Pete Hines: Starfield Wouldn’t Be Out in Nine Weeks If It Was Releasing on PS5

Bethesda’s Pete Hines has spoken out about Xbox’s exclusivity in the years since Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax, saying that developing for fewer platforms has streamlined the process in some cases.

During today’s trial between Microsoft/Activision and the Federal Trade Commission, Hines was questioned about developing games like Redfall and Starfield exclusively for the Xbox console. Hines said a game with fewer platforms is less risky than developing for many platforms because developers can go through more rounds of quality assurance testing. Hines told Starfield that if it’s a multi-platform title, it won’t make it to the September launch date.

“We do not put [Starfield] In my opinion, it will be released in nine weeks if we support the entire additional platform,” Hines said.

That said, Hines is also blind to Xbox’s efforts to bring Activision games like Call of Duty to PlayStation and other platforms, while Bethesda games remain strictly Xbox exclusives. I implied that it was a target. Hines said he was confused by the message around Call of Duty. Because it was “the exact opposite of what I was told to do on other titles”.

Hines said that no one inside Xbox informed Bethesda about Call of Duty’s decision, and why a multi-platform approach would be acceptable for Activision’s games like Call of Duty, but not Starfield. He said he thought Phil Spencer would explain in an interview why it wouldn’t be acceptable for a Bethesda game like . Elder Scrolls VI.

Exclusivity was a big topic in today’s trial, as we also learned that MachineGames’ upcoming Indiana Jones title will also be exclusive to Xbox and PC. We also know that Arkane’s Harvey Smith said the studio canceled his PlayStation 5 version of his Redfall after the Xbox acquisition. Interestingly, Xbox’s Matt Booty said no decision has been made on the PlayStation version of The Outer Worlds 2 yet.

To keep track of all of the ongoing legal battles, see How to Watch the Trials and Coverage So Far.

Additional reporting by Rebekah Valentine.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over 7 years of experience in the games industry and has written byline articles for IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.