- Squanch Games CEO Mike Fridley says the PS5 version of High on Life 2 is the studio’s flagship platform despite the first game’s Xbox exclusivity deal
- Unlike the first game High on life the sequel launches 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 one [game]”
Squanch Games CEO Mike Fridley has said release High on Life 2 Simultaneously on Xbox and PlayStation, it 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 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.
The first one 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 was first released on PS4 and PS5 in July 2023.
But this time Squanch Games is launched High on Life 2 on Xbox and PlayStation on the same date, and even make it available via Xbox Game Pass, which Fridley notes “was definitely part of the consideration” because of Microsoft’s help with the original.
Speaking of the sales the studio may miss out on through Game Pass, Fridley isn’t sure if the game’s exposure will outweigh “the potential cannibalization of sales,” but he’s sure it will “help establish an IP so you get a lot of people to play your game,” adding, “if your game is good and you want a bunch of people to play it, getting it on Game Pass is great.”
Even after 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 as possible to get their hands on it.”
Although High on life achieved success with its brief Xbox deal, Fridley noted that the PlayStation version of the High on Life 2 is its main platform, saying, “shockingly, even after a delay on the Sony launch [on PS4 and PS5] – due to an exclusivity clause with the first game that Microsoft had – it is [PlayStation] still our leading platform,” Fridley said.
When asked if that was a factor in the sequel getting a simultaneous launch on PlayStation, he said: “It was a no-brainer, like our leading platform is Sony, Steam is right behind it in terms of 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 Game Pass subscriptions, I’m sure they’ve probably seen the number of subscribers drop 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 dropped due to recent price increases.
“It was kind of an easy business decision in terms of just looking at sales numbers on the first one and not having that exclusivity this time 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 just pull 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 scheduled for April 20.
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