South of Midnight: Xbox’s Next Big Multi-Platform Hit?!

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2021 has been quite eventful for Xbox thus far. The Xbox Developer Direct marked the kick-off of the gaming industry’s annual schedule, followed by the release of Obsidian’s much-anticipated fantasy RPG, Avowed, in February. More recently, Compulsion Games’ title, South of Midnight, debuted approximately a week ago.

Despite experiencing some mixed critical reviews due to its repetitive battles and familiar platforming and exploration elements, the game ‘South of Midnight‘ has managed to cultivate a devoted fanbase. This is largely because it’s quite unusual to find a game delving into American Deep South folklore, and even more so when that folklore serves as the game’s central focus. While ‘South of Midnight‘ may not be a flawless fairy tale, it’s a unique narrative that Xbox might want to consider sharing with its rivals.

South of Midnight Should Follow in Indiana Jones, Sea of Thieves’ Footsteps

Xbox’s New Strategy Seems to be Paying Off

Approximately a year past, Xbox unveiled a daring strategy that stirred some debate. Instead of maintaining exclusive access to its first-party games, Microsoft revealed plans to port certain titles from Xbox Game Studios onto PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. The pioneer in this daring venture was the game “Pentiment” by Obsidian, which became available on PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch in February 2024.

Initially, Pentiment was accompanied by two other games: Obsidian’s title Grounded and Sea of Thieves from Rare. Despite Pentiment not causing a significant impact, it was predicted that Grounded attracted about 80% more players on PlayStation compared to the number playing Obsidian’s 16th-century adventure game. The success of Sea of Thieves was far greater; in merely four months, it managed to sell one million copies on PlayStation and became the most downloaded game in North America during May 2024.

It appears that after a bit of a slow start, Microsoft’s multi-platform approach for Xbox is now thriving, and they are taking full advantage of it this year. Last year’s “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” has recently been released for PS5, while “Forza Horizon 5” will follow suit on April 29. Moreover, there have been whispers about Xbox potentially targeting the Nintendo Switch 2, with speculations that games like “Halo: The Master Chief Collection” might be coming to the upcoming console.

South of Midnight Has a Story Worth Sharing

Given the number of upcoming games yet to reach other platforms, it appears Xbox is satisfied with the performance of its recent strategy, and it’s likely that South of Midnight will be the next title to reap these benefits. While South of Midnight isn’t flawless, its compelling narrative, character interactions, and visually stunning world make it a candidate for wider appreciation among gamers.

On Steam, the game “South of Midnight” peaked with 1,438 concurrent players (as reported by SteamDB), which was achieved on April 13. Currently, there are only 415 active players for this game on Steam. Although Xbox hasn’t disclosed exact sales figures for “South of Midnight” on consoles, it seems reasonable to assume that most people who wished to play the game have already done so, considering it’s available on Xbox Game Pass. If this assumption holds true, then it might be more beneficial for Microsoft to release “South of Midnight” on other platforms instead of keeping it exclusive, as they could potentially gain more revenue from its sales.

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2025-04-25 16:09