The lack of console exclusives this generation is worrying

The eighth generation was amazing for console exclusives, with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One communities getting several cult classics. Owners of the former console received exclusives like Uncharted 4, God of War (2018), The Last of Us Part 2, and Ghost of Tsushima. On the other hand, Halo 5: Guardians, Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5, and Sea of Thieves arrived on the Xbox One.

While the eighth generation of consoles was popular for its exclusives, the current one is struggling because of a lack of such titles. The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S have seen only a handful of games in this category, and those titles haven't been able to push the technical limits of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles. This is worrying since this console generation has entered the second half of its life cycle.

This lack of exclusives is mostly because of COVID-19, which slowed down the development process of several video games. However, there are other reasons why such titles are not being launched as they were during the previous console generation. This article will talk about why there is a lack of exclusive titles for the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.

---

Covid-19 slowed down the development of many titles

The Last of Us Part 2 got pushed back during the pandemic (Image via Naughty Dog)

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles were launched during the pandemic in 2020, which made them hard to get for many people. The PS5 even saw a shortage, but this was no longer an issue after the pandemic ended.

COVID-19 slowed down the development of video games, and most studios couldn't have their employees working on titles from home. The lockdowns disrupted the flow of game-making, and because of this, many titles' release dates were pushed back. This includes titles like Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok were originally planning a 2021 release but got pushed back to 2022.

Without the pandemic, the release schedule for games would have gone as planned and we would have seen a lot more exclusives than we have so far. Games like Wolverine and the Fable reboot are among the titles that were delayed because of the pandemic and still haven't been launched.

---

Cross-gen releases capped the limits of the ninth console generation

These games were cross-gen (Image via Insomniac Games, Playground Games)

This generation has seen a lot of cross-gen titles, with games like Spider-Man Miles Morales, Gran Turismo 7, God of War Ragnarok, and Horizon Forbidden West being released for the PS4 and PS5. On the other hand, offerings like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 were launched for Xbox One and Xbox Series systems. All these titles should have been released as only current-gen exclusives.

Launching these games for the previous generation made them not as impressive as they could have been had they been only made to run on next-gen hardware. This failed to show the capability of the next-current consoles since these exclusives were also able to run on the previous hardware with a locked 30 FPS and a lower resolution.

We are almost four years into the PS5/Series X/S generation, and it's time to leave these 10-year-old systems behind and focus on the future

---

Exclusives are failing to impress the fans

These games don't push the limits of the current-gen consoles (Image via Team Ninja, Arkane Studios)

PlayStation has been the king of exclusive games for a very long time. However, recent exclusives like Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin don't use the PS5's full potential. They might run the game at 60 FPS, but they still look like PS4 games with a next-gen patch attached to it. Xbox on the other hand, has been struggling to offer titles that prove why the Series X is the most powerful console in the world.

Xbox exclusives like Redfall and Starfield ran at 30 FPS and did not meet expectations, whereas the good games like Hifi Rush and High on Life later got ported to the PlayStation. Considering how powerful the PS5 and Xbox Series systems are, we never got to seem them being pushed to their limits due to a lack of exclusive titles.

This makes the current generation feel not only weak but also just a small upgrade over the last generation.