Xbox Series X Will Have 'Most Diverse Collection of First-Party Games' Ever for Xbox, Says Phil Spencer - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 05 November 2020 / 2,918 Views
Microsoft will be holding its big Xbox Games Showcase this Thursday, July 23 with showcasing first-party and third-party games. A first look at the campaign for the Xbox Series X launch title, Halo Infinite, has been confirmed to be shown.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has stated the Xbox Series X will have the most diverse range of games from their first-party developers. He mentioned their upcoming games has a variety of art styles and vary in size from huge AAA titles to small titles.
"I don’t think we want a portfolio of any one kind of game," Spencer said. "We want a breadth of offerings in the portfolio, which is why we’ve been investing in such a diverse slate of games and studios over the last couple of years.
"And one thing I really noticed on the [July] 23rd show, as I’ve been sitting back and watching the narrative unfold, is it’s got to be the most diverse collection of first-party games that we’ve ever had, when I look at art style and size — I mean from some big, big, big teams and big, bombastic overtures to smaller, more bite-sized things — and I think that’s our strength."
Spencer said that Xbox Game Pass helps them develop a more varied lineup of games and are able to take more risks, because of the platform. There is less of a worry of selling enough copies of a game to turn a profit as Xbox Game Pass brings in a steady flow of income.
"We now have a platform that can really support us taking more creative risk," Spencer said. "I think absolutely there’s an opportunity for us to do that with more franchises, whether it’s ... kind of spinoff genres, or even revisiting things like Flight Sim, and bringing those back. They’re actually part of the same lens for us of, 'What is it in our portfolio that we have? And what ideas would we either like to go back and revisit or experiment with more?'"
"Game Pass really helps us do that, because you can look at something like [Gears Tactics], and say, 'Hey, could we make a turn-based strategy game out of Gears," continued Spencer. "What does the success metric look like for that?' Your normal process [is] some business people would go off and use Excel and tell you what the average selling number is for a PC turn-based strategy game. You say, 'OK, and we want to bring that to console.'
"So you kind of add those two numbers up and you evaluate it. But now we can say, ‘Well wait a minute, we have over 10 million subscribers in the subscription. How many of those people will play and get retained and be a part of the subscription?’ It really creates a different way for us to evaluate what games we go off and build, and allows us to do some things that frankly, we wouldn’t go do if we were just driven by the retail dynamics of the industry."
Xbox Series X will launch in Holiday 2020.
Thanks Polygon.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
2014: New Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Says E3 2014 Will Have "The Best lineup In A Long Time"
2015: Microsoft to have 'greatest games lineup in Xbox History' at E3
2016: Xbox Head Phil Spencer: E3 2016 could be 'one of our most special years ever' 2017
2017: Phil Spencer promises "more exclusive games" than in 2016
2018: Xbox One game news: E3 2018 will be Microsoft's 'BIGGEST Xbox show ever'
2019: Phil Spencer is going big for E3 2019, teases unannounced games and xCloud progress
2020: Xbox Series X Will Have The 'Most Diverse Collection of First Party Games' Ever for Xbox, Says Phil Spencer
I think this time we can trust phil since xbox has bought so many studios
And we had someone doing a lot of "interpretation" to show it was true.
Well, to be fair, they have ALREADY announced a hugely diverse set of games even before the presentation. I mean, when you look at MSFS, Everwild, HB2, Gears Tactics, Halo, Grounded, Psychonauts, Wasteland 3, and AoE4, there are no two games from the same genre in that bunch.
@chakkra - Agreed. Its almost like people are ignoring everything we're seeing thus far. Its also worth noting Hellblade is filling the story driven action game void. Playground is working on a RPG. We will inevitably get Forza games that will be next gen sim and open world racers.
It amazing me people will dismiss all of that. Phil isn't just talking, we're seeing a lot of content coming.
So you deny he have been saying "the best ever" for like 6 years straight?
I'm not saying they're lying.
I'm just saying boy who cried wolf. I'll believe it when I see it.
Considering the sheer number of studios this is a no brainer. Ninja Theory making a 3rd person adventure title and a horror title, Obsidian making WRPG and Grounded (survival). Flight sim, Age of Empires 4 (RTS), Halo FPS, Forza 8/Horizon (sun and open world arcade racer). Wasteland 3 isometric turn based rpg. Gears Tactics turn based strategy.
The diversity is unmatched and the majority of gamers not aware will be made aware soon enough
Considering the quantity of developers they bought one would expect. But the "most ever" is something MS have overused that nobody pay attention anymore.
Here’s hoping he breaks the PR cycle
looking forward to it, need something to look forward to in this miserable time.
Here's to hoping. Being honest, the Xbox One already had a pretty diverse lineup -- the problem is that the quantity just wasn't there, and on top of that most of the games just weren't all that good. Hypothetically the new studios and gamepass can combine to address both of those issues. They have enough studios that, assuming they have a healthy split between AAA and AA, they should be able to cover a very wide variety of gameplay experiences. Heck, for narrative type AAA games, they could even go with episodic releases via gamepass, and just release the full game for a physical release once it's all done. That would ensure that players always have something to look forward to without having to worry too much about droughts.
Yup. More diversity will help some, but what they really need is consistent quality releases of that diversity. Even if they get the diversity and amount right, if there ain't enough quality, it's all for nothing. They could get away with just diversity and quality, without pushing out too many games, but it doesn't sound like that's the plan. We'll have to see though. It would be nice for XB to bring the fight back to PS again.
Given all the studios acquired, its certainly feasible. Personally, I feel MS's biggest weakness compared to Sony is a lack of quality action adventure games. If they could somehow fix that void, while also raising the bar in Halo games, there would be less complaining.
The more you talk, the higher my expectations. 23rd disappoints, i'll be filitering out Xbox for another generation. For over a decade we've seen the Xbox brand always talking, but failing to deliver. Good exlusives with a consistent release schedule is all i want. No more leaving your console to drags it legs towards the end of the generation. Honestly had enough of these kinds of statements.
GIven all the studio purchases and their 1st party output already improving, I'd say we're seeing the most potential ever. Even xCloud sounds amazing for those not wanting to purchase more hardware.
Microsoft needs to stop promoting Halo, Gears, and Forza to share the spotlight with... most anything else to tout their "diverse" lineup.
They will always promote their flagship titles, just like everyone else.
Essay Pro