Xbox is exploring the possibility of publishing more games on platforms previously considered to be rivals such as PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, as it continues its push to outgrow the traditional console market and become a ubiquitous gaming service.
In a video roundtable with three Xbox executives, published on Friday, Microsoft gaming chief executive Phil Spencer confirmed a recent leak suggesting four Xbox games were being readied for release on other consoles. Locking up as many games as possible, he said, was no longer best for business.
Xbox consoles will continue, but some of Microsoft’s games may come to PlayStation as well.
“I do have a fundamental belief that over the next five or 10 years, games that are exclusive to one piece of hardware are going to be a smaller and smaller part of the game industry,” he said.
“And that’s not some great insight, because if you look at the last 10 years and what the biggest games are today … you see big games landing on multiple platforms. And we want to be a great platform for creators that are trying to realise that potential.”
The move comes after the company completed a $106 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which, combined with its existing portfolio, means it is already one of the biggest publishers on PlayStation, Switch and mobile with game franchises like Call of Duty, The Elder Scrolls, Minecraft and Candy Crush.
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Spencer declined to name the four games, but said two had a live service element and so their ongoing growth would be limited without expansion to other systems. The other two were smaller scale games that would benefit from the extra visibility. A report from The Verge suggests the games are Grounded, Sea of Thieves, Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush.
Spencer said that selling these games on other platforms would provide the ability to continue to invest in them, potentially creating strong franchises for the future. It didn’t mean Microsoft’s blockbusters like Starfield and this year’s Indiana Jones game were coming to PlayStation.
“We make every decision with the long-term health of Xbox in mind. That means a growing platform, our games performing, building the best platform for creators, reaching as many players as we can,” he said.
“When we don’t damage Xbox and we can grow our business, using what the other platforms have, we’re going to do that. And I think there is an interesting story for us of introducing Xbox franchises to players on other platforms, to get them more interested in Xbox.”
Microsoft has been talking about making Xbox “the Netflix of games” for years, introducing the subscription Game Pass service, an offering on PC and the ability to stream games from the cloud. But Spencer said the game industry as a whole also had to meet players where they were.
Sea of Thieves may soon be available on PlayStation and Switch.
“If we don’t get to growing as an industry, the industry will struggle. And there’s really only two choices for how you grow. Do I find new ways to monetise players, to get more money from the players that I have? Or do you think about, how do I expand the business I have, by finding new players,” he said.
“It’s not about games in service of a device, but rather, the devices that people want to play on should be in service of making the games as big and popular as they possibly could be.”
Implicit in that statement is the reality that you won’t get games the size of Fortnite, Minecraft or Call of Duty by publishing solely on one console, especially as Xbox hardware is being roundly outsold by Nintendo and Sony’s offerings.
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Yet the executives were also keen to reassure players that Xbox as a platform is not going anywhere. Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty said all Microsoft’s games would still come to Xbox consoles, and would be included in Game Pass on day one, which would not be the case on other consoles.
Games going to other platforms would also benefit Xbox players, he said, as they could play their favourite games with their friends who don’t have Xbox consoles. And being able to access your digital games for decades after you’ve purchased them was a tenet of the Xbox platform.
Xbox president Sarah Bond said Game Pass was now at 34 million subscribers and would continue to grow, with Activision Blizzard games set to start populating the service soon. Its 2023 blockbuster Diablo IV will be the first, on March 28. She said Xbox would continue to grow its PC and cloud offering and will expand onto other systems, but will also continue to build bespoke devices to provide a “flagship gaming experience”.
“There’s some exciting stuff coming out in hardware that we’re going to share this holiday. And we’re also invested in the next-generation road map,” she said.
“What we’re really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation, which makes it better for players and better for creators and the visions that they’re building.”
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