No Haze for Xbox 360 or PC

By Ellie Gibson Published 17 March, 2008

PS3 exclusive, now and forever.

Just in case there was any lingering doubt, it's been confirmed that Haze is a PlayStation 3 exclusive and will remain so in the future.

According to Ripten, confirmation came from two Ubisoft representatives at the Play.com event in London.

So much for talk that Xbox 360 and PC versions would be released a while after the game came out on PS3. Apparently the decision to lock the game down for Sony's console was made recently, and is final.

Ubisoft was unavailable for further comment when contacted this morning.

Haze is due to arrive in Q1 of Ubisoft's financial year, so some time between the start of April and the end of June.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (92) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Cloudane #1 4 years ago

    That will finally stop all the Xbox 360 and PC port talks at long last.

  • DutchDemons #2 4 years ago

    hmm, wasn't expecting this...making a game PS3 exclusive seems a bit...off these days.

    But hey, good thing for the ' Only Sony camp' ...now they too can claim a (probably) generic shooter as 100% theirs!
    Edited by 1 at 17/03/08 @ 12:09

  • morriss #3 4 years ago

    heh, I heard something quite different!

  • Peew971 #4 4 years ago

    "some time between the start of April and the end of June"

    Good luck with GTA and MGS around :)

  • JediMasterMalik #5 4 years ago

    ORLY?

  • Inquisitor #6 4 years ago

    If it was made it had to be made recently since work had been ongoing on PC and 360 versions for a long long time.

    I suspect both versions are only around 5 or 6 months development time behind the PS3 verison aswell (since the exclusive announcement was made I expect the devs concentrated on the PS3 version).

    Seems a shame to throw out that code aswell as dissapoint the 360 and PC owners but if sony have thrown a big money hat at ubi I guess it's game over.

  • KingOfSpain #7 4 years ago

    Meh!

  • syphaa #8 4 years ago

    Arrr well. Can't say I will miss it.

    I had a hands on when they brought a playable tech demo to Nott's for Gamecity...was really disappointing.
    It was early stages though, so shall see.

  • Spanky #9 4 years ago

    Ah! It must have unique qualities to achieve this exclusive accolade. Unique qualities for the ps3 anyway as the 360 and PC have more than there fair share of generic shooters.

  • TheNinkyNonk #10 4 years ago

    I just hope it's worth the wait

  • bioreit #11 4 years ago

    Dagnammit!

    Sony had betterpull their finger out and drop the price of the PS3 to below £220 by the time LBP comes out!

    That, Haze Warhawk, Ratchet and Clank, and Motorstorm will convince me to get one, as long as the price of the console is reasonable!

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #12 4 years ago

    That's a shame, I was quite looking forward to it. Although the more I see of it the less impressive it looks, I imagine it'll be a fairly competent, above-average shooter, and those things are always good for a laugh.

    Quite surprising, actually, I guess Sony must have paid them quite a lot of dough.
    Edited by 2 at 17/03/08 @ 12:19

  • Inquisitor #13 4 years ago

    To be honest it's a franlkly baffeling decision on both sony and ubis part.

    I could understand the need for a PS3 exclusive shooter back when halo 3 came out, but this is going to run right into either MGS 4, Gta 4, or even worse, resistance or killzone 2.

    If it gets close to any of those games I really fear for it, I don't think they expected the delay, it's the only explanation I can give for such a silly course of action.

  • SeesThroughAll #14 4 years ago

    Translation: The game is turning out to be... underwhelming, so we don't want to spend any more money porting it. We'll just release it on the PS3, hope to get our money back and pretend the whole thing never happened.

  • Moz #15 4 years ago

    I have to agree with Inquisitor, with the delays the game has already seen I'd think it's more likely that they don't think it will sell well on 360 or PC 6 months after it finally comes out on PS3.

    Still good news doe Sony if it turns out to be good and given Freeradicles past it has a good chance of being very good.

  • Vaxadrin #16 4 years ago

    ...and nothing of value was lost.

  • Darren #17 4 years ago

    @SeesThroughAll - That was exactly what I thought too upon reading the article! LOL

    I hope I'm wrong though because I thought the footage I've seen looked promising and Free Radical are pretty decent developers so the game could turn out to be great. I suspect if it is critically acclaimed and sells exceptionally well, it'll end up on the 360 and PC at a later date though.

  • AwesomeWells #18 4 years ago

    Meh-tacular. No real loss for the PC/360 market and not a particularly inspiring gain for the PS3.

  • Moz #19 4 years ago

    I love peoples comments along the lines of "oh well was going to be rubbish anyway" as soon as a game either goes exclusives or looses exclusivity. surely waiting to see how it turns out would be better.

    Personally I'm still looking forward to this as enjoyed Golden eye and the Time splitters games, but then it could be a swing and a miss in which case i'll not bother getting it!

  • SomaticSense #20 4 years ago

    Properly gutted about this.

    Splinter Cell better be fucking amazing, or else I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive Ubi for this one :(

  • myiagros #21 4 years ago

    I loved all the timesplitters games and throughly enjoyed second sight, so free radicals track record makes this a must buy for me, regardless of what anyone else may say.

  • penhalion #22 4 years ago

    Own all three consoles and can honestly say this hasn't been on my radar at all. All the developer demos and show offs looked so generic it wasn't even funny. I'll wait for Killzone 2 thank you very much.

  • alimokrane #23 4 years ago

    Does anyone care about HAZE anymore ??? it has been delayed so mcuh that I dont give a flying f*** about it being exclusive or not.

  • Dezm0nd #24 4 years ago

    FRD can stick this up their bum, I have a PS3 but i aint buying it. I have Smash Bros. Mario Kart is in April, GTA4 also not forgetting about MGS4 in June.

    Unlucky, lads

  • muscleblade #25 4 years ago

    Dont care at all. To many good games on the 360 as it is. Dont have time to play all the good games out anyway.

  • rotmm #26 4 years ago

    I played it at Play.com Live and I was somewhat underwhelmed. It ran well enough, but just didn't feel all that exciting.

    Hopefully it will be the kind of game that will get better the more you play it. But my 15 mins or so with it certainly didn't make me go "wow".

  • Wash #27 4 years ago

    Haze the killzone,halo,gow killer?

  • Inquisitor #28 4 years ago

    That's what I don't get, if anything it's the 360 in need of some first class shooters this year. Resistance and killzone should be decent at least, I can't think of any exclusive 360 fps this year.

    Ubi have missed a trick with this one, exclusive on the wrong system.

  • HarryB #29 4 years ago

    an exclusive... but an important one?
    only know in time.

  • BillyBrush #30 4 years ago

    Shame...it'll prob be decent, worth a play at least

    @Inquisitor - you'll be struggling saying 360 doesn't have a better lineup of shooters to be honest, there are things like Gears2 and Bioshock, but more inportantly the R6 vegases/Orange boxes/Project origin's/Farcry2's do and probably will run a lil better on one console and with one pad

    MS's big exclusive Halo3 was last year but anyway neither platform holder has the best FPS which is Half life series, since that works a bit better on 360 it'll take the crown on that one....but it is lookign short on tactical espionage action..

  • BillyBrush #31 4 years ago

    Bioshock2 even..

  • Inquisitor #32 4 years ago

    I'm not struggling.

    Look, almost all the 360 fps this year will be out on the PS3 too, okay, gears, but that's hardly an fps (though I'll admit genre cross over).

    The PS3 had 2 big exclusives before this, point to the 360 exclusive fps this year? There isn't any, now the PS3 has 3 exclusive shooters, overkill for that console and the 360 is lacking in this regard this year.

  • woodnotes #33 4 years ago

    So, "360 has too many shooter", "shooterbox" etc.

    And now "360 doesn't have enough shooters!"

    Can MS win either way?

  • keyboardmonkey #34 4 years ago

    but this is going to run right into either MGS 4, Gta 4, or even worse, resistance or killzone 2.

    If it gets close to any of those games I really fear for it, I don't think they expected the delay, it's the only explanation I can give for such a silly course of action.

    I think you are slightly right but the reason they bought it could be for the delays to other software e.g. Resistance , Killzone 2, Haze could be used to fill a gap in the up coming games if one of these slips.
    Edited by 1 at 17/03/08 @ 13:17

  • Garulon #35 4 years ago

    Wow, they really saw Sony coming with this one. I imagine it's so heavily troubled if they weren't contractually obligated to Sony they'd cancel it.

  • keyboardmonkey #36 4 years ago

    Let us hope Sony wasn't sold on a Rendered preview of what they expect the game to look like.

  • Xerx3s #37 4 years ago

    "Own all three consoles and can honestly say this hasn't been on my radar at all. All the developer demos and show offs looked so generic it wasn't even funny. I'll wait for Killzone 2 thank you very much."

    There is some irony in there but I can't really put my finger on it...

  • space_ace #38 4 years ago

    6/10

  • paketep #39 4 years ago

    Whoa, must have been a big check to get Ubi to not do a version for everything from the consoles to my car lighter

  • L42yB #40 4 years ago

    Either SeesThruAll is right and they have scrapped the projects for PC and 360 (which we know they have already spent a lot of cash on), or this is a big fat lie to try and shift more PS3s...

    I expect that either this game is a complete pile of dog poo, or that we will be seeing it on at least the PC in the near future. It just doesn't make business sense to limit yourself to the console with the lowest sales and attach rate.

  • BillyBrush #41 4 years ago

    I think it'll turn out decent tbh...would be worth a play and can only be a good thing for PS3 (if it is bad it's still 1 game Xbox doesn't have, like TenchuZ, some people will like it (i loved Tench Z myself despite being regarded as shite))

    @Inquisitor, i guess what i was getting at was Orange box is the nr1 FPS, it's on both consoles sure but works a bit better on 360, so even not having the same number of exclusive FPS games coming out, it's still going to be the daddy for that type of game...imo

  • hannibaldave #42 4 years ago

    Nice to see a PS3 exclusive. Perhaps next time it'll be something worth caring about.

  • TitusCrow #43 4 years ago

    i think by this xmas i shall actually buy a ps3 its looking like it will be worth it with 4-5 games coming out that i actually want to play hmm.. who would have thunk it!

  • Mr_Brown #44 4 years ago

    This game looks good, but to be honest, I've never been truely hyped about it. Can't really see the draw this would have on the PC and 360 anyway, with so many quality shooters available this wouldn't be missed. Though it would obviously be a welcome gem for the PS3 which isn't known for good shooters.

    I'll probably own a PS3 in a year or so anyway, but I doubt I'll even get it. So...meh.

  • L42yB #45 4 years ago

    Didn't get the response I woz looking for :'(

    *sigh*

    /deletes misinformation...
    Edited by 2 at 17/03/08 @ 17:02

  • Goodfella #46 4 years ago

    Why are so many people down on this game? I think you're forgetting Free Radical Design have great list of games under their belt so what makes Haze this flop you seem to think it will be?

  • rotmm #47 4 years ago

    L42yB,

    What's that post all about?

  • SeesThroughAll #48 4 years ago

    Xbox 360 exclusives:

    Burnout Revenge
    Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
    Final Fantasy XI
    Godfather
    Need for Speed Most Wanted
    Test Drive Unlimited
    Tony Hawk's American Wasteland


    You're joking, right?


    Why are so many people down on this game? I think you're forgetting Free Radical Design have great list of games under their belt so what makes Haze this flop you seem to think it will be?

    Too many development troubles, hence the delays.
    Too many promotional videos telling us how great the game is supposed to be.
    Edited by 1 at 17/03/08 @ 14:22

  • dirigiblebill #49 4 years ago

    Free Radical deserves the benefit of the doubt, it might turn out to be excellent.

    Plus three billion. This is Free Radical, people. Free Radical as in Free 'Timesplitters 2' Radical?

    Some major fucking negativity on here today.

  • KillallHippies #50 4 years ago

    I wouldn't mind if it wasn't for the fact that playstation analogue sticks are turd and always were and seemingly always will be.
    Sony consoles just don't accomodate FPS.

  • Killerbee #51 4 years ago

    I don'#t really buy the argument that Ubi would can the 360 and PC ports in order to save cash on a rubbish game - if anything, offering the game to those wider installed user bases would let them spread their risk a bit for (comparatively to the cost of developing a new title from scratch) little additional outlay.

    No, this is far more likely to be a simple case of Sony bundling Ubi a load of cash to keep this game PS3 exclusive. And really, you have to assume that the main reason sony would do that is that they believe Haze has a decent chance of shifting some PS3 boxes if it's kept a console exclusive.

    I'm personally not really sure what to make of this game - Timesplitters 2 was great; Future Perfect slightly less so. Whether Haze will stand up to scrutiny against Bioshock, Crysis, COD4 or even Halo 3 is far from certain, I'd say.

  • menage #52 4 years ago

    So, don't want to make more money then?

  • Inquisitor #53 4 years ago

    Yep, the lack of faith in one of the finest British developers is frankly disturbing.

    Support the nation and all that, these are the best FPS developers working in the UK today and people think their next game will be easy to dismiss, pathetic.

  • chris_ace #54 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • Monkey_Puncher #55 4 years ago

    *shrugs*

    Looked decent and I would probably have played it as I'm a fan of most Free Radical games, but I'm not gonna lose sleep over not being able to play it.

    If it had been Timesplitters 4 though I would have been mighty pissed!

  • DrDamn #56 4 years ago

    Given past form of Free Radical I'm willing to give it a fair go. They do make great games.

    Either it is poor and Ubi is trying to make more money with a money hat, or it's actually quite good and Sony chucked the money hat because of this. I'm currently inclined towards the latter.

  • miiiguel #57 4 years ago

    It seems yet another atempt to flirt US gamers from Sony.

  • DrDamn #58 4 years ago

    Interesting the number of people who claim not to care at all, but feel the need to express that lack of caring ...

  • Lukus #59 4 years ago

    Shame as it's nice to have choice, but my interest in Haze has diminished over the last few months anyway.

  • the_dudefather #60 4 years ago

    @DrDamn

    seems to happen a lot on eurogamer

    'I just popped into this comment section to declare my feelings on this game I have no interest in, 'meh', thanks for listening'

  • DrDamn #61 4 years ago

    @Miiiguel
    Flirt with US gamers by getting an exclusive from a big UK developer?

  • Apologie #62 4 years ago

    I have high hopes for these game... from the videos i've seen, it looks amazing.

  • Moz #63 4 years ago

    I wouldn't mind if it wasn't for the fact that playstation analogue sticks are turd and always were and seemingly always will be.
    Sony consoles just don't accomodate FPS.

    That a matter of opinion rather then fact i presonally prefer the PS3 controler for FPS games the weeker spring and smaller dead zone allow you to be far more accurate espesially when snipeing, however the weeker is probably what alot of people don't like as it takes a little long to get used to the feel.

    EDIT:// LOL just noticed that L42yB managed to include Frame City Killer in his list of 360 exclusives when the game was canned over a year ago!!! also nice inclusion of Oblivion despite it being on PS3 too - I'll let him the games that on PC too ;)

    Edited by 1 at 17/03/08 @ 15:13

  • ThreeOutsideDown #64 4 years ago

    cabbadgecase wrote:
    "the source of the information is vague, no-one is quoted and nothing official has been said. is it really true?"

    what?!

    you think they have professional journalists writing these articles or something?

  • miiiguel #65 4 years ago

    "Flirt with US gamers by getting an exclusive from a big UK developer?"
    No..., an FPS exclusive. I mean, 360's is the shooters box, and PS the jRPG box, or this is a mad world indeed ?

    "EDIT:// LOL just noticed that L42yB managed to include Frame City Killer in his list of 360 exclusives when the game was canned over a year ago!!!"
    yet, you forgot to mention that he stated DMC4 is a PS3 exclusive.

    "'I just popped into this comment section to declare my feelings on this game I have no interest in, 'meh', thanks for listening' "
    Re-vesit Halo 3 thread and you might see unsuspicious ppl doing the same ;)
    Edited by 2 at 17/03/08 @ 15:39

  • barchetta #66 4 years ago

    I too was at the Notts GameCity event and saw a game with clear potential, but certainly needing a fair bit of polish and balancing. I guess COD4 has come steamrollering through the FPS genre and has everyone's attention. Even though the USP of HAZE (the use/abuse of Nectar and the interesting private corporation army vs rebels set-up) did appear to garner plenty of initial interest, I wonder if UBIs bean-counters have been keen on watering-down this element in favour of a more middle of the road game. That would be a shame, as the wit and intelligence that the likes of Free Radical can nurture in a game is what makes them interesting.

    The loss of multiformat certainly casts doubt on the title being AAA material - haven't heard of any official PS3 bundles sporting this title as a sweetener either.

    /is concerned
    Edited by 1 at 17/03/08 @ 15:47

  • monkie_king #67 4 years ago

    They really need to sort out the box-art for this, it looks like it should be gracing a C64 Contra clone.

  • Machetazo #68 4 years ago

    That's funny, because in March's EGM, (SCEA senior VP of marketing) Peter Dille mentions Haze thusly: [he talks about the gradient of exclusivity that exists] or, the exclusivity that you can have, for a period of time, vis-a-vis, Haze...

    I don't know, but perhaps there was a change in the month or so, since the interview must have been taken place?
    Edited by 3 at 17/03/08 @ 15:59

  • Petrarch #69 4 years ago

    Haze being good or bad remains to be seen - the proof is in the pudding as it were. What I do have a bad feeling about is what'll happen to it if it goes in to bat against GTA IV or MGS4, as that may well spell commerical suicide.

    They might be better off sitting on it until the coast is clear or it runs the risk of quietly slipping away. Though if asked is this one of the big ones for the year for the PS3, I'd say no it's not, that's Metal Gear Solid 4 terrority that, just as in the same way I'd consider Fable 2 to be among the big guns for the 360.
    Edited by 1 at 17/03/08 @ 15:58

  • Moz #70 4 years ago

    @miiiguel so he does! ah the list of games fails again what a wounderus display of cut and paste

  • Machetazo #71 4 years ago

    I agree with your second point, Zero. I really think it's a silly, unproductive situation. Regardless of which platforms you own (and, if you own every one, you probably still miss out to an extent, through having to balance anticipated title buying/playing across platforms).

  • britscott #72 4 years ago

    That a matter of opinion rather then fact i presonally prefer the PS3 controler for FPS games the weeker spring and smaller dead zone allow you to be far more accurate espesially when snipeing, however the weeker is probably what alot of people don't like as it takes a little long to get used to the feel.



    What??????
    The sticks are waaaay to loose and the dead zone is fecking massive towards the 360 pad, add into the fact at the moment there is no rumble and the triggers are shite for fps's I don't know where your coming from.
    And befor you start I own both consoles.
    Edited by 1 at 17/03/08 @ 16:25

  • Moz #73 4 years ago

    "And befor you start I own both consoles. "

    As do I, and as I also said it's a matter personal preference. I also currently find Resistance to be more fun online then Halo 3, though I play both a lot! This biggest problem I have is that the pads and game speeds are very different so if i switch from one to the other takes a while to get back in the swing of it

  • ronuds #74 4 years ago

    Do you really think Sony paid for this exclusivity? Wouldn't we have heard 10 Sony reps by now spouting off at the mouth about it if that were true, rather than 1 semi-vague article about someone, who isn't named, mentioning it at a show?

    My guess is that Ubi isn't confident it'll sell well enough to warrant ports.

  • The-Bodybuilder #75 4 years ago

    >"PS3 Exclusives:
    Devil May Cry 4"

    Errrr

  • Garulon #76 4 years ago

    "Do you really think Sony paid for this exclusivity? Wouldn't we have heard 10 Sony reps by now spouting off at the mouth about it if that were true"

    I think they're a bit ashamed that they popped their thirdparty exclusive cherry (so to speak) with an FPS who's devlopement history you might charitablly term as "troubled". Like in meant to come out six months ago troubled.

  • L42yB #77 4 years ago

    Be proud of urselves ;)

  • mcwildcard #78 4 years ago

    There's 2 logical schools of thought here;
    1. The game has turned out to be a bit special and Sony want it exclusive to take full advantage and shift consoles.
    2. It's utter toilet, the whole thing has gone wrong, they know it's going to bomb, so Ubisoft have decided to cut their losses and ditch the ports.

    Could be either tbh.

  • Vic #79 4 years ago

    'generic shooters'

    I sense bitterness in the air

    Dont worry, at least Unreal Tournament 3 is coming

  • Aysir #80 4 years ago

    First off - controller dead zones are software controlled, not hardware. They're usually added by the developers for one reason or another.
    Second - having played Haze at the Play Live event - it's looking pretty awesome. The tree stuff looks a little disappointing after Crysis (but what FPS tree section wouldn't?) but the graphics and gameplay are solid. Chuck in the 4 player splitscreen and tons of multi-player options and I think this is gonna be a classic.

  • Svecke #81 4 years ago

    Ubisoft in "we don't really like money"-shocker!

    Shame, Haze is looking really good. :(

  • Apologie #82 4 years ago

    Haze looks awesome... it will be in the top 5 shooters of 2008, along with Killzone2, REsistance:FOM 2, FarCry2 and Battelfield:Bad Company.

  • Les #83 4 years ago

    It probably won't be as good as time splitters because there will be no monkeys... I don't doubt they'll get the mechanics right. I hope they'll succeed in mastering the technology and serious story telling. I can't really see myself getting another shooter (I don't really need one besides Resistance and Warhawk) though.

    /off to play the brilliant Patapon

  • evild_edd #84 4 years ago

    Still can't help but feel this is a bit of a "meh" title.

    That's not to say there aren't titles on PS3 that I fancy the look of....just this isn't one of them :p

  • CARL05 #85 4 years ago

    I saw it at Play.com Live and it looked so underwhelming that I couldn't even be bothered to wait in the queue to play it.
    I thought at the time when I noticed that they only had it playing on PS3 "I guess they have given up on the 360 version" and the poor PS3 owners might as well have an exclusive, we 360 gamers have enough to play and more to look forward to!

    Aslong as Free Radical still put Timesplitters 4 on 360 im happy :)

  • clockworkzombie #86 4 years ago

    I think some of the delay is caused by Call of Duty 4.

    Every shooter will be compared to it for the next 18 months or until something better comes along and to put something on the market that is as good as Call of Duty 3 will not be good enough.

    I imagine various developers went home to cry into their pillows when CoD 4 was released.

  • penhalion #87 4 years ago

    @Xerx3s

    ;)

  • Triggerhappytel #88 4 years ago

    I think we all like Free Rad, and we all want to be optimistic, but to be brutally honest Haze just hasn't looked very good in footage shown up until this point. Factor in all the delays and problems this development has had and it just doesn't encourage a great deal of optimism.

  • Xerx3s #89 4 years ago

    Just a thought: All we have is the word from 2 showfloor reps - and we know how much they usually know about games - whilst ubi is staying eerily quiet. Wouldn't it be logical for ubi to shout it of the rooftops like they do with SC5?

  • britscott #90 4 years ago

    First off - controller dead zones are software controlled, not hardware. They're usually added by the developers for one reason or another.


    Bull.
    COD4 on 360 and ps3 feels like a different game because of the deadzone and loosness on the ps3 pad.(so does rsv)
    Don't say its the developers fault,why would they cripple one formats version of the same game.
    Oh and the triggers is all the developers fault too??? and the rumble, no I know thats sarcy but I hate it when people
    can't admit the design of the sony controller is well past its best now, sure it was the bee's knee's when it first arrived halfway through the ps1's life but to have no real development in over ten years is a piss take.

  • L42yB #91 4 years ago

    @britscott -

    While I agree with you that the PS3 controller sucks (I hate the shape, the feel, everything... it's just not comfortable).

    HOWEVER, I do need to point out that the deadzones of the thumbsticks are definitely controlled by software. And the devs have the ability to adjust it. 100% certain about that ;)

  • craziii #92 4 years ago

    PS3 sales are picking up right? that is why x360 price had to be cut. making the game exclusive will drive sales even more, well if the game is good or great :p I don't own any consoles so there is no need to flame, it will just be wasted, directed at the fanbois.