There was some debate earlier today that Microsoft might not display the PS5 platform logo at next week's Xbox showcase due to uncertainty over exclusivity. The live broadcast, scheduled for June 7, will feature a variety of first- and third-party games, such as Halo: Campaign Evolved and Fable. Both games have been confirmed to be available on PS5 and will be released simultaneously.
But some believe Microsoft may be trying to appease its core player base by removing the logos from live broadcasts.
However, chief content officer Matt Booty said that's not the case.
He said in a podcast:
"We will be very clear about which platforms the game will be available on, and hope to continue that practice. I think we have established a good mechanism to clearly inform everyone at the showcase."
If there are any games that don't include the PS5 logo, like Gears of War: Days of Incident, there's potentially big news here.
Microsoft has yet to confirm that the third-person shooter will be coming to Sony's console, and if it does backtrack on its plans for a multi-platform release, removing the PS5 logo from the end of the trailer would be a big signal of its new leadership's intentions.
But Buti did say elsewhere in the interview that Microsoft won't discuss broader strategic decisions during the live broadcast, so don't expect much confirmation anyway.
In an extremely bizarre turn, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma completely reversed colleagues Matt Booty's comments earlier in the day, calling them a "mistake."
Buti previously said on the Xbox Podcast that Microsoft will be "very clear" about which platforms the game will be launched on, and hopes to "continue" the "convention" it has previously set.
This means that if a game is coming to PS5, Microsoft will not hide this information.
Sony and Nintendo only talked about their own platforms during their livestreams, but they generally haven't branched out into multi-platform releases on the scale Microsoft has.
However, responding to disgruntled fans on X (original Twitter), Sharma described the incident as a "mistake".
She said:
"Saw the feedback on the logo. It was a mistake and I take responsibility for it. We are discussing how to make adjustments for future Xbox Showcases."
I'm not entirely convinced that Sharma should have listened to the feedback of a handful of fans on social media to such an extent, but that's what happened. I think this is something worth paying attention to for this manufacturer's next live broadcast.