Phil Spencer says the Xbox identity is “evolving”
- Xbox doesn’t see exclusivity as a path, and Game Pass will remain an important component of the platform.
- The Xbox identity is “evolving,” and it’s an “identity that this industry needs.”
- Xbox games will be ported to the Nintendo Switch 2
During a recent interview with independent games journalist Destin Legarie, Xbox boss Phil Spencer was asked if Starfield is staying as an Xbox exclusive for the time being.
“No. There’s no reason for me to put a ring fence around any game and say this game will not go to a place where it would find players, where it would have business success for us,” Spencer said. “Our strategy is to allow our games to be available. Game Pass is an important component of playing the games on our platform, but to keep games off other platforms? We don’t think is the path… that’s not a path for us. It doesn’t work for us.
“What we’re doing now we think really enables us to build the best platform for the world’s best games. ‘Cos the world’s biggest games are available in multiple places, and more and more creators are asking us, how do we stay connected when our game might be playable in all these different places, and we want Xbox to be absolutely the platform that enables that.
“We think that makes us unique. Most of the other platforms out there are single platforms on single devices; whether that’s PC, whether that’s mobile, whether it’s a console, and we want Xbox to be a platform that enables creators across any screen that people want to play on.”
We’ve seen several first-party Xbox games launch on PlayStation and Nintendo already, with more games potentially making the jump this year too. Some of the biggest concerns Xbox fans have shared online have suggested that Xbox’s identity could be lost if it no longer has exclusive games, lowering the attractiveness of purchasing Xbox console. Spencer doesn’t see it that way, however.
“I hear them. I’m pretty active in our playerbase, and I’m active in the community. I listen. I think our identity will continue to evolve, which, frankly, it always has. But when I hear concerns, I hear concerns about ‘is my library of games safe?’ ‘Am I still going to be able to play the games?'” Spencer said. “And I think over the years, I’m proud of the commitment we’ve shown to respecting purchases on our platform through back compat, through cross entitlement, Xbox Play Anywhere, through crossplay. Things that we’ve done to enable people to continue to play, so I hear that.
“I see the investments we’re making in platform and how we want Xbox to show up in multiple places, and your library to be available there. When I think about buy-to-stream – so when if I buy a game, I’ll be able to stream it to devices – this is all about making sure that your library of games that you own on Xbox are playable in multiple places, so I’d say it’s an evolution of our identity. But I believe it’s an identity that this industry needs.
“When you think about where this industry is now and you see the challenges, the business challenges that are out there for many companies, I think us making games more accessible to more people has just gotta be front and center for us as an industry so we continue to see great games that we’ve seen over the years.”
During another interview with Gamertag Radio over the weekend, Spencer said he wants players to pick hardware for its capabilities and innovations, not because some games have been gate-kept. Spencer also confirmed that Xbox games will be ported to the Nintendo Switch 2, saying, “I’m really looking forward to supporting them with games that we have, and I just think they’re such an important part of this industry.”
According to recent reports, Xbox’s biggest exclusives will be launching PlayStation later this year, including Halo and Gears of War. How do you feel about Microsoft’s strategy? Drop a comment below and let us know!
