This storyoriginally appeared on Kotaku .
After week of reports , rumors , and speculation around Xbox first - company gamescoming to competing platformsand potentially even micturate anexit from the console mart entirely , Xbox publicly addressed the elephant in the room in an episode of theOfficial Xbox Podcast . The show featured Microsoft Gaming chief executive officer Phil Spencer , Xbox President Sarah Bond , and Head of Xbox Studios Matt Booty . If you have n’t listened to the special edition of the Official Xbox Podcast , you’re able to do so through Xbox ’s YouTube channel ( link up below ) . Or , if you just need the smoke points , here ’s everything of note :
Four Xbox games are coming to other platforms
As antecedently rumored and reported , four Xbox Studios game are coming to other political program … and they wo n’t say which games they are . Spencer says he does n’t “ want to take anything off from those teams , ” imply the announcements will be coming from the developer themselves . He did say theyare not Starfield or Indiana Jones and the Great Circle , which feels like a response to reports that named those games , specifically .
While the squad opt not to name which game are come to other platforms ( much less which soothe they ’ll be launching on ) , Spencer said the goal with port these biz outside of the Xbox and Windows ecosystem is the long - term health of the Xbox brand . He also said that he carry exclusivity across the video secret plan diligence to shrink further in the next five to 10 years .
As for why the four unnamed games make sense as multiplatform claim , Spencer says these plot have been exclusive to Xbox and PC for over a class . Two of them are “ residential area - force back ” game , as well as first iterations of franchise that Microsoft wants to induct in further . The other two are what Spencer describes as “ smaller ” game that were “ never really meant to be built as political program exclusives [ with ] all the fanfare ” typically assort with marquee titles , but were passion projects for the squad behind them .
Image: Microsoft
Phil ends this segment saying he trust add those game to other platforms will help land in more players to the Xbox brand , but also says that these four games are n’t a hope of more games coming to other systems in the futurity .
Diablo IV is the first Activision Blizzard game coming to Game Pass
Now that the acquisition is done and Xbox haslaid off chunks of the company ’s teams , Activision Blizzard ’s game are coming to Game Pass . The first of these will be Diablo IV , which will arrive on the subscription service on March 28 .
The influx of layoffs in 2023 played into the decision to go multiplatform
Spencer says that despite a number of enceinte game in 2023 , the manufacture did n’t “ grow , ” which resulted in layoffs , include those at Microsoft . According to him , the companionship needs to expand beyond the Xbox ’s player base in society to keep the society goodly enough to sustain jobs . He said :
When you think about a healthy manufacture , I want player who believe that they will rule the good secret plan on the platform that they love . I want people who invest their careers in working here to find like this is a shoes that they can be successful . And that really is down to being part of an diligence that is grow . If you listen to Lisa Su , the AMD CEO , she ’ll say that AMD - power consoles are probable to decline in 2024 . I think there ’s an astonishing curing of games coming in 2024 , but if we do n’t get to growing as an industry , the industry will struggle . And today , there ’s really two choices on how do you grow the industry . Do you say , I have a fixed figure of histrion , the players that we have today , and do I observe fresh ways to monetise those player to get more money from the players that I have ? Or do you think about , how do I expand the clientele I have by finding new players and tally those to the base of player that already play ? Our focus on Xbox for the last decade has really been on that latter spot of , how do we make certain Xbox is growing ? Growing for our players , growing for our creators so those people are finding succeeder on our chopine , which will raise the Xbox business and put Xbox in a position to be very warm for year and tenner to come .
Xbox is still investing in hardware, with news on that front this holiday
After news that Xbox game were coming to other political platform , some speculation grow that Microsoft might be looking to get out of the console business and go the way of Sega by pivoting to third - political party . For now , that does n’t seem to be the case . James Bond bring up that the caller still views Xbox console as “ the most flagship , germinal experience ” for the brand . The company also has plans to herald something young on the hardware front “ this vacation . ” Beyond that , it ’s alsoworking on the next - gen Xbox , which will be “ the largest technological saltation you ’ve ever seen in a computer hardware generation , ” according to Bond .
Xbox wants to “respect” the library players have built
With news and venture surrounding the future of Xbox machine distribute over the preceding few weeks , there ’s been a business organisation that anyone who ’s been building a rearward - compatible game depository library across the brand ’s many devices might become disused down the line . Spencer said that Xbox will “ observe ” that in “ future computer hardware generations ” and “ attempt to keep the serve up as long as [ it ] can . ” He liken this to Windows ’ program library longevity , saying :
It ’s at our cornerstone . And when we bet at next hardware generations and what we ’re going to support , making sure that we respect — which is the Good Book I apply , “ respect”—the investments that people have made in Xbox going onward is fundamental . And the fact that you get entitlement when you buy a biz from us on both Windows and Xbox also means you have the ability to play that game across a multitude of devices , which I call back boost the compatibility of the games that you own .
Xbox will release 10 games this year
While we screw some games like Hellblade 2 and Indiana Jones are coming from Xbox ’s studio , Booty mentions that the company will be releasing 10 games across 2024 . We do n’t yet be intimate what all of these will be , but can expect some to be revealed during Xbox ’s June showcase .
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