August 26 has turned into a huge day forXboxplayers, markingthe simultaneous release ofGears of War: ReloadedandHelldivers 2. The latter was a smash hit for developer Arrowhead Game Studios and publisher PlayStation when it released on PS5 and PC early in 2024. Similarly,Gears of Warhas long been a flagship franchise for Xbox, andReloadedwill mark its debut on PlayStation.Helldivers' Xbox announcementcomes well afterGearshad its release date set, and August 26 could potentially be a crushing blow from Sony to its competition.
Gears' leap to PlayStation platforms felt like something of an inevitability after Xbox started to take a more relaxed approach to exclusivity. Big hitters likeIndiana Jones and the Great Circleand evenForza Horizon 5have already landed on PS5 – both were developed under the Xbox Games Studios banner and were previously console exclusives for Xbox.Helldivers 2’s Xbox release date now feels like a concerted effort from Sony to score a major win over Microsoft.
Players Have Wanted A Helldivers 2 Xbox Release For A Long Time
The Second Galactic War Needs More Recruits
Helldivers 2has itself been an indicator of relaxed exclusive policies from PlayStation, but not to the same extent as Xbox’s new strategies. PlayStation has been releasing its exclusives on PC for years, but they typically become multi-platform long after their initial console release.Helldivers 2was an exception, releasing simultaneously on PS5 and PC on June 21, 2025, likely because of its live-service nature – and potentially because Arrowhead is not a part of PlayStation Studios.
Helldivers 2will now take its barrier-breaking reputation a step further by beingPlayStation Publishing’s first game to ever release on an Xbox console.MLB The Show, developed by Sony San Diego, is published by MLB Advanced Media on all non-PlayStation platforms.
Ever since the initial release ofHelldivers 2, the game’s community and hopeful Xbox loyalists have wanted to see it receive an Xbox version. The game has been going strong since it came out, butan influx of new players will rejuvenateHelldivers 2. Its ongoing story works best when the player count is high, resulting in a strong sense of community as thousands of players work toward common goals.
Gears Of War: Reloaded May Get Overshadowed On Its Release Day
Gears' Big Comeback Now Has Competition
The release ofGears of War: Reloadedwill be a big moment for the long-running, beloved franchise.Gearsis arguably just belowHaloin importance to the Xbox first-party library, anda remaster of the original game being its debut on PlayStation is a major milestone.Reloadedhas already had some setbacks, though.
TheGears of War: Reloadedbeta had problems, from poor input latency to widespread connection issues. Such problems are exactly why a beta was held, so they can be addressed before release, butit’s caused a noticeable tepidness to surround the gamejust a couple of months before its release. It also doesn’t help that the originalGearshas been remastered before asGears of War: Ultimate Edition. Even though this is the first time it’ll be playable on PlayStation, the originalGearshas had plenty of time in the spotlight.
While they have many differences,Gears of WarandHelldivers 2appeal to the same players. Both are third-person shooters which take a critical look at militant fascism, letting players send tons of ammunition down range to tear alien creatures to shreds. For those in the Xbox console ecosystem, though,Helldivers 2is a new, highly anticipated experience, whereasGearshas been playable for nearly two decades, albeit not in native 4K.
PlayStation Is Taking A Big Swing At Xbox
But Players Are Winning Regardless
With the way game development and publishing works, the Xbox release ofHelldivers 2has likely been in the pipeline for a while behind the scenes. Setting its release date on the same dayGears of War: Reloadeddrops feels like a concerted effort to undermine the fanfare of Sony’s direct competition, though.Gears of Warcoming to PS5 is a big deal – there’s no taking away from that – butHelldivers 2coming to Xbox might be a bigger deal.
Withfuture Xbox hardware plansup in the air, the brand’s game releases only take on more importance. PlayStation has now struck a major blow to a struggling brand by offeringa highly anticipated alternative to a game that’s so far received a tepid responsebefore its launch. If the entire originalGearstrilogy was being remastered à laThe Master Chief Collection, it might be a different story.
While Sony and Microsoft are now going toe-to-toe for market attention on August 26,it’s a clear-cut win for consumers all around. Tying software to a specific platform is inherently anti-consumer, soGearslosing its exclusivity was already a big deal;Helldivers 2doing the same is just a cherry on top. Now if both would come to the Nintendo Switch 2, we’d really be talking.
August 26 has suddenly turned into a major day forXboxplayers. There will be two incredible third-person shooters to play, which just so happen to be emblematic of the long-running business competition between Sony and Microsoft. Sony is taking aim at Microsoft’s big day, but players will be eating regardless.
Helldivers 2
Helldivers II is the follow-up to the 2015 multiplayer top-down single-player/co-op shooter from Arrowhead Game Studios. The sequel, which has shifted gears to a third-person shooter format, drops players into the boots of elite super-soldiers who fight to protect Super Earth from invading alien forces while taking the fight to those who threaten the “democracy of Super Earth.”
