Microsoft has insisted it will not “reverse course” on its recently announced plan to return to exclusive Xbox games, but fans say they are finding it hard to trust what the company says.

The trust issues stem from Microsoft’s announcement of Senua, the next game in the Hellblade series, just days before reports emerged that its developer, Ninja Theory, was in danger of being shut down. But fans have also pointed out that Xbox executives recently praised games released by Compulsion and Double Fine, two Xbox studios reportedly also at risk of closure.

So, questions have been asked about Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution’s Xbox exclusivity, which was only confirmed during Xbox Games Showcase earlier this month. If Microsoft can announce a game one week then shut the studio behind it down the next, could it also change its mind on exclusives and eventually release Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution on PlaySation 5?

Responding to a tweet by Windows Central’s Jez Corden, Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball doubled down on the exclusivity, insisting neither game will ever come to PlayStation. Not only that, Ball said Microsoft remains committed to releasing "signature" Xbox exclusives every year going forward.

“Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will stay exclusive,” Ball said. “There are no conversations and have been no conversations to ‘reverse course.’ And as we said last week, players can continue to expect signature exclusives from us every year.”

That sounds definitive, but the problem is Xbox fans are finding it hard to trust anything Microsoft says right now, not that it's saying much. It has yet to comment on this week’s reports about studios under threat, nor the allegation that it announced Senua at Xbox Games Showcase knowing full well it planned to shut down the studio — with even Ninja Theory staff allegedly in the dark. IGN has asked Microsoft for comment.

“The issue with Microsoft / Xbox is as a consumer you have no reason to trust what they say,” one fan said. “(Not that you should trust any corporation.) Just take a look at the last two weeks. With Microsoft's seemingly last minute decision to make E-Day an exclusive. Or how they're on the verge of cancelling Hellbade 3 if they haven't already, less than two weeks after they announced it.”

“Meh, they change their tune every six months, the strategy could change any second,” another said. “They literally showed Senua nine days ago and shut them down and I'm supposed to believe they wouldn't flip flop already on exclusives,” another fan said. “The plan's the plan until it's not the plan,” commented another fan, referencing Xbox boss Asha Sharma's own words on Microsoft's strategy soon after she took the top job.

Officially, Senua is still a game that’s coming out from Microsoft, but there is significant concern about the fate of the game and the studio behind it, and that has led to something of an appraisal of all Microsoft’s announced video games, large and small. As one analyst told IGN recently, "the studios most exposed are brilliant for prestige and rotten for the spreadsheet."

Xbox under Sharma seems more interested in a handful of blockbuster franchises than smaller scale games. Microsoft is reportedly speeding up development on new The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Halo games, and considered restructuring or even spinning off its gaming branch. Meanwhile, what does Microsoft’s exclusivity strategy actually mean? Which games are right for exclusivity? Could The Elder Scrolls 6 skip PS5? Could future Halo games go back to Xbox only?

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.