After Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard and all its development studios, it seems that Microsoft has firmly established itself as the largest third-party game publisher in history. In light of this, Xbox head Phil Spencer’s recent remarks during an interview with Gamertag Radio about future Xbox games appearing on platforms like Nintendo and PlayStation make waves but also have a solid reasoning behind them.
During the interview, which aired on Danny Peña’s Podcast Interviews on YouTube, Spencer shared his vision: “I want people to experience the games we build, the services we offer, on as many devices as we can.” Despite this broad vision, he emphasized, “We love the native experience we have on our platform and hardware, and that’s something that will continue with us.” The conversation, which lasted 26 minutes, was packed with fascinating insights into the industry and reminisced about the Xbox’s past, including some nostalgic reflections on the original Xbox and the 360 days.
For those not familiar with gaming console history, let’s take a brief detour. Remember Sonic The Hedgehog from the movies? Before the films, Sonic was front and center in video games which were once exclusive to Sega consoles. It wasn’t until Sonic Adventure 2 made it to the GameCube that Sonic appeared elsewhere. Much like Sega, which bowed out of the console race after the Dreamcast couldn’t compete with Sony’s muscle-bound PlayStation 2, Xbox stepped into the scene as Sega shifted to third-party development.
Interestingly, early versions of what’s now the Xbox had backward compatibility with Sega’s Dreamcast games, largely because the Dreamcast worked well with Windows CE. Though the finished Xbox didn’t maintain this compatibility, it did host exclusive sequels to Dreamcast titles like Jet Set Radio Future.
At first glance, Spencer’s comments might sound like what you’d expect from a struggling console-maker grasping at straws. But don’t be mistaken; Microsoft’s reach extends far beyond just Xbox. As the largest-ever third-party game publisher, Microsoft’s strategy now leans toward maximizing game availability, not just luring players onto Xbox.
Spencer further explained, “We want everybody to play on Xbox, and it means more of our games shipping on more platforms, not just PlayStation. We cherish our collaborations with Nintendo and Valve on Steam, and we plan to keep that going.”
Does this mean Xbox is mimicking Sega’s trajectory? Absolutely not. Microsoft’s deep pockets have safeguarded against that outcome. However, going forward, Xbox consoles will need some remarkable features to compete against the likes of a presumably portable-focused “Switch 3” and a powerhouse PlayStation 6, which will likely continue the tradition of banking on exclusive titles to draw in gamers.
Yet there’s a caveat: for Xbox to maintain its identity, merely being a collection of games and services under the Xbox umbrella may dilute the platform’s uniqueness. The risk is that when everyone has an Xbox game, calling it an Xbox might not mean much anymore.
