@Balaam_ What it looks like to me is they're winging it, and they only did it to placate the hardcore who basically are more or less holding Asha and co. at gunpoint with a smile. Even Booty explaining the strategy made zero sense when the recent showcase fundamentally contradicted what he said. Judging from the very inconsistent messaging I don't forsee it being a long-term strat.
The Xbox showcase was amazing. But it's going to be really interesting to see whether this statement holds true in the future. The part about only announced games staying beyond Xbox/PC is weird because there were a number of games from Xbox Game Studios which have never been announced for Playstation, yet got announced to release day 1 on Playstation.
Like Senua, Spyro, and State Of Decay 3. They're still doing the mixed messaging thing lol. If Gears was ready to go, day 1 on Playstation, and they pulled out last minute, then surely the same could've been done for these games. I get it though, cancelling all of those ports would literally just be burning money.
I think this begins the whole "data driven approach" to determine their publishing strategy moving forward.
@anoyonmus GOW Sons Of Sparta, Saros and Wolverine are the PS5 exclusives they have for this year in regards to first party so far. Outside of that, Sony is publishing Kena Scars Of Kosmora and Marvel Tokon which would be "console exclusives". That includes titles like Nioh 3, Phantom Blade Zero etc. which aren't published by Sony but are timed "console exclusive" to their console.
@superjas If Xbox has two console exclusives, all of which are on PC, then that would mean Playstation has far more than the 3 (not on PC, mind you) they're publishing/going to publish this year (so far) that aren't on other consoles. That, and other 3rd party devs.
Some of you need to be asking why they are committed to showing other platforms whether it's their game or from another developer. So many of you are still continuing to move with the assumption that they want to traditionally compete in the same way that Sony or Nintendo does while already having a platform agnostic strategy and putting their IP on former competitors hardware. Has anybody asked what Satya Nadella thinks about this?
Also, this is literally exhibit Z as to why execs shouldn't even be communicating with fanboys in such a parasocial manner because it leads to situations like this where it's so evident the executive knows what will be happening strategically ahead of time but (imo) she'll feign ignorance after blowback coming from fanboys who obviously have a completely different vision of what the brand should be. This is Phil Spencer's "it's just 4 games" all over again where needless "transparency" is just assuring the core base that "it's just this" when in actuality a giant strategic pivot already happened. It causes utter confusion and debate everywhere leading to widespread narratives of hopium only for them to be dashed in the end. It's just sloppy.
@Coletrain I see what you're trying to say with your whole point about Nintendo being the non high-end platform but that doesn't explain the part about "not repaying the favor". Because they never shared their exclusives either. Also, Nintendo is still an entirely different platform that can still take away more marketshare from the Xbox console. The CFO of Microsoft is on record referring to Nintendo and Playstation as "competitors of the past" prior to the multiplatform pivot.
Sony and MS are in completely different universes when it comes to their strategies and positions within the gaming market. It's simply an apples to oranges comparison. As of right now, Microsoft is incredibly hardware agnostic when it comes to their content and services whereas Sony actually has a more hardware specific strategy. It's their hardware people actually buy, and it is the main vehicle through which they are able to generate 30B dollars in revenue annually. The same strategy that you are telling Microsoft to go back to is one they have already tried but this time you're commanding them to go back to that with extra steps by saying, "well, Nintendo is okay."
Sony reportedly pulling out of Steam really has nothing to do with Microsoft at all, really, Steam is barely even a blip in Sony's earnings and on top of that their mission is to protect the value of their hardware. So looking at what you think Microsoft should be doing through that lens, is just futile.
Why is it futile? Well, Asha Sharma says she wants to lean MORE into PC rather than drifting away from it. PC makes up a significant portion of Microsoft's growth in gaming. The upcoming hardware they have in production is supposed to be a console/PC hybrid, while the XboxPC app is being pushed to multiple PC based devices. Again, Asha Sharma is literally on record stating that she wants to "break down hardware barriers" and "meet players where they are" similar to previous leadership. Now, say Helix releases in a world where the Steam Frame exists? What would actually be the incentive to buy into a Helix if Microsoft is still going to continue to put games on Steam, for example? This is exactly the reason why you're seeing an increase from people on the Xbox side advocating they pull out from Steam.
Existing data on ports to PS indicate reliable sales revenue from ports especially when you compare the sales performance to the Xbox and PC versions. In fact, data from the holiday of 2024 indicates that Playstation made up 64% of consumer spending on Microsoft software compared Xbox AND PC combined. Granted, most of that comes from Call Of Duty in the collection of games they ported during that time period, but the point still stands. You'll likely see a similar result occur during the end of this year when Halo, Fable, Forza etc. Have all launched on Playstation. Especially knowing that every copy sold particularly during their respective launch periods will be 70 dollars a pop, including but not limited to the fact they actually have to buy the games.
I do not see a world where Microsoft is going to forgo such a massive revenue stream while wanting to "meet players where they are" and "break down hardware barriers", while also communicating to audiences that gamers don't pidgeonhole themselves as console and PC gamers anymore.
@Coletrain You're assuming it's still their interest to intentionally keep games off Playstation to compete. It makes even less sense when you'd have no issue with them putting the games on every other platform plus Nintendo not "repaying the favour" as well. Question, how does one "break down hardware barriers" and "meet players where they are" while pursuing such a purposeless strategy? Asha has repeatedly said things like this similar to Sarah Bond. None of this screams like a hardware-exclusive centered strategy. You want them to make money on other platforms except for the platform that generates towers of cash for the 3rd party industry. Lmfao.
@HonestHick there's truth in the idea that there's aversion to the 70 dollar price tag for a lot of gamers but the perception of certain games "not selling" is a bit presumptuous when different games have different financial goals, investment, etc. Saying games Astrobot or Saros (which literally JUST came out) didn't or aren't selling well is purely just conjecture and not objective whatsoever. AstroBot is closer to a AA game more than anything, and it also didn't cost 70 at launch, it was 60. Today, it's official sales are at least far beyond the 1.5 million number in 2024 accomplished in a month more or less which are likely great numbers for a lower budget game. Most games even at a lower price point on multiple platforms mind you, would be lucky to even hit such a milestone in a short amount of time. New IP like Pragmata have proven to be breakout hits selling a million in two days on basically every platform, I can tell you right now there are many excluisves that outperform that. Capcom views it to be selling well however I've seen people claim that it isn't because they have some arbitrary idea of how think it should be selling despite the fact Capcom the publisher is satisfied with it's performance. What dictates a game to be selling or not is the ROI. Not "what I think is selling/not selling."
It's going to cost a fortune. How many people actually bought the Rog Ally X which was 1k? And that's a handheld... I wouldn't count on this next thing to be subsidized especially now that its all about playing on multiple storefronts with Xbox now. I expect this thing to be closer to 2k if anything.
We'll probably see a "Helix S" for a cheaper version.
@SMJ massive goalpost shift, part deux. Every PS gen would include the PS4. I'm comparing current output of Sony from now to the PS4 gen aligned. I provided evidence that they're not necessarily down at the moment compared to last gen in terms of output especially now that were midway into the gen which is usually when things pick up anyway. And all you could say to that was shrug off each title as if it wasn't output, as if your opinion mattered on the games. We're talking quantity here which is an objective measure. 2018 was considered one of the best years of the PS4 and Sony's publishing output now basically eclipses that. But okay I guess.
@SMJ There might have been a bit of a backup and less than stellar decisions made with 1st party studios, but if you compare the 5th year of the PS5 to the 5th year of the PS4, their output now is objectively better. At least in terms of quantity.
MLB (a given) Marathon GoW Sons Of Sparta Saros Wolverine Horizon Hunters Gathering TBD
Also not taking into account the publishing partnerships they have with the Kena sequel, Marvel Tokon, 4 Loop, etc.
The publishing output is straight up better.
PS4 had:
GOW 2018 Shadow of The Colossus MLB Detroit Become Human Spiderman 2018
Insomniac and Quantic Dream (if we really want to be pedantic) weren't first party studios then. So basically they had 3 first party games for the console then.
@Gemini53 Yeah, I understand that. What I was saying was, what's really going be "affected" if this strategy shift is actually true, is PC. Not the next Xbox. I mean it's funny.
That's like saying the Xbox Rog Ally is affected, it's a PC handheld. Even so, is PC even "affected" here? Steam is the greatest thing ever, or so I was told. It was never an entitlement that it would be getting all first party Sony titles anyway. It already has a vast library of games.
...Why would that affect the next Xbox? When Playstation ports their games, they put them on Steam and/or Epic Games. They're not porting them to Xbox, but PC storefronts. If the next Xbox is going to be open platform then it's basically just going to be a PC.
If you needed PS first party games on a PC storefront Microsoft really has zero to do with as a selling point for this next Xbox, that is pretty grim. Steam is supposed to be this incredibly attractive platform with a vast library of games, which people claim is the apotheosis of gaming. If that's the case, why all this commotion?
Shouldn't the next "Xbox" should sell itself? Kind of funny how for Xbox to actually be attractive it needs other things that pretty much have no relation to it.
Why would they? MS already says they want to meet players where they are (Asha Sharma basically echoed this days ago) continuing the "every screen" rhetoric today. Data has already shown that most consumer spending on MS first party titles happens on Playstation compared to Xbox and PC combined.
Someone is going to have to explain how MS, whose inherited some of the biggest publishers in gaming with a loss leading subscription service that has barely seen growth, with rapidly dwindling console hardware sales and userbase is going to justify the exclusivity strategy that I could've sworn people in the Xbox community eschewed after prior leadership (Sarah Bond and Co.) Claimed exclusives were antiquated.
As much it would be nice for Xbox to have some sort of competitive strategy again, like other people here have said; the genie is out of the bottle. They have set their gaming buisness up in such a way where it is virtually impossible to justify such a strategy.
Everyone keeps talking about the XboxPC which would be an open platform (a PC) with multiple storefronts and how in the future, there's a hope that exclusivity may be prioritized along with it. If Xbox and PC are going to merge as this hybrid device... Why do we continue talking about them as seperate platforms right now in regards to keeping the next mainline Halo game "exclusive" (assuming its next gen exclusive)? You could easily presume that by then Xbox would have put out the new Magnus people in this community are speculating about. If it is fundamentally going to be a PC but with a console-like experience and you're pleading to MS to make games like Halo exclusive again, what you're really doing is telling them to make games exclusively for PC. Also, assuming GP is alive by then, it would quite likely extremely cripple the sales performance of the game more than what happens to most Xbox first party games back when they had an exclusive strategy with Xbox and PC.
Sharma saying that she hears community concerns about exclusivity does not mean anything at this point. What you are asking for here is a miracle bro.
It's all resource management. For MS, knowing their goals now there's just no strategy to intentionally stagger or have indefinite exclusivity to create product differentiation. That's a central strategy only for the other big two at this point.
@fatpunkslim Respectfully, I don't know how someone evaluates the statements and actions MS representatives have demonstrated the past year that show going forward they want to distribute their software across platforms on a "case by case basis." Its clear they're in a transitional period in which they are equipping their studios for fully wide range multiplatform development, these things take time. They have made it abundantly obvious that they're not interested in strategically differentiating their platform from a competitive standpoint. The writing has been on the wall on this for some time now. You think it's a "bad idea" they're putting Fable on Playstation day 1? MS doesn't think so. Just last year Xbox execs declared that exclusives are "antiquated" soon after revealing Halo for Playstation (which is also releasing day 1) and that the biggest games were everywhere. Phil Spencer is on record telling the audience that they they're not trying to "attract" people to Xbox anymore. And if you think about it for more than .5 seconds, they don't have to try at all since, you know, they consider everything an Xbox. The strategy of putting up walls for people to access their games as a way to gain competitive ground isn't viable for them, and nonsensical when you look at the very noticeable downtrend of their own bespoke hardware and barely growing subscription service on Xbox and PC. Not to mention all their software launched day and date on both for years. To redo all that work to gain the lost marketshare via massive investments into marketing and exclusivity vs the potential astronomical profits they could gain from leveraging platforms like Playstation which have remained strong and made their way into over 90+ million homes is the best route they could have taken. It makes even more sense for them to do this now when you acknowledge MS spent over 100 billion dollars on massive publishers and studios in the past half decade ON TOP of having to fund every single one, ON TOP of investing billions and billions into Gamepass annually. A PC/Xbox Gamepass exclusive strategy, once you consider all these things, blatantly isn't sustainable. MS (specifically CEO Satya Nadella) even mentioned they have they opportunity to become the biggest publisher on Playstation. You don't accomplish that goal by adopting a "case by case" strategy.
The new Xbox is essentially going to be a PC, they have already begun the marketing of being able to play anywhere you want on any storefront as some novel idea as if you couldn't already do that on a regular PC. They have almost entirely pivoted away from exclusively funneling people into their storefront and ecosystem. Riddle me this, what benefit is there for them to be promoting other storefronts? Especially if, the vast majority of games being bought on them aren't their games? Do you really think they're going to strategize around their next hardware effort as a competitive, mass market device? It's time to forgo comparing both Sony and MS in this space. From (definitely) exclusivity, to hardware strategy. After all, MS doesn't consider Sony a competitor anymore.
Comments 24
Re: Here's A Look At The Updated Xbox Game Studios Roadmap From June 2026
@Balaam_ What it looks like to me is they're winging it, and they only did it to placate the hardcore who basically are more or less holding Asha and co. at gunpoint with a smile. Even Booty explaining the strategy made zero sense when the recent showcase fundamentally contradicted what he said. Judging from the very inconsistent messaging I don't forsee it being a long-term strat.
Re: Xbox First-Party Title 'Clockwork Revolution' Is Yet Another Console Exclusive
@anoyonmus it most likely will.
Re: Xbox Confirms Its Two New Console Exclusives Are Not 'Timed'
The Xbox showcase was amazing. But it's going to be really interesting to see whether this statement holds true in the future. The part about only announced games staying beyond Xbox/PC is weird because there were a number of games from Xbox Game Studios which have never been announced for Playstation, yet got announced to release day 1 on Playstation.
Like Senua, Spyro, and State Of Decay 3. They're still doing the mixed messaging thing lol. If Gears was ready to go, day 1 on Playstation, and they pulled out last minute, then surely the same could've been done for these games. I get it though, cancelling all of those ports would literally just be burning money.
I think this begins the whole "data driven approach" to determine their publishing strategy moving forward.
Re: Xbox First-Party Title 'Clockwork Revolution' Is Yet Another Console Exclusive
@anoyonmus
GOW Sons Of Sparta, Saros and Wolverine are the PS5 exclusives they have for this year in regards to first party so far. Outside of that, Sony is publishing Kena Scars Of Kosmora and Marvel Tokon which would be "console exclusives". That includes titles like Nioh 3, Phantom Blade Zero etc. which aren't published by Sony but are timed "console exclusive" to their console.
Re: Poll: How Would You Grade The Xbox Games Showcase 2026?
Really great show.
Re: Xbox First-Party Title 'Clockwork Revolution' Is Yet Another Console Exclusive
@superjas If Xbox has two console exclusives, all of which are on PC, then that would mean Playstation has far more than the 3 (not on PC, mind you) they're publishing/going to publish this year (so far) that aren't on other consoles. That, and other 3rd party devs.
Re: 'It Was A Miss, And I Own It' - Xbox CEO Hints At Removing PS5 & Switch Logos From Showcases
Some of you need to be asking why they are committed to showing other platforms whether it's their game or from another developer. So many of you are still continuing to move with the assumption that they want to traditionally compete in the same way that Sony or Nintendo does while already having a platform agnostic strategy and putting their IP on former competitors hardware. Has anybody asked what Satya Nadella thinks about this?
Also, this is literally exhibit Z as to why execs shouldn't even be communicating with fanboys in such a parasocial manner because it leads to situations like this where it's so evident the executive knows what will be happening strategically ahead of time but (imo) she'll feign ignorance after blowback coming from fanboys who obviously have a completely different vision of what the brand should be. This is Phil Spencer's "it's just 4 games" all over again where needless "transparency" is just assuring the core base that "it's just this" when in actuality a giant strategic pivot already happened. It causes utter confusion and debate everywhere leading to widespread narratives of hopium only for them to be dashed in the end. It's just sloppy.
Re: 'We Are Building A Stronger Xbox' - Asha Sharma Updates Employees On Progress In 2026
@Coletrain I see what you're trying to say with your whole point about Nintendo being the non high-end platform but that doesn't explain the part about "not repaying the favor". Because they never shared their exclusives either. Also, Nintendo is still an entirely different platform that can still take away more marketshare from the Xbox console. The CFO of Microsoft is on record referring to Nintendo and Playstation as "competitors of the past" prior to the multiplatform pivot.
Sony and MS are in completely different universes when it comes to their strategies and positions within the gaming market. It's simply an apples to oranges comparison. As of right now, Microsoft is incredibly hardware agnostic when it comes to their content and services whereas Sony actually has a more hardware specific strategy. It's their hardware people actually buy, and it is the main vehicle through which they are able to generate 30B dollars in revenue annually. The same strategy that you are telling Microsoft to go back to is one they have already tried but this time you're commanding them to go back to that with extra steps by saying, "well, Nintendo is okay."
Sony reportedly pulling out of Steam really has nothing to do with Microsoft at all, really, Steam is barely even a blip in Sony's earnings and on top of that their mission is to protect the value of their hardware. So looking at what you think Microsoft should be doing through that lens, is just futile.
Why is it futile? Well, Asha Sharma says she wants to lean MORE into PC rather than drifting away from it. PC makes up a significant portion of Microsoft's growth in gaming. The upcoming hardware they have in production is supposed to be a console/PC hybrid, while the XboxPC app is being pushed to multiple PC based devices. Again, Asha Sharma is literally on record stating that she wants to "break down hardware barriers" and "meet players where they are" similar to previous leadership. Now, say Helix releases in a world where the Steam Frame exists? What would actually be the incentive to buy into a Helix if Microsoft is still going to continue to put games on Steam, for example? This is exactly the reason why you're seeing an increase from people on the Xbox side advocating they pull out from Steam.
Existing data on ports to PS indicate reliable sales revenue from ports especially when you compare the sales performance to the Xbox and PC versions. In fact, data from the holiday of 2024 indicates that Playstation made up 64% of consumer spending on Microsoft software compared Xbox AND PC combined. Granted, most of that comes from Call Of Duty in the collection of games they ported during that time period, but the point still stands. You'll likely see a similar result occur during the end of this year when Halo, Fable, Forza etc. Have all launched on Playstation. Especially knowing that every copy sold particularly during their respective launch periods will be 70 dollars a pop, including but not limited to the fact they actually have to buy the games.
I do not see a world where Microsoft is going to forgo such a massive revenue stream while wanting to "meet players where they are" and "break down hardware barriers", while also communicating to audiences that gamers don't pidgeonhole themselves as console and PC gamers anymore.
Re: 'We Are Building A Stronger Xbox' - Asha Sharma Updates Employees On Progress In 2026
@Coletrain You're assuming it's still their interest to intentionally keep games off Playstation to compete. It makes even less sense when you'd have no issue with them putting the games on every other platform plus Nintendo not "repaying the favour" as well. Question, how does one "break down hardware barriers" and "meet players where they are" while pursuing such a purposeless strategy? Asha has repeatedly said things like this similar to Sarah Bond. None of this screams like a hardware-exclusive centered strategy. You want them to make money on other platforms except for the platform that generates towers of cash for the 3rd party industry. Lmfao.
Re: 'We Are Building A Stronger Xbox' - Asha Sharma Updates Employees On Progress In 2026
@Coletrain "continue making games multiplatform. But don't put them on Playstation. Anything but Playstation."
Re: Digital Foundry Labels Sony's PS5 Exclusivity Pivot As A 'Defensive Move Against Project Helix'
The Helix is probably at the bottom of the list for reasons as to why they're pulling away if true.
Re: More Than 50% Of Hardcore Gamers Don't Buy Full-Priced Games Anymore, Survey Finds
@HonestHick there's truth in the idea that there's aversion to the 70 dollar price tag for a lot of gamers but the perception of certain games "not selling" is a bit presumptuous when different games have different financial goals, investment, etc. Saying games Astrobot or Saros (which literally JUST came out) didn't or aren't selling well is purely just conjecture and not objective whatsoever. AstroBot is closer to a AA game more than anything, and it also didn't cost 70 at launch, it was 60. Today, it's official sales are at least far beyond the 1.5 million number in 2024 accomplished in a month more or less which are likely great numbers for a lower budget game. Most games even at a lower price point on multiple platforms mind you, would be lucky to even hit such a milestone in a short amount of time. New IP like Pragmata have proven to be breakout hits selling a million in two days on basically every platform, I can tell you right now there are many excluisves that outperform that. Capcom views it to be selling well however I've seen people claim that it isn't because they have some arbitrary idea of how think it should be selling despite the fact Capcom the publisher is satisfied with it's performance. What dictates a game to be selling or not is the ROI. Not "what I think is selling/not selling."
Re: New Xbox First-Party Game Announced In The Form Of Minecraft Dungeons 2
I had a blast with Minecraft Dungeons. I think I'll keep somewhat of a close eye on the sequel.
Re: Xbox's Phil Spencer Was Asked About Retirement A Year Ago, And Here's What He Said
I wish him the best.
Re: 'It Will Lead In Performance' - Xbox's Price Tag For Project Helix Could Be Pretty High
It's going to cost a fortune. How many people actually bought the Rog Ally X which was 1k? And that's a handheld... I wouldn't count on this next thing to be subsidized especially now that its all about playing on multiple storefronts with Xbox now. I expect this thing to be closer to 2k if anything.
We'll probably see a "Helix S" for a cheaper version.
Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC
Removed
Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC
@SMJ massive goalpost shift, part deux. Every PS gen would include the PS4. I'm comparing current output of Sony from now to the PS4 gen aligned. I provided evidence that they're not necessarily down at the moment compared to last gen in terms of output especially now that were midway into the gen which is usually when things pick up anyway. And all you could say to that was shrug off each title as if it wasn't output, as if your opinion mattered on the games. We're talking quantity here which is an objective measure. 2018 was considered one of the best years of the PS4 and Sony's publishing output now basically eclipses that. But okay I guess.
Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC
@SMJ and there goes the massive goalpost shift.
Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC
@SMJ There might have been a bit of a backup and less than stellar decisions made with 1st party studios, but if you compare the 5th year of the PS5 to the 5th year of the PS4, their output now is objectively better. At least in terms of quantity.
MLB (a given)
Marathon
GoW Sons Of Sparta
Saros
Wolverine
Horizon Hunters Gathering TBD
Also not taking into account the publishing partnerships they have with the Kena sequel, Marvel Tokon, 4 Loop, etc.
The publishing output is straight up better.
PS4 had:
GOW 2018
Shadow of The Colossus
MLB
Detroit Become Human
Spiderman 2018
Insomniac and Quantic Dream (if we really want to be pedantic) weren't first party studios then. So basically they had 3 first party games for the console then.
Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC
@Gemini53 Yeah, I understand that. What I was saying was, what's really going be "affected" if this strategy shift is actually true, is PC. Not the next Xbox. I mean it's funny.
That's like saying the Xbox Rog Ally is affected, it's a PC handheld. Even so, is PC even "affected" here? Steam is the greatest thing ever, or so I was told. It was never an entitlement that it would be getting all first party Sony titles anyway. It already has a vast library of games.
Re: Next Xbox Console Could Be Affected By PlayStation Pulling Back On PC
...Why would that affect the next Xbox? When Playstation ports their games, they put them on Steam and/or Epic Games. They're not porting them to Xbox, but PC storefronts. If the next Xbox is going to be open platform then it's basically just going to be a PC.
If you needed PS first party games on a PC storefront Microsoft really has zero to do with as a selling point for this next Xbox, that is pretty grim. Steam is supposed to be this incredibly attractive platform with a vast library of games, which people claim is the apotheosis of gaming. If that's the case, why all this commotion?
Shouldn't the next "Xbox" should sell itself? Kind of funny how for Xbox to actually be attractive it needs other things that pretty much have no relation to it.
Re: Opinion: Xbox Should Consider Cancelling Halo: Campaign Evolved For PS5
Why would they? MS already says they want to meet players where they are (Asha Sharma basically echoed this days ago) continuing the "every screen" rhetoric today. Data has already shown that most consumer spending on MS first party titles happens on Playstation compared to Xbox and PC combined.
Someone is going to have to explain how MS, whose inherited some of the biggest publishers in gaming with a loss leading subscription service that has barely seen growth, with rapidly dwindling console hardware sales and userbase is going to justify the exclusivity strategy that I could've sworn people in the Xbox community eschewed after prior leadership (Sarah Bond and Co.) Claimed exclusives were antiquated.
As much it would be nice for Xbox to have some sort of competitive strategy again, like other people here have said; the genie is out of the bottle. They have set their gaming buisness up in such a way where it is virtually impossible to justify such a strategy.
Everyone keeps talking about the XboxPC which would be an open platform (a PC) with multiple storefronts and how in the future, there's a hope that exclusivity may be prioritized along with it. If Xbox and PC are going to merge as this hybrid device... Why do we continue talking about them as seperate platforms right now in regards to keeping the next mainline Halo game "exclusive" (assuming its next gen exclusive)? You could easily presume that by then Xbox would have put out the new Magnus people in this community are speculating about. If it is fundamentally going to be a PC but with a console-like experience and you're pleading to MS to make games like Halo exclusive again, what you're really doing is telling them to make games exclusively for PC. Also, assuming GP is alive by then, it would quite likely extremely cripple the sales performance of the game more than what happens to most Xbox first party games back when they had an exclusive strategy with Xbox and PC.
Sharma saying that she hears community concerns about exclusivity does not mean anything at this point. What you are asking for here is a miracle bro.
Re: Xbox Exec Explains Why Some Games Are 'Day One' For PS5, And Others Aren't
It's all resource management. For MS, knowing their goals now there's just no strategy to intentionally stagger or have indefinite exclusivity to create product differentiation. That's a central strategy only for the other big two at this point.
The games are looking great though.
Re: Fable Showcases Stunning Gameplay Deep Dive, Arrives On Xbox, PC & PS5 Later This Year
@fatpunkslim Respectfully, I don't know how someone evaluates the statements and actions MS representatives have demonstrated the past year that show going forward they want to distribute their software across platforms on a "case by case basis." Its clear they're in a transitional period in which they are equipping their studios for fully wide range multiplatform development, these things take time. They have made it abundantly obvious that they're not interested in strategically differentiating their platform from a competitive standpoint. The writing has been on the wall on this for some time now. You think it's a "bad idea" they're putting Fable on Playstation day 1? MS doesn't think so. Just last year Xbox execs declared that exclusives are "antiquated" soon after revealing Halo for Playstation (which is also releasing day 1) and that the biggest games were everywhere. Phil Spencer is on record telling the audience that they they're not trying to "attract" people to Xbox anymore. And if you think about it for more than .5 seconds, they don't have to try at all since, you know, they consider everything an Xbox. The strategy of putting up walls for people to access their games as a way to gain competitive ground isn't viable for them, and nonsensical when you look at the very noticeable downtrend of their own bespoke hardware and barely growing subscription service on Xbox and PC. Not to mention all their software launched day and date on both for years. To redo all that work to gain the lost marketshare via massive investments into marketing and exclusivity vs the potential astronomical profits they could gain from leveraging platforms like Playstation which have remained strong and made their way into over 90+ million homes is the best route they could have taken. It makes even more sense for them to do this now when you acknowledge MS spent over 100 billion dollars on massive publishers and studios in the past half decade ON TOP of having to fund every single one, ON TOP of investing billions and billions into Gamepass annually. A PC/Xbox Gamepass exclusive strategy, once you consider all these things, blatantly isn't sustainable. MS (specifically CEO Satya Nadella) even mentioned they have they opportunity to become the biggest publisher on Playstation. You don't accomplish that goal by adopting a "case by case" strategy.
The new Xbox is essentially going to be a PC, they have already begun the marketing of being able to play anywhere you want on any storefront as some novel idea as if you couldn't already do that on a regular PC. They have almost entirely pivoted away from exclusively funneling people into their storefront and ecosystem. Riddle me this, what benefit is there for them to be promoting other storefronts? Especially if, the vast majority of games being bought on them aren't their games? Do you really think they're going to strategize around their next hardware effort as a competitive, mass market device? It's time to forgo comparing both Sony and MS in this space. From (definitely) exclusivity, to hardware strategy. After all, MS doesn't consider Sony a competitor anymore.