Phil Spencer is Against Cutting Game Content for DLC. He Sees Such Doings as „Manipulation”
Phil Spencer gave an interview in which several interesting topics were discussed. Among other things, he expressed his dislike for „manipulative” DLC.
Yesterday, we informed you about Microsoft's future plans, which were shared by the head of the gaming department, Phil Spencer. A little later he gave an interview to independent journalist Stephen Totilo, in which several interesting topics were raised. Spencer expressed, among other things, his aversion to cutting content from games and releasing it as paid DLC.
No to cutting content
The conversation touched on using the large player base from the Game Pass subscription to boost the sales of paid expansions. Spencer responded that there is no central mandate forcing the release of DLCs, and it depends solely on the game devs.
While he sees DLC as a great way to expand the story and re-engage players, he doesn't like it when it feels "manipulative."
I don’t like expansions that are manipulative. I want it to have a unique point of view. I don’t want it to be, like, the third level that you cut before you launched.
Avowed delayed
In early August, we received word that Avowed had been delayed, with a new release date set for February 18, 2025. The reason given at that time was the intention to "give players a break" due to the large number of upcoming games. However, some people concluded that the real reason could be the unsatisfactory state of the game. Spencer firmly denied this.
We can afford it when we have the Diablo expansion, then Black Ops, then Indy [Indiana Jones and the Great Circle]. We didn’t move it because Obsidian needed the time. They’ll use the time.
Black Myth: Wukong on Xbox consoles
The first game of Game Science studio, Black Myth: Wukong, has turned out to be a huge success, breaking records on Steam, and surpassing hits like Cyberpunk 2077 or Elden Ring. Owners of Xbox Series X/S consoles may regret this, as the game is still not available on their platform.
Therefore, the interlocutor asked Spencer if he knew whether its users would be able to play Wukong in the future. In response, he only heard a brief "I know," after which the head of Xbox added that he couldn't share anything more at the moment.
It must be admitted that this is quite an unsatisfactory answer, however, the fact that Spencer didn't deny it, may suggest that the game's release on Xbox consoles is just a matter of time. Let's remind that recently Microsoft suggested that the delay was due to a contract signed by the developers with Sony.
Playing within the Xbox ecosystem
Spencer also mentioned the possibility of playing owned titles within the entire Xbox ecosystem, regardless of the platform on which they were purchased.
But we want to get to the point where, when you buy, whether you're buying on cloud—which we're getting ready to introduce—buying on PC and buying on console, you own it across all of the Xbox ecosystem.
