Xbox website, as a game “built using the Xbox Series X|S development kit”, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will benefit from “unparalleled load-times, visuals, responsiveness, and framerates up to 120FPS.”
Four years into this current console generation, we now know that enjoying frame rates above 60 on current-gen consoles means sacrificing visual fidelity. If Indiana Jones and the Great Circle can run at 120 fps on Xbox Series S/X, it will most likely be at a lower resolution. This won’t be the case for the PS5 Pro.
Despite its higher-than-expected asking price, the PS5 Pro is expected to have the hardware to back up its premium pricing, allowing gamers who demand nothing but the best from their hardware to enjoy the best versions of Black Myth: Wukong, and now, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Of course, the iD-Tech engine has always been one of the better-optimized video game engines. Doom Eternal, built on the same engine, can run a smooth 60 frames per second at 1800p with raytracing on the PS5 and 4K resolution at 60 frames per second without raytracing.
So even if the PS5 Pro might be the best way to enjoy Indiana Jones and the Great Circle—don’t be surprised if the mid-cycle upgrade can run the game at 120 fps at 4K resolution—it won’t run too bad on the Xbox Series X and even the Xbox Series S.
However, this does make you wonder why anyone would buy an Xbox Series X if it has a limited selection of games and its exclusives are headed to PlayStation anyway.
While the Game Pass is a nice incentive, most Xbox-exclusive titles go on sale soon after being released on PlayStation.
Perhaps Microsoft is banking on a universal PS5 price hike similar to Japan so it can position itself as the more affordable console, similar to the Xbox 360?
In any case, as the list of Xbox exclusives that run better or best on PlayStation grows longer, there seems to be less value in owning an Xbox in this generation.
