- Squanch Games CEO Mike Fridley says the PS5 version of High on life 2 is the studio’s leading platform despite the Xbox exclusivity of the first game
- Unlike the first game, the High in life the sequel launches simultaneously on Xbox and PlayStation
- Fridley says it was “a pretty easy business decision, in that you just look at the first day’s sales numbers.” [game]”
Squanch Games CEO Mike Fridley announced his release High on life 2 simultaneously on Xbox and PlayStation was a “no-brainer” after 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 in life a sequel on all platforms at once, following a deal with Microsoft that saw the first game exclusive to Xbox for a time.
The first High in life game launched in December 2022 as a console exclusive for Xbox Series
However, this time around, Squanch Games is launching High on life 2 on Xbox and PlayStation on the same date, and even makes it available through Xbox Game Pass, which Fridley said was “definitely part of the consideration” due to Microsoft’s support for the original.
Speaking about the sales the studio might miss out on through Game Pass, Fridley isn’t sure the game’s exposure outweighs “the potential cannibalization of sales,” but he’s sure it “will help establish an IP in order to get a group of people to play your game,” adding, “if your game is good and you want a group of people to play it, getting it on Game Pass is awesome.”
Even after the success of the first game, the CEO added that “we’re still in 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 your hands on as many people as possible.”
Although High in life found success with its short Xbox contract, Fridley noted that the PlayStation version of High on life 2 is its main platform, saying: “this is shocking, even after a delay in Sony’s launch.” [on PS4 and PS5] – because of an exclusivity clause with the first game that Microsoft had – it’s [PlayStation] still our primary platform,” Fridley said.
When asked if this was a factor in the sequel’s simultaneous launch on PlayStation, he said: “It was a no-brainer, as our primary platform is Sony, Steam is a close second when it comes to units sold.”
He continued: “If you’re a PlayStation gamer, you’re going to buy it on PlayStation. You’re not going to play it on Game Pass, and with the recent increase in subscriptions on Game Pass, I’m sure they’ve probably seen the number of subscribers go down a little 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 declined due to recent price increases.
“It was a pretty easy business decision, as far as just looking at the sales numbers of the first one and not having that exclusivity this time to launch it on all platforms,” Fridley said, adding that aside from sales, “it’s just cheaper. We don’t have to do two marketing efforts… we just rely on our own marketing to sell the same copy.”
High on life 2 launches on PS5, Xbox Series
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