After a long, complicated few months for Xbox, Xbox boss Phil Spencer announces that big changes are coming to Microsoft’s gaming industry. For the better?
While the video game industry is going through a tough time after the enormous boom caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Xbox needs to change to stay in the race, if we can believe its boss Phil Spencer. That’s what he said in an interview during Gamescom 2024.
Xbox must adapt to survive, says Phil Spencer
Between regrettable waves of layoffs and studio closures and console exclusives like Starfield and Hellblade 2 that were not unanimously adopted, Xbox is slowly but surely beginning to question its future. The first signs of this are the porting of first-party games like Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi RUSH to PS5/Switch. DOOM The Dark Ages will also be released on PC, Xbox Series and PS5 on the same day in 2025. The latest coup in this sense: the announcement of the release of Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle on PC, a few months after its release on PC and Xbox Series scheduled for December 9.
Despite a rather cold climate for the video game industry, Phil Spencer describes a future full of hope for Microsoft’s gaming industry, but also full of pitfalls. What I see is that our franchises are getting stronger, our Xbox players are more numerous than ever, and our business is working. But it’s true that the bar is very high at Microsoft and we have a huge responsibility to this huge company to get the incredible support that we are entitled to.
An enormous pressure from video games on the industry that needs to be evacuated
« In conclusion, I would say that the video game industry is under a lot of pressure. It has only been growing for months and its players are looking for solutions to grow. As fans of the medium, we must expect further changes in the traditional way of developing and distributing games. This will change for everyone, not just Xbox. Ultimately, we need better games that as many people as possible can play. If that is not our main goal, something is wrong ».
Whether this comes in the form of other partnerships between Xbox and PlayStation and Nintendo (the Switch 2 in particular?), or in the form of less ambitious and therefore less risky games, or a mix of all of the above, only time will tell. Whatever the case, this project definitely seems destined for a change to salvage what can be salvaged.
Source: Knoebel on X.com
