What you need to know
- In an interview with Bloomberg reporter Dina Bass, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer touched on a number of topics regarding the Xbox business.
- Per Spencer, the experiment of bringing some former Xbox exclusives to PlayStation and Nintendo consoles has been a success.
- Spencer added that he doesn't see any particular "red lines" on certain games that shouldn't be brought over.
As the gaming industry continues to evolve, we've got a bit more insight into what one platform holding is planning.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer spoke with Bloomberg in an interview published Wednesday regarding a number of topics around how the Xbox business is performing. Highlighting Microsoft's decision to bring four formerly Xbox console exclusive games to PlayStation and Nintendo hardware, Spencer noted that he's been pleased with the results and that Microsoft will continue to bring games over.
“I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say ‘thou must not,’" Spencer explained, eschewing the idea that there are any particular games that can't be ported, though he then added that it's too early for any kind of decision regarding Halo.
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Microsoft brought Obsidian Entertainment's Grounded and Pentiment, Rare's Sea of Thieves and the formerly-owned Tango Gameworks' Hi-Fi Rush to non-Xbox consoles earlier in 2024. While some of these ports were clearly more successful than others — Microsoft went on to try and close Tango Gameworks before the studio was saved by Krafton — Sea of Thieves on PlayStation 5 has been a highlight, with Microsoft Gaming content and studios head Matt Booty previously praising the game's performance.
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Constant change, but seeing a path through?
Navigating what is and isn't exclusive will continue to be a blurry line for Microsoft as it juggles being a massive multi-platform publisher as well as a console platform holder.
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MachineGames' Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is launching as a timed exclusive on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC before heading to PlayStation 5. Meanwhile, id Software's DOOM: The Dark Ages is set to launch across all these platforms on day one.
It's early days yet in terms of data, but so far, recent launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 across all platforms and Xbox Game Pass has borne out a success for Microsoft's strategy, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella noting the game's subscriber adds on Xbox and increased year-over-year sales on Steam and PlayStation.
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Things are changing all over, and Microsoft isn't alone in expanding its IP across different platforms, with Sony's PlayStation directly publishing LEGO Horizon Adventures on Nintendo Switch. Even so, it's one thing to say something and another to truly commit. It'll be interesting to see just what other Xbox games do and don't get ported to other hardware in the coming years.
