Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos will not arrive on PlayStation 5 or any other game console anytime soon. Microsoft says that it has a 2-year exclusive agreement with Dolby.
Update: Dolby responds.
Update 2: Microsoft backtracks.
Exclusives games, exclusive tech
Console exclusivity extends to video and audio technology, apparently. In a press release, Xbox France announced that it has console exclusivity on Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for 2 years.
- "Xbox Series X|S have been Dolby Atmos compatible since their release and the Dolby Vision will arrive on these consoles during 2021, both technologies will remain exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem for two years," announced Xbox France in now-deleted press release (cached copy here).
The confirmation from Microsoft helps explain why PlayStation 5 lacks support for Dolby's latest audio and video technologies. Even if Sony is still interested in partnering with Dolby, it will take some time to bring support to PS5. The deal may also explain why Dolby's technologies were exclusive, on media players, to Apple TV 4K for a while.
Update: Dolby has responded to Microsoft's press announcement saying that "Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos are not console exclusive". As much is obvious, but Microsoft never said that they were.
- "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," says Dolby.
Update 2: Microsoft backtracks.
- "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. 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."
Xbox gaming in Dolby Vision will be enabled later this year
HDR10+ for gaming
Meanwhile, Samsung is working with partners to extend support of its competing premium HDR format, HDR10+, to gaming, the company confirmed to Caschy's blog, although no further details or timelines were provided.
However, Sony is unlikely to add support for HDR10+ to PlayStation 5 – the company has declined HDR10+ for its TV/AV devices.
Also read: Review: PlayStation 5
Also read: Review: Xbox Series X
Xbox already supports Dolby Atmos audio as well as Dolby Vision for streaming. Dolby Vision for gaming will require a software update on Xbox Series S/X. The update is scheduled for later in 2021.
- "The Dolby Vision will be accessible to everyone during 2021, but if you are part of the Alpha Insiders, you can try the technology from May 14, we look forward to your feedback," said Microsoft.
