fatpunkslim

"cloud gaming is a natural thing for us to invest in because that'll just [...] expand the ability for people to play games everywhere"

If after this, people still don't understand that 'everywhere' mainly means the cloud, there's nothing more we can do for them. This is exactly what Phil has emphasized recently. But yes, more Xbox games on more platforms (mainly PC and cloud, and some temporary exclusives on competing platforms) also means better funding for studios and better quality games, and even better gamepass catalog. It's a virtuous circle!

@Millionski The one releasing exclusive games right now is Xbox, with Stalker 2, Avowed, and soon Sooth of Midnight. Sony is releasing nothing at all! And in terms of marketing, I think Xbox understands that they need to do much more! By the way, there was a big marketing campaign for Avowed, just like for Indiana Jones. Multiplatform games allow them to finance exclusive games and also more aggressive marketing campaigns than before.

And Take a look at Google Trends, who is being talked about more? Xbox or PlayStation? Even PlayStation blogs talk about Xbox more than their own brand because they have nothing else to say! Whether it's good or bad, people talk about Xbox, they exist and make people talk about them, and we see that it works with, for example, Avowed being a top seller.

@Millionski Until when? Because by constantly riding the same wave, they will eventually fall and get swallowed by the Xbox sea lol.

The reality is that at PlayStation, they are in panic mode after all the canceled games, flops, acquisition errors, closed studios, and 10% of their workforce being laid off. They are realizing that Xbox is absorbing them in terms of games, revenue, services, cloud, and I'm even convinced that the next generation of consoles will be the final blow with the integration of all the stores.

Xbox is treating us as usual, I'm loving it, it's just epic!

They are two completely different games, two completely different experiences. I have no problem with them being released even close to each other. Fable will be on gamepass anyway.

Maybe it's even a good thing that they come out at the same time, it will probably push some people to get it via Game Pass rather than buying it since they will have to buy GTA 6.

@IOI Always with the doom and gloom. When did he lie? He said that for now, it was just 4 games, that it was a test, and they would see what they do based on the results of these tests! They never said it would just be 4 games forever! He also said not to believe that these 4 games meant everything would arrive, and that's indeed the case; there are very few games that have been ported compared to the exclusive games. There is always a balance that is maintained. The result of the test is that only Sea of Thieves really worked on PlayStation, which is why we see other service games being ported after several years like FH5 or Age of Empires, for example. I'm not talking about historically multiplatform games

@Weebleman I didn't say it's already in place, but in any case, I see that you are very quick to defend PlayStation! lol! We all know very well that PlayStation has played its marketing on third-party games much more, whether with marketing exclusivity contracts with Call of Duty back in the day or with GTA 6. For them, it's a very important strategy to make the average player think that a third-party game is exclusive. Otherwise, why pay some publishers to prevent them from advertising on other platforms, even though the game is multiplatform? Don't be naive, it's just manipulation of the ignorant. Xbox is content with only displaying its logo on trailers like everyone else, it doesn't go further, or at least not as far as PS. As already said, for now, this willingness for transparency is not yet there, it's simply a pious wish for now, and we'll see if they apply it or not, but I think it's a good idea, that's all!

It's a good thing; it will prevent false speculations. This way, players will know, OK, this game is exclusive, or OK, this game is multiplatform. It changes from the State of Play where 99% of the games are multiplatform and Sony tries to make you believe they are exclusive, which is dishonest! Well, it's a practice that everyone did, but not at the same level as PlayStation, which has always played a lot on ambiguity. Glad that Xbox, once again, is setting a good example!

@themightyant Great job ! We should also consider the quality of the games, their value, and the type of games (AAA or AA). On this point, I don't have the impression that Game Pass has decreased in quality; on the contrary, we have more AAA titles than before. It's worth noting that many 2024 games were delayed and that the 2025 lineup will certainly improve these stats further.

@Ilyn Maybe you should read the whole interview, right? He mentions the cloud 6 times in the entire interview, not just once. In comparison, he mentions PlayStation 2 times, and when talking about Xbox consoles, he mentions them 11 times (4 console + 2 hardware + 5 own platform). So, if we base our understanding on the frequency of words to give them more or less weight, we can say that concerning platforms, the Xbox ecosystem comes first, then the cloud, and lastly the competing consoles.

Regarding the rest of your speech, I'm not basing it on a single game but on all the games. They are either historically multiplatform games or temporarily exclusive games. For Indy, I explained, it’s a Disney license, for Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment, seriously? They are niche games arriving a year and a half later, they're not big games.

Then you go into speculations again: "plenty of future games are Day 1," really? Which ones? avowed, south of midnight ? I d'ont' think so !

It's more like you're sticking to a narrative that has nothing tangible or concrete and relies only on speculation. That's the problem with people like you, always talking about "probably," "future," "they will," meanwhile, I believe what I see, and I also simply believe what Phil Spencer says, which is quite the opposite of what you're saying!

@IOI That's not since the "no red lines," but let's move on! As for "no red lines," we know very well that it doesn't mean anything, except that they allow themselves to port OR NOT a game to a particular platform, that's all!

And yes, of course this strategy is good, we can already see that it's working with a profit margin of 14% compared to PlayStation's 4%, a great lineup of first-party games, exclusive games like Avowed, South of Midnight, Stalker 2, Mechbreak, etc., a Game Pass that's always well-stocked, supported development studios, a console that I love, and ever-increasing features with Play Anywhere expanding, "play your own games on cloud," cross-save, etc. All of this is thanks, among other things, to this multiplatform strategy. All I'm saying is that their strategy is balanced and clever, with exclusive games AND multiplatform games. The few multiplatform games are both to support their studios and their own ecosystem. It's also a way to introduce Xbox franchises to other players and sell them Game Pass among other things.

The Xbox console base remains stable considering there is no mid-gen. According to VGChartz, the PS4 has sold 2 million more consoles than the PS5 (data from January 2025). It's the console market that is in decline, not just Xbox.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner For 2 years now, we've been hearing "probably," and apparently you're not tired of repeating the same thing, even though it still isn't the case! Do you really think companies like Xbox make these kinds of decisions on a whim? They've been doing multiplatform for years; there is no fundamental difference. At no time did they say they were stopping exclusive games, at least temporarily. Be careful, I'm 100% for this multiplatform strategy, I'm just saying it's not all or nothing, and their strategy is much more nuanced and balanced than some want to make us believe.

@IOI How long have you been repeating the same thing? I bet with you that in 2 years, you'll still be repeating the same thing and it will still not be the case.

@FatalBubbles However, apart from false media speculations, nothing proves the contrary. Apart from historically multiplatform games, no game has been released day one on PlayStation, none. Indy is released a few months later, but that's special as it’s a Disney license negotiated before the acquisition. Doom, Outer Worlds, Call of Duty, even Hellblade 2 are historically multiplatform games. The rest have release windows of 4, 5, or 8 years, like Sea of Thieves, Age of Empires, FH5. Absolutely no example confirms that they are very close to releasing day one on other platforms. The priority is PC and the cloud and their own ecosystem "not every screen is equal."

@Sol4ris Of course, that's what they're going to do, you can be sure of it. I'll bet you a bitcoin if you want. FH6 will not be day on others consoles, the priority is toi favor their own ecosysteme and when a franchiose reach its limits, it's ported on competing consoles, but multiplatform strategy mainly councerne cloud and pc, he repeatd it many times, and de facto, that's what we see currently

That's the problem when we cut pieces of the response, here is his full response and tell me if you understand the same thing:

"And obviously not every screen is equal. Yeah, like there’s certain things we can’t do on the other closed platforms that we can do on open platforms, cloud – it’s different. But games should be the thing that we’re focused on. And the strategy that we have allows us to do big games, while also supporting our native platform from hardware to the platform and services that we have and that’s going to be our approach."

"Phil: It’s maybe not what I was going to say on stand at the time. But yeah, I would love to make all of the money for all of the games that we ship right, like obviously we make more on our own platform. It’s one of the reasons that investing in our own platform is important. But there are people, whether it’s their libraries on a PlayStation or Nintendo, whether it’s they like the controller better, they just like the games that are there.

And I don’t want to then look at that and say, well, there’s no way that we should be able to build a business there, find fans of our franchises there. I’m not trying to move them all over to Xbox anymore. People were all so invested in where our games are. Let’s just allow more people to play and yes, the 70% that we make on games on other platforms is helpful to us being able to build great portfolios like we showed at the Dev Direct and I hope this will continue to show through the rest of the year."

What I understand is that they are aware they make more money on their ecosystem and therefore invest in their own ecosystem (hardware, service, platform).

But they are aware that this strategy has its limits; some players already have their game catalog installed on PlayStation and Nintendo, and they know they won't be able to bring everyone over to Xbox. "I'm not trying to move them all," meaning he is not trying to bring everyone (just some), especially the big fans who already have a large game base installed elsewhere, which is a very different proposition!

He is not at all saying that they want to send everything to other consoles, it is even the opposite, he repeatedly emphasizes that their priority is above all on the cloud and PC, and on their own ecosystem: "Not every screen is equal", because that's where it brings in the most. It's just good business sense. At no time does he mention other consoles as a priority. They see it as a bonus, they don't spit on the 70%, it's better than nothing, but they prefer to favor their own ecosystem. That's why, concerning competing platforms, they remain, de facto, on a case-by-case basis, and temporary exclusives like Forza Horizon 5 arriving 4 years later.

You can be sure that Forza Horizon 6 won't take long to be released and will follow the same pattern, 4 years later on PS5. But when you love a franchise, are you willing to wait 4 years? Of course not, and you can be sure that many PlayStation players will love FH5 and will rush to get Game Pass or an Xbox to play FH6.

It's not State of Play but State of Third Party, I haven't counted the years without a good State of Play! They even managed to do another remake of a game that didn't need it, it's incredible!

Even Xbox manages to have more multiplatform games and at the same time more exclusive games than PlayStation, it's incredible. This shows that console sales have nothing to do with games, but only with marketing and media perception.

Also, for that reason, PlayStation players buy very few of their own games, it's just a default console, a console for casual gamers who know nothing but FIFA, Fortnite, and Call of Duty.

What is the interest in buying a console for 2 exclusive games per year that end up on PC anyway? Xbox is a better console beacause they simply make more games, due to the Game Pass, which is undoubtedly the best service on the market, due to Play Anywhere, the best backward compatibility, and also because in reality, they have more exclusive games than PlayStation, even if some (not all) are released a few years later on other consoles (and I don't necessarily want to wait 4 years to play the next Forza Horizon).

The upcoming exclusive games like Avowed, South of Midnight, or even Mecha Break look incredible, it seems like they are the only ones creating games!

@johnK Go ahead, the game is really great, very well done technically, and there are some truly sublime moments.

I've already finished the game, had a really great time. I played it on normal mode and the difficulty is already enough for me, at least. The Lunar Staff and the Tiger Claws are my favorite weapons. Thanks, Xbox and the Game Pass!

@kevinm360 I also think it's the 2020 remaster for the same reasons you mentioned. This remaster is very well done and still looks like a 2024 - 2025 title, with Activision always being ahead technically and graphically.

@DeanyBabyy it's exclusive because mechabreak is exclusive like avowed, south midnight, gears, replaced, contraband and many other games. Don't be fooled by media extrapolations and speculations just for clicbait. Xbox make exclusive AND multiplatform games, when Xbox port one game on another platform, 3 news games are exclusives.

@Isolte We agree, I also prefer a world without exclusive games, as I've said before. But you say this as a PC gamer. As an Xbox and PC gamer, I have a slightly different view of what's good for Xbox, and I don't think the complete end of exclusive games is a good thing, at least not in the short/mid-term. In the long term, if the gaming landscape is different from today, I wouldn't say no!

But I think Xbox is well aware of all this, and as I mentioned, they have a much more subtle approach than some might think.

There is my gamer point of view, which is totally in agreement with you, and my point of view of what I think is good for Xbox, which is a bit different.

Good chat, anyway.

@mac_da_man "No red lines" doesn't mean anything; it's a very bad interpretation. It just means they allow themselves the choice to port or not any game according to different criteria, but it doesn't mean all games! It's a very big shortcut to think that! Their actions suggest they will not. Sorry, I only see some timed exclusives from old games, and I still see exclusive games, so no, nobody can say this is the direction they take.

I think the real test will be Forza Horizon 6 or the next big Xbox exclusive. If it comes out day one on PS5, then you would be right, otherwise, we are indeed looking at a case-by-case strategy and timed exclusives.

@Isolte One could ask you and others the same question. As a gamer, yes, I prefer all games to be available everywhere, which is also why I prefer Xbox, with play anywhere, own games on cloud, its backward compatibility policy, cross-save, cloud gaming, etc...

But from a business perspective and with a realistic view of the industry, I don't see Xbox jumping headfirst into multiplatform without at least keeping temporary exclusives, because I think it would be too disruptive to switch too quickly to full multiplatform given the current industry landscape, and from what I understand, that's not what they're doing.

It may be the case in the future, but it will be in a gaming landscape very different from today, where almost no one will make exclusive games anymore, but I don't see that happening for another two console generations.

After all, this is the subject of the article at the same time, so it's normal that I respond to this topic.

@mac_da_man Of course, Xbox is not going to port all their games to other consoles; nothing allows us to say that today, it wouldn't make sense from a business perspective for many reasons. Many people get carried away by media extrapolations. The multiplatform strategy is primarily aimed at growing markets, that is, PC and cloud gaming.

And the big advantage is that Xbox has the choice, as most of their exclusives are first-party. This is not the case for PlayStation, which does not have this luxury; they largely depend on third-party publishers for their exclusives.

@Jaxx420 I didn't mean "acquire" in that sense, of course. I meant that it was a PlayStation exclusive now available on Xbox, like many others (Sifu, Kena, Forspoken, Death Stranding, MLB The Show, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, etc.). These are third-party games, but since 80% of PlayStation exclusives are third-party games, it's still relevant. At this rate, PlayStation will have far fewer exclusives than Xbox, even with Xbox porting some old games

@Markatron84 I will believe it when I see it, but I think it will be the case when no one makes exclusive games anymore, not before. In the meantime, if we look at the 2025 Xbox lineup, it has more exclusive games than PlayStation (not difficult at the same time when the guy next door makes almost no first-party games except for remakes).

The big advantage of Xbox is that it does not depend on third-party publishers; they have the choice to port a game or not to other platforms, unlike PlayStation, whose 80% of exclusive games are from third-party publishers. And unfortnately for them, few anf few thirs party publishers want make exclusive games like square, capcom and almost everyone.

Xbox has once again acquired a former PlayStation-exclusive franchise: Onimusha.

@Markatron84 To keep it short: I think Xbox's strategy is much more subtle than some think. Sending all Xbox games to other platforms is definitely not their strategy. The "no red lines" simply means they allow themselves to judge any game as potentially multiplatform, but that doesn't mean they will port everything to other platforms; it's a very simplistic interpretation.

Furthermore, during the interview with Destin, Phil clearly said no to the question if all games were going to PlayStation.

Interestingly, the media prefer to only highlight the excerpts that fit their narrative, ignoring those that contradict it.

Xbox's strategy is much more nuanced than an all-or-nothing approach; it will be somewhere in between because they know very well the value of keeping some exclusive games. They will stop doing it when all competitors stop making exclusive games, but not before.

In the end, it wasn't very short after all.

Good talk

@K1LLEGAL Let's forget your speculation (yet another one) about Deathloop, which is irrelevant.

On what Phil said "“if you’re on other platforms don’t take this as a sign that everything is coming, it’s not”" you think its a lie and so, everything is going to other platforms", I disagree !

I think it's a binary and simplistic view of things, especially coming from a company worth billions. I believe their strategy is much more nuanced than that.

At least we know what we disagree on!

@Jaxx420 I have already given the facts, look back through the discussion. The facts are simply to look at the types of games that are being ported and that they clearly prioritize service games. There will be other types of games, but we remain on a case-by-case basis and temporary exclusivity. The facts are also that Xbox continues to make exclusive games and announce exclusive games and sign contracts for exclusive games with third parties, which also proves that keeping some exclusive games remains important, even if for some games, it's temporary.

but I understand that it's not easy to see clearly in the midst of media confusion eager for clickbait, and PlayStation trolls who come to reassure themselves

If we look at things calmly and without media confusion, there hasn't been a major change, just a slow evolution. They ported 4 exclusive games, and now we know that Indiana Jones, Forza Horizon 5, Age of Empires and Retold will be ported, 4 more games, including 3 service games that are over 4 years old. I wouldn't call it a complete shift, but a continuation of the announced case-by-case strategy, and common sense for GAAS games.

The multiplatform games that have brought in money are mostly those that were already multiplatform, starting with Call of Duty. Same for Doom, the game was already multiplatform; it doesn't result from a strategy change for those games.

At the same time, we have had exclusive games like Stalker 2, Flight Simulator, Hellblade 2, Ara: History Untold, Indiana Jones (timed exclusive), Dungeons of Hinterberg, and I forget some, then Avowed, South of Midnight, and others will follow.

The production of Xbox games is such that they are always one step ahead, and the balance of exclusive games vs. multiplatform games remains in favor of exclusive games, even if some are temporary. At the same time, who wants to play a game 4 years later? It's like Forza Horizon 5, the game has done its job, and Forza Horizon 6 will soon be announced, which will be released 4 years later on PS. Those who haven't understood this greatly underestimate Xbox's strategy.

@Jaxx420 Doom, like outerworlds, call of duty were already multiplatform, and Xbox committed not to make games that were already multiplatform exclusive, so it's a different logic, these are not formerly exclusive games. but in any case, it will also bring them money.

@Jaxx420 Xbox mostly knows the types of games that bring in the most money, the service games: Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 5, Age of Empires and Retold. Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment didn't do well on PS.

In any case, siphoning the wallets of PlayStation players means more games in Game Pass and more exclusive games, even if some are just temporary.

You must be quite young or have a short memory then, some people were saying the same thing at the time of the Xbox One. When Xbox put its games on PC, for example, knowing that the PC market is very different and Microsoft has always made games for Windows.

How many years have we been hearing that Xbox is going to stop making consoles, that Xbox is going to die? Yet they've never been doing so well. Sorry, only trolls say that, or those who don't understand Xbox's strategy. No need to mention you, you've already lost, Xbox is not going to stop making consoles or exclusive games; if it happens, it will be the same for PlayStation. We're talking about old games and service games here; Sea of Thieves is the only game that really worked on PS5, so it's normal they prioritize these types of games, and it's the same for FH5 and Age of Empires. It's logical for Xbox to seek money elsewhere after several years. Don't talk to me about Doom, which is already a multiplatform game, or Indiana Jones, which is a Disney license already signed before the acquisition.

Xbox is on a case-by-case strategy and temporary exclusivity for the games they decide to port, as the facts show. Why aren't Avowed or South of Midnight coming out day one on PS5? Because it's not their strategy! You can continue to repeat the same things based on speculations, but it doesn't make business sense what you're saying:

80% of Game Pass subscribers are on console.

Why continue to sign third-party exclusives (Stalker 2, Ark 2, etc.) if they don't care about exclusives?

Why not announce Avowed and South of Midnight directly on PS5? Maybe they'll come out in 3-4 years, but who wants to play a game 4 years later? A temporary exclusive is still an exclusive.

I'm not saying this as a fanboy, but simply with common sense and based on the facts.

@jfug: absolutely not ! Case by case, not all games are worth it for Xbox. The choice of games like Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 5, or Age of Empires is not insignificant; they are all old GAAS, and it makes total sense. I'm not saying this will be the only type of game, but it's clearly a profile of games that are more likely to be ported to other platforms, but not all games.

Phil Spencer said it during the Destin's interviews, not all games, and he repeated several times the case-by-case strategy. There are some trolls and certain media outlets that try to create clickbait by making people believe otherwise.

It confirms the lessons they learned from Sea of Thieves. The only game from 4 (SOT, grounded, pentiment, hifi rush) that really succeeded on PlayStation, it is an old service game (GAAS), and forza horizon 5 follows the same logic, another old GAAS. It makes total sense for these games to be multiplatform, mainly after many years !

It clarifies Xbox's multiplatform strategy, which is much more nuanced than some might think, case by case.

Afterward, I would avoid the usual extrapolations from media hungry for clickbait

There are always people who are not happy. Xbox is the only one to offer true backward compatibility, play anywhere, stream your own game, cross-save, and make your game library as sustainable and versatile as possible, but no, they have to criticize.

It's mainly a problem for PlayStation because they make very few first-party games (remakes aside), limited by the small number of studios, and third-party publishers are increasingly reluctant to make exclusive games. This means that in the long run, they will have very few exclusives. The advantage of Xbox is that the games belong to them, so they can decide whether to make a game exclusive or multiplatform. PlayStation doesn't have this luxury because they rely on third-party publishers for 90% of their exclusives. On the other hand, if PS wants revenue, they are forced to go multiplatform. Ps Gamers don't buy their own exclusive games, just look at astrobot , even FH5, a 4 years old games, will outsales astrobot, LOL.

Great ! That's what we want, to talk about games, not speculations or other usual media extrapolations! Xbox ID always brings its share of little gems, and I can't wait to see the next ones. I loved Dungeons of Hinterberg (for those who haven't played it, I highly recommend it), and I remember other gems like Death's Door, Planet of Lana, and others that magically appeared in Game Pass! A little Silksong, I wouldn't say no! But since the studio "Team Cherry" is not on the list, I doubt it!

A must have ! great discount

You should see my Xbox dashboard right now, it's just crazy. I've already pre-installed South of Midnight, Expeditions 33, Avowed, Doom Dark Ages. At the moment, I'm playing Sniper Elite, plus Diablo 4, Indiana Jones, Call of Duty Black Ops 6. All these tiles side by side, that's when you realize that Game Pass is a blessing for gamers

@Weebleman "Lol, you're definitely teasing, let's say they found a compromise, they split the difference, it's not ideal but it's better than nothing and it satisfies both parties!