On Monday, Microsoft published a now-deleted blog post on Xbox Wire France that claimed Dolby Vision and Atmos will be Xbox console exclusives for two years. (You can read a cached version of the blog here.) On Tuesday, however, Microsoft said the post had inaccurate information and that there actually isn’t an exclusivity deal in place.
“A blog post was mistakenly published by a local Xbox team that included inaccurate information regarding exclusivity of Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision on Xbox Series X|S,” a Microsoft spokesperson tells The Verge. “There is no exclusivity agreement of either tech on Xbox. We are proud to partner with Dolby to offer Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision to gamers on Xbox and will have more to share about the general availability of Dolby Vision on Xbox Series X|S soon.”
Microsoft’s statement is carefully worded in such a way that suggests, without confirming, that rival platforms like the PS5 and Nintendo Switch could get the advanced surround sound and HDR tech in the future. Technically, the PS5 already supports Dolby Atmos, but just for Blu-ray movies. While Nintendo has traditionally only offered limited support for surround sound or advanced display output, the company’s expected to release an upgraded “Switch Pro” as soon as this September, where Dolby’s tech might be a better fit.
The Xbox Series X and S already support Dolby Atmos, and support for Dolby Vision could roll out broadly soon — Microsoft began testing of Dolby Vision on the Xbox Series X and S with testers in the Xbox Insider “alpha ring” group in mid-May. Microsoft also offered Dolby Vision on its Xbox One S and One X consoles, but it wasn’t really used for games; Dolby has advertised since September 2020 that the Xbox Series X and Series S would be the first consoles to support both while gaming.
Dolby reiterated that Vision and Atmos aren’t console exclusive technologies in a statement sent to The Verge after we first published this article. “Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos are not console exclusive and we look forward to working with Microsoft and all our partners to make Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos widely available to gamers.”
Update June 1st, 6:58PM ET: Added statement from Dolby.
