‘Deathloop’ availability: Xbox fans may be able to play the game after a year

Arkane Studios’ highly anticipated new IP “Deathloop” goes live today. While the developer is technically a Microsoft-owned company now, the critically-acclaimed action-adventure game will not be available on any Xbox console.

The game officially launches Tuesday, Sept. 14 but only on Windows PC and PS5. “Deathloop” was one of the final exclusivity deals Sony had reportedly inked with game publisher Bethesda Softworks. This explains why it will not launch on Xbox today even though Microsoft had completed its acquisitions of ZeniMax Media studios and subsidiaries earlier this year.

Luckily for Xbox fans, though, the PS5 exclusivity is not forever. There have been previously spotted clues that confirm “Deathloop” will be a PS5-only title for at least a year from its launch. For one, its official gameplay walkthrough video released last July indicated that the PS5 exclusivity will last “until at least 09/14/22” -- that is a full year from the game’s release date.

That likely means Bethesda and Arkane might be free to bring “Deathloop” to any other gaming systems or service after that date. And considering how Microsoft has approached the release of its first-party games, “Deathloop’s” arrival in Xbox could be paired with an Xbox Game Pass availability.

To give Xbox fans more reasons to hope for the “Deathloop” arrival on their consoles, Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming might allow even Xbox One owners to play the next-gen title. The company previously confirmed that the xCloud will soon be supported on Xbox consoles, which meant that games designed only for Xbox Series X/S can now be played on Xbox One systems. With this possibility in mind, the wait could be worth it.

Most critics' reviews have given “Deathloop” a nearly perfect score, and some have even started calling it a contender for Game of the Year awards. The aggregated critics score currently sits at 88 out of 74 reviews on Metacritic and 98 reviews on OpenCritic.

In “Deathloop,” players will assume the role of an assassin named Colt. He and other people are stuck in a time loop on an island named Blackreef. Colt can break the cycle if he can kill all the key targets before the end of the day, otherwise, he will wake up for another day with his mission back from the beginning.