Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer has announced that 4 Xbox exclusive games will be coming to his rival, Sony PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. This will be a great moment for all the gamers out there, as Microsoft has some really good Xbox titles that other gaming console users also want to play. Spencer announced this news on an official Xbox podcast.
Microsoft has made this move to grow its gaming business by letting other console users play its exclusive games. To be honest, we all know that Xbox consoles are not doing very great, as other gaming consoles like PlayStation do. So, let’s see what Microsoft has planned for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.
In a special edition of the Official Xbox Podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed that four Xbox games will no longer be exclusive. That means players should be able to access them on other companies’ platforms.
Spencer did not provide a firm timeframe or identify the four games but said that two will be “community-driven” games and two will be smaller titles.
“The teams that are building those games have announced plans that are not too far away,” he said. “I won’t be talking about the titles specifically, but I think when they come out, it’ll make sense.”
Xbox’s Thursday announcement suggests that the brand is rethinking that strategy. While Microsoft maintained that there was no fundamental change to its exclusivity approach, Spencer noted that he believes games that are exclusive to one piece of hardware “are going to be a smaller and smaller part of the game industry” within the next five or 10 years.
Microsoft has already been moving away from this through its “Game Pass” subscription service that works something like a Netflix for video games.
The tech giant’s recent acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard allows that service to grow even further. On Thursday, Xbox President Sarah Bond announced that the first Activision Blizzard game on Xbox Game Pass will be Diablo IV, starting March 28.
“It’s all part of our commitment to make Xbox, the Xbox experience, and the games that we build as widely available as possible,” Bond said.
Xbox, which has previously ranked third in sales behind PlayStation and Nintendo, is expected to see a significant boost from the Activision Blizzard roster — which, beyond Diablo, also includes blockbuster games like Call of Duty and Overwatch.
Revenue for Microsoft’s Windows-led personal computing business, which includes Xbox games and services, already grew 19% to $16.89 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 — largely reflecting Activision Blizzard’s impact. Microsoft’s Xbox-related revenues grew by 61% for the period, although the company attributed 55 points of that figure to the addition of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft’s irst two titles will be Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment, followed by Sea Of Thieves and Grounded.
Microsoft completed its purchase of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion back in October, nearly two years after announcing the deal. The Redmond, Washington-based tech giant had to fend off ample global opposition from antitrust regulators and rivals over competition concerns.
Spencer confirms that Starfield and Indiana Jones are not part of the first four games, but he doesn’t rule out the possibility for these titles to arrive on PS5 in the future. “I don’t think we should as an industry ever rule out a game going to any other platform,” says Spencer in an interview with The Verge. “We’re focused on these four games and learning from the experience.
Source: The Verge
Microsoft has also previously been weighing up the idea of bringing Gears of War, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and even the next Doom game to rival platforms. Final decisions haven’t been made on these other games, but there’s bound to be more than just four. As this strategy evolves, it’s clear there will be some interesting decisions being made about the future of Xbox games and exclusivity.
So, why does Microsoft need to launch Xbox exclusives on rival platforms? The company talks of a need for Xbox to evolve “to ensure long-term success for both Xbox and the industry as a whole.” Microsoft’s gaming business just grew to be bigger than the Windows division thanks to the Activision Blizzard acquisition, so it’s not in trouble. The Xbox business as a whole still needs to get bigger, though. Microsoft’s Xbox Series S and X console sales lag behind Sony’s PlayStation 5, and Spencer. Previously admitted its Xbox Game Pass subscriptions were slowing down. Content revenue, then, could be a good source of growth.
