Phil Spencer sees no reason to keep Xbox games away from other platforms. „It doesn't work for us”
In two interviews, Phil Spencer has made it clear that Microsoft is moving away from exclusive development and the corporation's games will increasingly find their way onto competing consoles as well.
The end of Microsoft exclusives is near. Recently, the company has started to release its games not only on PC and Xbox but also on competitor's devices. This trend will only strengthen in the future, judging by the latest statements from Phil Spencer.
First, in an interview with Gamertagradio, the head of Xbox said that Microsoft doesn't want to build artificial walls separating players from their games, therefore the company's titles will certainly appear on other platforms.
- When asked why someone would buy a console from this company in such a situation, Spencer replied that he wants the reason to be the quality of the device and services, not exclusive titles.
- In the same interview, Spencer stated that Microsoft intends to strongly support Nintendo Switch 2. It's worth mentioning that according to the quite well-known leaker eXtas1s, Doom: The Dark Ages is among the games heading to this Nintendo console.
Then, in a conversation with Destin Legarie, when asked about the possibility of converting Starfield to other consoles, Spencer confirmed that this is possible:
To keep games off of other platforms, that's not a path for us. It doesn't work for us.
It seems that Microsoft plans to fully or nearly fully stop creating titles solely for PC and Xbox consoles. Many players may be disappointed by this, but others will certainly be pleased with access to additional games.
The developer of No Rest for the Wicked comments on Phil Spencer's interview
Some developers are also satisfied. Among them is Thomas Mahler, the head of Moon Studios, who believes that abandoning exclusive titles is a good idea. He revealed that a few years ago when they were looking for a partner to develop No Rest for the Wicked, they decided not to take up Microsoft's offer precisely because such cooperation would have prevented the game from being released on PlayStation 5.
Mahler stated that exclusives make no sense in today's times. He compared the game market with movies, explaining that it would be nonsense if a given production could only be run, for instance, on a DVD player from one specific company. He also highlights that the group of console gamers consists of about 100-150 million people, and this figure has not been rising for a long time. If the industry is to develop, it must reach a larger audience, and this requires facilitating potential recipients' access to games.
That's why Mahler believes that sooner or later Sony will also go down the same path and only Nintendo will stick to creating games exclusively for its own consoles.
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