Xbox possibly selects first platform exclusive under new CEO Asha Sharma

With the recent comments from new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, it seems like exclusivity is back on the menu at Xbox...and now evidence and new reports suggest that Gears of War could remain exclusive to the Xbox platform.

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While Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has "no love" for exclusive games, Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma apparently feels otherwise. Sharma has repeatedly said that exclusive content is critical and vital, and fans are buzzing about the possibilities. While no exact details have been revealed yet, new reports suggest that new Gears of War games could remain exclusive to Xbox.

According to Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb, Microsoft originally wanted to release Gears of War E-Day--the next mainline game in the series--as a multi-platform release on PS5, but that plan has now been scrapped.

"Gears of War E-Day was going to be on PS5, it's not anymore. That just happened. That's a decision that just got made," Grubb said.

Interestingly enough, Walmart apparently put a product listing for Gears of War E-Day on Sony's competing PlayStation 5.

Nothing has been confirmed or denied so far, but we'll likely receive clarification during today's Xbox showcase, which begins at 1PM EST.

Microsoft seems entirely willing to make some big overhauls to its business, which is important, because hardware is now more expensive than ever to make and Xbox has a veritable Rome of software to serve on its high-priced boxes.

Xbox's new CEO plans to essentially reboot the business in the next 100 days, making tough calls on investments and other priorities including exclusivity and which games get funding and which do not.

It's also worth noting that Microsoft already released Gears of War Reloaded on PlayStation 5 last year, but that was carried out under the previous Xbox leadership and not under Sharma.

It's possible that new, mainline games in the Gears of War series could be Xbox exclusive, or perhaps timed exclusive in some form.