Despite the first game’s Xbox exclusivity deal, PlayStation is ‘still our lead platform’ says Squanch Games CEO as High on Life 2 launches this week
- Squanch Games CEO Mike Fridley says the PS5 version of High on Life 2 is the studio’s leading platform despite the first game’s Xbox exclusivity deal
- Unlike the first game, the High on Life sequel is launching simultaneously on Xbox and PlayStation
- Fridley says it was “kind of an easy business decision, as far as just looking at sales numbers on the first [game]”
Squanch Games CEO Mike Fridley has said releasing High on Life 2 simultaneously on Xbox and PlayStation was a “no-brainer” following the first game’s long Xbox exclusivity window.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming ahead of the game’s release this week, Fridley discussed the decision to bring the High on Life sequel to all platforms at the same time, following a deal with Microsoft that saw the first game exclusive to Xbox for a period of time.
The first High on Life game launched in December 2022 as a console exclusive for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC via Game Pass, and wasn’t released on PS4 and PS5 until July 2023.
However, this time around, Squanch Games is launching High on Life 2 on Xbox and PlayStation on the same date, and is even making it available through Xbox Game Pass, which Fridley notes was “definitely part of the consideration” due to Microsoft’s help with the original.
Speaking on the sales that the studio may miss out on through Game Pass, Fridley isn’t sure if the game’s exposure outweighs “the potential cannibalization of sales”, but he is sure it will “help establish an IP so getting a bunch of people to play your game,” adding, “if your game’s good and you want to be a bunch of people to play it, getting it on Game Pass is great.”
Even following the first game’s success, the CEO added that “we’re still in a franchise building mode” and he wants as many people as possible to know about the studio, explaining that “the best way to do that is to give it away and get as many people with their hands on it as possible.”
Although High on Life achieved success with its short Xbox deal, Fridley remarked that the PlayStation version of High on Life 2 is its main platform, saying, “shockingly even after a delay on the Sony launch [on PS4 and PS5] – because of an exclusivity clause with the first game that Microsoft had – it’s [PlayStation] still our lead platform,” Fridley said.
When asked if that was a factor in the sequel getting a simultaneous launch on PlayStation, he said, “That was a no-brainer, like our lead platform is Sony, Steam is right behind it as far as units sold.”
He continued: “If you’re a PlayStation player, you’re going to buy it on PlayStation. You’re not going to play it on Game Pass, and with the recent subscription increase on Game Pass, I’m sure they’ve probably seen subscriber numbers go down a bit; so those people have to play it somewhere.”
Despite Fridley’s comment, it’s worth mentioning that we can’t prove that Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers have lowered due to the recent price hikes.
“It was kind of an easy business decision, as far as just looking at sales numbers on the first one and not having that exclusivity this time around to launch it on all platforms,” Fridley said, adding that outside of sales, “it’s just cheaper. We don’t have to do two marketing pushes… we’re just piggybacking off our own marketing to sell the same copy.”
High on Life 2 launches on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC tomorrow (February 13), with a Nintendo Switch 2 release slated for April 20.
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