What you need to know
- Rumors and reports have exploded over the last few weeks, indicating that Xbox is looking into bringing more first-party games to other consoles.
- Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer acknowledged the speculation last week, noting that an Xbox "business update event" was in the works.
- Spencer will be discussing updates for the Xbox business in a special episode of the Official Xbox Podcast on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. ET / noon PT.
- Spencer will be joined by Xbox president Sarah Bond, as well as president of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty.
Big updates are on the way.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer will be discussing updates for the Xbox business via an episode of the Official Xbox Podcast on Thursday, the Xbox Twitter account confirms. Spencer will be joined by Xbox president Sarah Bond and Game Content and Studios president Matt Booty. The podcast episode will go out on Feb. 15, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. ET / noon PT.
Spencer previously confirmed that a "business update event" was in the works, acknowledging the speculation in a brief comment on Twitter last week. Bond and Booty were both promoted in recent months, with the former taking charge of the Xbox division as a whole, while the latter now oversees Xbox Game Studios, ZeniMax Media, and Activision Blizzard King.
Why is this update for Xbox happening?
While there's been some level of chatter around the possibility of additional Xbox first-party games heading to other consoles since the start of the year — with Tango Gameworks and Bethesda Softworks' Hi-Fi Rush highly speculated to be heading to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo hardware — things exploded over the last week, with reports from The Verge indicating that Microsoft was considering bringing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to PlayStation 5 after its debut on Xbox and Windows PC later in 2024.
Analysis: Again, precision will be key
The decision to go with an update on the Official Xbox Podcast is an interesting one, but there's definitely some precedent. After Microsoft finalized the acquisition of Activision Blizzard King in October 2023, Phil Spencer joined the podcast to discuss how the teams saw Call of Duty and more.
No matter what's being discussed though, they have to be careful and choose words with surgical precision. Clear ideas need to be presented, and even if things have been bumped up, the time for mulling things over is gone.
Personally, I'm hoping to see a clear strategy laid out for why some games will be going to other consoles and others won't. Timeframes are fluid and the gaming industry is complex enough as is, so I don't have any expectations on that. Players want to hear about how this affects them buying Xbox consoles and subscribing to Xbox Game Pass. If Spencer and company can clarify that, they'll be doing well.
