Though such a rating would normally stir up rumors of an unannounced port, Blow has already clarified that there are currently “no plans” to bring the game to Xbox One release. He explained to Polygon that the game’s publisher, Thekla Inc., submitted the game for an Xbox One rating as a precaution in case they decide to release the game on Xbox One at a later date.
“We only put XB1 on there because it doesn’t cost anything, and if we were to want to do an XB1 version later, we don’t have to go through ratings again,” Blow said.
Originally announced in 2009, Blow said The Witness would be a timed console exclusive on the PlayStation 4 back when Sony unveiled the console in February, 2013. At the time, Blow said he chose to sign a deal with Sony, in part, because of the Microsoft’s early focus on non-gaming content for the Xbox One.
“To me [Microsoft talks] about a console that is not strictly about games,” Blow told Edge. “It’s trying to be the center of the living room device, which is fine and maybe it’s the right thing for Microsoft to do, business-wise. I don’t know; I actually don’t think it is, but they’ve certainly thought about it more than me! As a place to put the best, highest performing version of our game on, it doesn’t seem like a good choice.”
