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GRTV News - Phil Spencer dishes the details on Xbox's cross-platform, acquisition, and handheld console efforts
The boss of Microsoft's gaming sector made some transparent announcements about the future of the console maker.
Audio transcription
"Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of GRTV News.
Today we're going to be talking a little bit about a big interview actually that's been doing the rounds.
The folk over at Bloomberg had a chance to speak to Phil Spencer who popped by their offices recently."
"And during that interview he revealed a whole bunch of interesting things about the future of Xbox.
So we're going to be touching a little bit on the handheld side of things, the cross-platform endeavours and acquisitions.
So a lot of stuff to get through, so let's dive on in.
So Phil Spencer claims there are no cross-platform red lines in Xbox's portfolio."
"It looks like Halo, Gears of War and such could one day find themselves on PlayStation.
So there have been various rumours and reports that have touched on how Xbox will continue to explore the realms of cross-platform launches.
The days of pure exclusivity for one of the major platform providers is pretty much a relic of the past, as beyond Nintendo both Xbox and PlayStation frequently delve into the PC market, and they even often support Switch editions for their latest releases too."
"We are even seeing Xbox cross a boundary that many Xbox purebloods deem uncrossable, as lately Microsoft has been releasing first-party titles on PlayStation systems as well.
So granted this has been in the form of titles of less cultural importance like Hi-Fi Rush due to its recency, or big multiplayer offerings that benefit from a larger player pool, i.e. Grounded and Sea of Thieves."
"While it's fair to say that Xbox fans have been hesitant about this change, it's hard to disagree with the strategy that Microsoft has put into effect.
At least, it is until we add some of the Legends and Titans to the equation.
So when the discussion that Microsoft and Xbox might eventually be looking at making Halo or even Gears of War available on PlayStation started doing the rounds, it didn't take long for many Xbox fans to express their discontent."
"This led to a bit of a scale back in the cross-platform gold rush and also more transparency in the approach.
But it seems now that head honcho Phil Spencer is looking to once again grease the wheels of change, as in a new Bloomberg interview he explains that no part of Xbox's portfolio is off-limits.
Spencer states, This isn't the only revelation that Spencer brought to the forefront in the interview either, as he also touched a little on the acquisitions and how after the mega $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft is still looking for more companies to add to its ranks."
"There doesn't seem to be any huge deals coming any time soon due to the fact that Activision Blizzard merger is still underway, but there could be smaller acquisitions all the same.
Spencer elaborates, Lastly, Spencer talked about the long rumoured Xbox handheld console, a device that he effectively confirmed is on its way, but also still has a few years from completion."
"Spencer noted that while the expectations that we would do something, he also affirms that, Needless to say, it looks like Microsoft and Xbox will continue to make waves in the next few years.
So let's talk about those points methodically, sort of, you know, progressively methodically."
"So first of all, it's the red lines that he says that he doesn't see any that thou must not cross.
I'm not really surprised by this, to be honest, because I do think the future for Xbox is probably a multi-platform approach, especially now that Activision Blizzard is part of their portfolio.
At the end of the day, if Call of Duty isn't going to be an Xbox exclusive brand, despite the fact that Microsoft has, you know, hashing out $70 billion to basically buy it, then in my eyes, there is no reason why Halo or Gears of War should also or should retain their exclusivity."
"I understand the history of that platform.
I would say that I've always been more geared towards Xbox and PlayStation over my life.
And yet, I don't think neither Gears of War nor Halo are the same games and franchises that they were 10, 15 years ago.
So I don't think this is the same sort of conversation anymore."
"I think that obviously it has to be treated with a bit of care because these are some historical franchises and iconic franchises that are truly geared towards the Xbox sort of ecosystem and history.
But at the same time, I don't think it's a huge thing to say that there's no red lines that they should cross.
I don't think we'll be seeing it soon."
"I don't think this means that we'll be seeing a brand new Halo or something on PlayStation in two years' time or anything like that.
But I do think that, again, we're not just talking about Activision Blizzard titles coming to PlayStation.
One of the biggest games of this year, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which is developed by Bethesda, a Bethesda Studios studio, that's eventually coming to PlayStation."
"So if Bethesda's titles and Activision Blizzard titles aren't off limits to PlayStation, then why should any of the other Xbox Game Studios stuff be?
That's what I see about it.
And at the end of the day, if these games are on more platforms and they sell more and they make more money, then the chances are Microsoft is going to be more geared to let these talented developers and studios do what they need to do to continue making amazing games."
"So I think that's absolutely fine and given in many senses.
As for the acquisitions, it doesn't really surprise me either there.
Spencer sort of teased a little bit that they are still eyeing up doing another major move, but when you've spent $70 billion on a company and you proceed to lay off 2,000, 3,000 people as part of that acquisition, I think there needs to be a massive cooldown period."
"So I don't think we're going to be seeing a big acquisition from Microsoft in a few years now.
But smaller teams, smaller developers maybe just incorporating support studios, that sort of thing to sort of expand and bolster the Xbox Game Studios ranks.
Again, that seems like something that's probably very likely to happen."
"And then lastly, the handheld thing.
This is the one that I actually think is most surprising because we've been hearing rumours about this handheld system for a long, long time.
And Spencer basically confirmed that saying, you know, yeah, there's an expectation we would do something."
"But the fact that he also said that it's still a few years away means that whatever those rumours were that suggest that we might be seeing it relatively soon, they were far off.
Or alternatively, Xbox has decided to go a different route recently.
It's hard to tell which is what, but I think that it's pretty clear that there will be a handheld system."
"And it makes me wonder whether that they had a sort of plan for like a cloud-based system and then PlayStation came out with the portal.
And I don't think the portal necessarily hit the market the way that PlayStation was hoping because I don't think cloud's quite there yet."
"And I think that's maybe looked at, maybe made Microsoft sort of think, is this the way that we're going to do it?
Again, that's just me speculating because personally, if I had to buy a handheld gaming device, I'd want one that I can play games native on without having to use the cloud because, well, for me, someone who lives in a more rural area, the cloud is useless."
"Like it's terrible. It's really not great at the moment.
I'd much prefer to just play something native.
So I'd be more geared to buy like a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck to do it that way.
Instead of using like a Logitech G Cloud or a PlayStation Port, all those kinds of things, we have to stream things, whether it's through the net, whether it's through, you know, the internet or through your local network, whatever."
"I don't think streaming technology is quite just where it needs to be for gaming at the moment in time.
But that's my sort of take on it.
So I wonder whether Microsoft is sort of taking a little different route there as well for it.
But I don't think it's something that definitely will come because obviously Xbox is owned by Microsoft and Microsoft are the makers of Windows and Windows is often used in all these handheld PC gaming platforms anyway."
"So it's like a natural progression for them to eventually develop something in-house as well.
Yeah, a lot to talk about there.
Phil Spencer also did mention that the Xbox business is healthy, which I think is kind of a given as well.
He's not going to come up and say, you know what, actually, we're really, really struggling at the moment because that's just not a good PR statement whatsoever, is it?
So yeah, three really core interesting things I think that you mentioned there, really interesting, compelling points."
"Let us know what you think about it below and the way that Xbox is handling things.
Do you agree with their strategy? Do you not agree with their strategy?
Tell me all about it in the comments.
Otherwise, thank you for watching and I'll see you all on the next episode of GRTV News."
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