Xbox and PlayStation join forces with one of the most on-the-nose crossovers in gaming history

The walls of gaming continue to fall as Xbox and PlayStation openly cooperate with game crossover content.

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Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox on August 26, and to celebrate, Sony dropped a new trailer for the game on the Xbox channel. After decades of fierce rivalry, where Microsoft even called Sony a "hostile" competitor, it still feels jarring to see a PlayStation logo on Xbox content.

Microsoft was the first to break exclusivity with Xbox games and to great effect; Xbox earnings are higher than ever. There's signs Sony may do the same with its own games, at least selectively. Sony is currently moving away from a hardware-oriented business, focusing more on engagement and users, leading them to bring their best-selling live service game Helldivers 2 to Xbox.

These decisions underline just how synergistic and mutualistic the Big 3 (Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony) actually are. Sony needs Microsoft properties like Minecraft and Call of Duty, and Microsoft needs Sony's platform to make the money from these games.

Now we're seeing even more collaboration as Xbox and PlayStation gear up for a franchise crossover.

In this case, Helldivers is crossing over with Halo, more specifically, Halo 3: ODST.

The latest game trailer teased the cross-over, showing a drop pod drop down on a map stylized after New Mombasa, the metropolitan setting for Bungie's 2009 spin-off.

Sony's decision to bring Helldivers 2 to Xbox is pretty straightforward: Helldivers 2 is a mega success that has an upfront cost as well as microtransactions. Sony just wants to do what Microsoft is doing and release games on more platforms with the hopes of more profitability.

Business decisions like Helldivers 2 breaking exclusivity will help Sony achieve its best-ever PlayStation operating profit this year; the company forecasts a record $3.5 billion profit for FY25.