4 games and that's it
Phil Spencer begins by strongly implying that if Xbox had planned to talk about all this, the rumors of recent days have still shaken up the group's initial communication strategy. But he can now say that yes, some Xbox exclusives will arrive on other platforms. 4, exactly. Which ? Spencer doesn't want to reveal it because each team will make their own announcement shortly (probably in a Nintendo Direct for some). In any case, we can bet that most of them will arrive on PS5, and probably on Switch.
Which is certain, it's that Starfield And Indiana Jones are not part of this list. These games are all more than a year old, and if Spencer doesn't want to say more, The Verge states that it is Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, Penment And Sea of Thieves. Which corresponds to the description given by the boss of Xbox, who talks about games which are either supported by a community, or new licenses which have already reached a glass ceiling on PC and Xbox, and which no longer sell that much Today :
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“ Today there are really only two choices on how to find growth for the industry. Do you say to yourself that you have a fixed number of players, the players we have today, and that we need to find new ways to monetize games through these players to have more money? Or are you expanding the business you have by looking for new players by adding them to the player base you already have? »
Spencer wants to send the message that these ports do not damage the Xbox brand given that they have been available for a while and few of them are considered real system sellers. The other message they want to send us is that these are just these 4 games, and that's it. No more. For Spencer, this is not a sign of a big change for Xbox and we should not necessarily see it as a signal of the arrival of other Xbox games on other platforms. We can think that these 4 games will act as a test, in order to see how it works for the manufacturer.
Game Pass remains on Xbox, with Diablo IV
The rest of Xbox's strategy does not change. Matt Booty reminds us of this by declaring that games developed by Xbox Game Studios will arrive first on Xbox, but also on Game Pass, and that this subscription will only be available on these consoles. So no Game Pass on Switch or PlayStation.
And precisely, speaking of Game Pass, Sarah Bond took advantage of this podcast to announce that Activision-Blizzard games will finally join the catalog. This will be done first by the inclusion of Diablo IVwhich will arrive in the subscription from March 28. No dates are given for any other licenses, but this major addition should get things started.
This announcement overshadowed another important detail, namely that of the number of Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The figures about the service have not been given for several quarters, but we finally have confirmation that the subscription can count on 34 million subscribers. An increase of 9 million in two years.
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Spencer's word on layoffs
Always with the aim of showing that Xbox is engaging here in a real unpacking of truth and transparency (even if everything is well calculated in advance and it all seems a little overplayed), Spencer addressed recent layoffs at Xboxtrying to justify the thing as best I could:
“ It's an incredible year – there have been games that will stand the test of time and that people will still be talking about ten years from now – but it's an industry that hasn't really had any growth. And what happens when an industry doesn't grow? You end up with layoffs, which is what we had. We've had our own tough decisions to make to build a stable business for ourselves, but by no means are we alone in this. […] but if we can't have growth, the industry will be in trouble. »
Xbox, however, demonstrated a record quarter thanks to the inclusion of Activision-Blizzard-King in its accounts, which should therefore be considered growth. But we suppose it's a question of margin, and like Sony or almost every other company in the world, more is always needed to reassure shareholders.
New consoles presented at the end of the year?
As you will have understood, there is no question for Xbox of changing its habits too much at the moment, and even less of leaving the world of console manufacturers. And for good reason, Sarah Bond informs us that Xbox will share information on its new hardware products by the end of the year :
“ There are some important things happening on the hardware side that we are going to share at the end of the year, and we are also invested in our roadmap for the next generation. And what we're really focused on here is introducing the biggest technical leap you've ever seen in a console generation, which will benefit gamers, as well as creators and their vision. »
Two potential options therefore seem to be emerging for Xbox talking about hardware so soon (because it will not be for the new generation). The first would consist of unveiling a mid-generation console, like the Xbox One X. The second, more credible option, would consist of a portable console like the Steam Deck, of which copies are multiplying. With xCloud and Game Pass, Xbox would have good cards in hand to try to invade this market. Response within a few months.
Until then, you can check out the podcast in full just below.