Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirms some Xbox games are headed to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch

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Four Xbox games are coming to other consoles, as confirmed by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.

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(Image credit: Microsoft)

What you need to know

  • Following weeks of speculation, Microsoft Gaming executives held a "business update event" for Xbox on the Official Xbox Podcast. 
  • During the podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed that four Xbox console exclusive games are coming to other platforms. Two of the games are community games, and two of the games are smaller titles.
  • Xbox president Sarah Bond noted the team is working on next-generation Xbox hardware right now.
  • President of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty reaffirmed that all Xbox first-party titles are continuing to arrive day one on Xbox Game Pass.

The most hotly-anticipated episode of the Official Xbox Podcast is here. 

During the podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed that four Xbox console exclusive games are headed to other consoles. Spencer noted that Xbox is attempting to reach more players than ever before, and while it's possible future games go multiplatform, not every game will, with multiple exclusive titles still on the way this year. Spencer also namedropped Starfield, saying it is not one of the four games headed elsewhere.

Some of the games headed to Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC as console exclusives this year include Avowed, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2. 

While the games going multiplatform aren't named in this podcast, Spencer shared that two of the games are smaller titles that have stopped selling, while the other two are "community" titles with live-service elements.  You can check out the full podcast below:

Why is Xbox adjusting its strategy like this?

Spencer indicates that these decisions are being driven with the goal of long-term health for the game creators in mind.

"I do have a fundamental belief that over the next five or ten years, exclusive games, games that are exclusive to one piece of hardware, are going to be a smaller and smaller part of the game industry," Spencer says, adding that there's value in exposing a franchise to players on other platforms so that they might be more interested in Xbox as a whole. 

Is Xbox Game Pass changing?

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During the podcast, president of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty confirmed that all first-party Xbox games are continuing to arrive day one on Xbox Game Pass. Additionally, Xbox Game Pass will continue to be exclusive to Xbox consoles and Windows PC. 

Activision Blizzard King games are going to be rolling out on Xbox Game Pass this year. The first title being added is Diablo 4, which is coming to the service on March 28, 2024.

As another bit of interesting information, Xbox Game Pass now has over 34 million subscribers, the first milestone update for the service since the team confirmed there were over 25 million subscribers while announcing the plan to acquire Activision Blizzard King on Jan. 18, 2022.

Is Xbox getting out of hardware?

Xbox president Sarah Bond shared that Microsoft is "really focused" on the next-generation roadmap for future Xbox hardware, with the team working to deliver the "largest leap" ever for a console generation. Bond also teased that there's some "exciting stuff" coming for hardware later in Holiday 2024.

When the topic of game preservation came up, Spencer added that he was incredibly proud of the team's work on backward compatibility, and that the team has compatibility in mind as a "tenet" when building future hardware generations in order to "respect" the investments players have made in Xbox consoles and game libraries. 

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Samuel Tolbert
Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.

9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • HeyCori
    We waited damn near a week FOR THIS?!?
    "Hey y'all, 4 of our so-so smaller titles will launch on other platforms but I can't tell you which or when."

    While I do believe that sticking with their current strategy is the best of the worst options, I can't believe Microsoft/Phil allowed this much anxiety and negative rumors to build before announcing basically nothing. I expected an actual shift in their strategy that went beyond what they've done in the past.
    Reply
  • bazanime
    The Internet today is always anxious, and nothing will stop that until folks try not to panic and jump on bandwagons of negativity.

    Have a discussion rather than a tirade and doomsday preaching.

    It's good they had this podcast that clears things up and sets up the future. We can look forward to what's coming up.
    Reply
  • GraniteStateColin
    So... the Internet was wrong that Xbox is giving up, throwing in the towel, and ceding its big exclusives to Sony.

    Now, for me, the question is: was that what Phil planned to announce last week when he told us there would be a big business update this week, or did the uproar surprise Microsoft and cause a shift in strategy to what we heard today. Perhaps it gave more ammo to the people within MS who wanted to maintain the exclusives. It did sound like this was the plan all along, but I still can't help but wonder...
    Reply
  • naddy69
    It's also entirely possible that MS knew nothing about the "internet uproar" over this. I really don't think Microsoft executives are fan boys.

    I remember the MS Build event in 2016 (I think, maybe 2017?). Anyway, it was near the end of the Windows Phone era. They showed all kinds of new stuff for iOS and Android first. Crowd silence. Later they demoed something using a Windows Phone. The crowd exploded in cheering and everyone on stage stopped what they were doing and looked VERY surprised. As in, "what are you cheering about?"

    That's when I knew Windows phones were dead.
    Reply
  • John McIlhinney
    So, what you're telling me is that many in the gaming community overreacted? I find that very hard to believe.
    Reply
  • John McIlhinney
    bazanime said:
    The Internet today is always anxious
    You misspelled "obnoxious".
    Reply
  • naddy69
    ^^^ :D
    Reply
  • Samuel Tolbert
    HeyCori said:
    We waited damn near a week FOR THIS?!?
    "Hey y'all, 4 of our so-so smaller titles will launch on other platforms but I can't tell you which or when."

    While I do believe that sticking with their current strategy is the best of the worst options, I can't believe Microsoft/Phil allowed this much anxiety and negative rumors to build before announcing basically nothing. I expected an actual shift in their strategy that went beyond what they've done in the past.
    I understand where you're coming from, but the fact is, Xbox shouldn't be expected to respond to every single rumor. They were already planning on doing this exact podcast, they just bumped it up because of the nonsense that exploded.

    Looking ahead, I do hope Xbox players stop being quite so anxious about things. Not saying there aren't reasons to have concerns, but Xbox is clearly here to stay as a healthy business.
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    Samuel Tolbert said:
    I understand where you're coming from, but the fact is, Xbox shouldn't be expected to respond to every single rumor. They were already planning on doing this exact podcast, they just bumped it up because of the nonsense that exploded.

    Looking ahead, I do hope Xbox players stop being quite so anxious about things. Not saying there aren't reasons to have concerns, but Xbox is clearly here to stay as a healthy business.
    Not every single rumor needs addressing but some rumors are too pernicious and ill-timed they need to be swatted down immediately.
    This was one of them.

    How it came to be remains to be seen but coming on the heels of the consolidation layoffs, malicious intent can't be excluded which made the lack of immediate response even more baffling.

    It has long been established that MS is just awful on public relations and marketing but this one goes beyond even their previous low.

    For an example of good rumor management, look to James Gunn. He is usually quick and concise, often with a single word. "No." "One of the three isn't impossible." "Yes." "Totally made up." "Misrepresented." "Nobody will be cast until the script is finished." It is doubtful he spends even 15 minutes a day on rumor control. And for all we know the channel is vetted by an intern somewhere.

    All MS had to do was tweet: "New and recent exclusives will remain exclusive. Newer and more powerful hardware will be announced this fall."
    What's so hard about that? They waited two weeks and spent a half hour just to say that?
    Reply