PC sales of High On Life were just behind PlayStation, the 'lead platform,' but Xbox trailed behind despite its 7-month console exclusivity deal

Despite the original High on Life having a seven-month console exclusivity deal with Microsoft, sequel High on Life 2 launched last week across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S simultaneously. It's available at no extra cost on Game Pass, but the decision to put it on PlayStation right off the bat this time around came largely due to Sony's hardware being the "lead platform" for the first game.

In an interview with TechRadar, Squanch Games CEO Mike Fridley says, "Shockingly, even after a delay on the Sony launch—because of an exclusivity clause with the first game that Microsoft had—[PlayStation is] still our lead platform." So, it's no surprise the studio wanted to launch the game on PS5 right away this time.

Another potential reason for the decision to avoid an Xbox console exclusive is the recent Game Pass price hike. "I'm sure they've probably seen subscriber numbers go down a bit; so those people have to play it somewhere," Fridley says. That somewhere is right here on PC—and PlayStation, I guess.

There's another benefit to launching on multiple platforms simultaneously that many may not have considered: it's cheaper. "We don't have to do two marketing pushes… we're just piggybacking off our own marketing to sell the same copy," Fridley says.

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Issy van der Velde has been writing about video games professionally for five years, contributing to Rolling Stone, NME, GamesRadar+, IGN, and many more. He's been freelance and held editorial roles across news, guides, and features, and is now the deputy editor of the PC Gaming Show.

A lifelong gamer, Issy won the MCV 30 under 30 award for his work covering queer, Arab, and women's representation in the gaming industry.

His favourite games are narrative, story-driven adventures, arcade racers, roguelites, and soulslikes.

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