Xbox Doesn't Want Their First Party Studios To 'Change Their Creative Process'

This is what every game company should strive for and what every person should want to hear. Microsoft is once again reinforcing itself as the best game company on the planet.

Imagine if the Phil Spencer/Matt Booty era started in 2012 and MS didn't spend seven years doing damage control and rebuilding the Xbox brand.

I think it’s a bit disingenuous to suggest a small indie game is as important to them as Halo. Halo is a console seller and subscription grabber and also their largest and most well known IP.

I imagine he means they want all kinds of stuff on GamePass but the way that’s quoted seems like he suggests they are equal.

@XxEvilAshxX who knows if we would have what we have now if they did? Getting knocked down drives innovation so without knowing for certain that I'd have the beast of a machine in a series x and Gamepass i wouldn't change anything. Xbox is exactly what i need today so wouldn't gamble with it. I've seen the time travel Simpsons episodes...I know what's at stake.

@FatalBubbles they aren't saying that games won't be made just for gamepass, just that they aren't forcing people to do it. Studios can create what they wish without interference is what I'm getting out of this.

Funny cause Halo didn’t seem that important to them last time we saw it, thats why it got delayed 😂

But in all seriousness, every game should be important

@FatalBubbles it's a bit out of context I agree but you will have your Hali and stuff. But why say force double fine to make something they don't want to. Xbox can go to 3rd party and fill in blanks needed
Also some smaller games do extremely well on game pass to drive subs sometimes as much as the triple a titles. Things like grounded, and decesnders are Doing extremely well on game pass. Do much that the devs of decesnders sign a long term game pass deal that they said you won't see the title leaving game pass for a long long time.
This is just more of relief to hear that companies won't be shoehorned into doing something they don't want to. Like if inxile wants to make a puzzle platformer, Microsoft isn't gonna step in and be like we'll no that's not why we bought you

@Terrin Completely agree with you. I wasn’t in any way saying the studios shouldn’t make what they want to make. In fact it’s a great thing that MS is taking a hands off approach. I just think it’s inaccurate to portray a tiny indie game and Halo as equals.

@FatalBubbles yeah I agree with you there. By name power like halo/battlefield/fall out do have some pedigree attached to it.

Just never count the smaller indie stuff out some of the most played games on gamepass are the smaller stuff surpisngly

@FatalBubbles "To us"

They are equal, to MS and their strategy, and for their catalogue diversity. And ultimately, their potential consumer base.

You can put 100 Halo games on game pass and xbox, but that only appeals to (up to) ten million players. And each of those games only appeals to the exact same players as the last. Where as that small indie game could appeal to a couple million players, and these players might not ever touch a Halo game. All this means is that the narrative games have their own potential to expand the GP and xbox audience.

Also, from a cost prospective, that small narrative game may have gained more GP users per dollar spent on it than the hyper expensive Halo might have.

There's more to gaming than AAA blockbuster masterpieces. For gamers, that's fun experiences, and for companies, that's just high ROI.

@Richnj I get what you’re trying to say but if you want to sell consoles you go with games like Halo, Gears, etc. A small indie game isn’t going to do that so I don’t think it’s equal in their eyes either...

@FatalBubbles MS aren't trying to sell consoles. They are trying to sell game pass and games.

Consoles don't make money themselves, never had, they just provided a platform to sell the games. Xbox consoles aren't the platform anymore, the xbox network and GP are the platform now.

@Richnj Its the same idea dude. I already mentioned in an earlier comment that games like Halo sell subs, a small indie game doesn’t have that impact.

@FatalBubbles Why not?

The idea of a console seller is to have a game so great, so hyped up, that you are willing to drop hundreds of dollars to invest in that ecosystem to have access to that must have game. It's a barrier breaker. To get people past the barrier of spending so much money on an object. Which once that has been broken, opens you up to selling them more games and making money in that ecosystem.

A $10 sub per month is not a barrier. It's less of a barrier than $450 for a console, and even less than the $60 for the game. You don't need individual games to sell subs, because the low price is the selling point of the service. It's less risky to drop $10 for GP than $60 for a game you've not played yet.

You do, however, need a large and varied body of content and entertainment to keep people subbing on a regular basis. New content, like this qurky indie narrative game, that you may not normally try but since you're paying for the sub anyway, actually provides just as much reason to keep your sub going than the Halo game.

@FatalBubbles Halo sold me the OG Xbox. Gears of War sold me a 360. Rise of the Tomb Raider sold me a One. Game Pass plus quick resume and improvements to older games sold me a Series X. Lot of indie games on Game Pass are higher on my list than Halo Infinite so I appreciate his marketing spiel.

@Krzzystuff I agree the botched XBO launch was the motivation they needed to get back on track. That said, Phil came out of the gate swinging. The second he was in charge, there was a plan. I can't help but feel he was that employee with all the ideas but the management wouldn't listen.

@Richnj @Enigk After reading your replies I think it just comes down to you guys play different games than I do. I buy an Xbox for the Halo, Gears, Fable, Forza, etc and not the indie games. I might play a couple of them here and there because of GamePass but the majority of my gaming is big AAA games.

Proof will be in the pudding so to speak. Lets hope they do cultivate their studios. Buying ready made ones is great but I think studios built from the ground up like The Initiative will be key to success this gen.

I play everything from ori to gears 5. This is how you let studios be what they are suppose to be, creative entities. It's why I love Xbox. Tunic, 12 minutes, the last night are just as important at halo infinite, perfect dark and avowed.

@FatalBubbles Everyone is different. If you only play AAA titles you end up with a drought so you either have to own more than one console or play some smaller titles. The main draw of Game Pass is the AAA games but you have to have variety on there to cater for as broad an audience as possible.

@FatalBubbles What sells Game Pass is the large number of games available and the diversity of those games. Yes Halo and other AAA games may be a big reason for some people to Subscribe or even buy a Console but indies also help offer diversity and quantity too.

You can't deny that games like Ori and Cuphead for example, award winning games, aren't part of the attraction of Game Pass. Game Pass also make these more accessible and removes the barrier to 'try' these - that barrier being 'price'. Not sure if you'll like the Ascent, well you can try it for free when it comes to Game Pass...

@BAMozzy Once again, I’m not discounting diversity of GamePass with indies. They absolutely help build up the portfolio of games. I’m just saying they aren’t as big of a draw for people as AAA games. Cuphead has never once been on my radar. I played both Ori games, they were great but I didn’t even think of them as Indie since they’re first party MS.

@Enigk I do own both consoles because I want to play the best games out there so no issue there for me.

This is why I love Game Pass.
I was never a buyer or player of indie games at any point in the past, but now I've sampled so many gems that I'd rate higher than many AAA games I've played in the past.
I think the key here is people sign up to Game Pass for the big blockbuster games, but they stay subscribed due to wide variety of genres and constantly updated library.

@FatalBubbles Ori is NOT a first Party game. Moon Studios are independent and why Ori is on Switch and PC too. Whether 'you' want to play Cuphead or not, its still an award winning game that MANY people wanted to play. Rocket League ended up being a massive 'indie' game and Fall Guys too. There are other Indies that have much larger appeal than many AAA games in general - even if 'you' don't.

Maybe an 'individual' indie game isn't going to have the pulling power of a AAA game (to some people), but being able to play Ori, Cuphead, Ascent, Falconeer etc etc for free adds to the diversity and value of the subscription service and draw people in. I never bought 'indies' - all mine are Free (GwG/PS+ or Game Pass) and a lot are a LOT more fun than some AAA games I have played.

I expect a Halo or Starfield to boost numbers of GP subscriptions - but along with quality indies is what will 'keep' people subscribed - uncovering a 'gem' they dismissed because its 'indie'....

Anyway, the point about Game Pass is that in theory it allows for total freedom of creativity. It allows for 'experimentation' because you are not basing decision on whether or not it will be a 'commercial' success. Indies tend to have that freedom more so because the overall cost is much lower than having a team of several hundred people working 5yrs to make a AAA game and needing to sell several million copies just to break even.

New 'experimental' games are an unknown quantity - don't know if people will spend £60+ on a new experimental idea so they tend to stick to sequels and jumping on latest trends - which often start from an 'indie' game. The whole Battle Royale started from a indie developer and Minecraft was an indie game too and Mojang and indie Studio before MS acquired them - same with Compulsion (We Happy Few), Undead Labs (State of Decay) etc

PUBG kicked off a trend that is now found in AAA games like CoD and Battlefield. Point is, the creative freedom of indie teams, not being told they have to make 'X' game because their parent companies believe it will be commercially more successful, makes for more diversity and creativity.

All you have to do is look at the AAA market today. Yes there are still new IP's being created, but often the only 'unique' aspect is the story. At one point, we seemed to get FPS games because CoD was 'king' of sales, then with GTA, we seem to be getting a LOT of open world RPG's. As great as Sony's Exclusives are, there is a lot that seem to be 'similar' - 3rd Person Action games with a Narrative driving you on - whether more Linear (Uncharted, Last of Us, God of War etc) or more open-world (Horizon, Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man). Activision seem content to rely on CoD, maybe release the odd nostalgic remaster. EA rely a lot on their annual sports games and big name IP's Star Wars, Battlefield, Mass Effect etc. Ubisoft have relied heavily on AC, Far Cry and Tom Clancy but still created some 'new' IP's in recent years (WatchDogs, Division etc) but can feel quite 'samey' to other AAA games in the genres.

Indies have their place in this industry and are important to. Hopefully Game Pass will enable that creative freedom for AAA developers to be 'experimental'. One of the biggest developers in that area is Kojima and we know that Sony weren't too impressed with the sales figures to back a sequel but 'cost' is prohibitive to try something you aren't sure of - especially something 'new' with little to relate it to. A brand new FPS for example can be likened to CoD, Halo, Battlefield etc and if you like FPS games, you are more likely to buy. With 'no' cost (other than the monthly subscription cost), you remove that barrier

@BAMozzy If you had read the previous comments you’d realize that I said it comes down to a difference in what I want to play compared to the other two people commenting. You’re just going over the same things I’d discussed with the other two folks that we already resolved.

@Richnj if they don't want to sell consoles why did they just release 2 new consoles 😂

@Would_you_kindly To have a console option.

If they really cared about selling the maximum number of hardware units, they should just make xbox and Bethesda games exclusive to xbox consoles, and make windows exclusive to MS surfaces.

They don't, because the software is the money maker. Not the hardware.

Imagine imagining statements like these while looking at 1995-2014 Microsoft Studios?

@Richnj they do make their games exclusive to their console , their games to pc aswell windows is owned by Microsoft so it only makes sense that they'd release them on pc aswell

@Would_you_kindly "windows is owned by Microsoft"

But why have Windows on all pcs?. If they wanted to sell surfaces, why not make it exclusive?