Head of Xbox: We're the Only Platform Shipping Games on Console, PC, and Cloud Simultaneously - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 July 2021 / 2,549 Views
Microsoft has changed its viewpoint on its gaming business in the past few years by growing its first-party studios from just five up to 23 developers, as well as releasing its games day one on Xbox consoles, PC and the cloud.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer in a media briefing pointed out Xbox is the only video game platform that is releasing games on consoles, PC, and the cloud at the same time.
"We’re the only platform shipping games on PC, cloud and console simultaneously," said Spencer. "Others bring console games to PC years later, not only making people buy their hardware up front but then charging them a second time to play on PC."
Spencer added they have more than doubled its first-party game sales on PC in 2020 alone and they are one of the biggest third-party publishers on Steam.
"We have a huge growth opportunity on PC," he added. "We expanded to simultaneously shipping our first-party games on both console and PC. And last year we more than doubled our first-party retail games sales on PC. And we’re also one of the biggest third-party publishers on Steam."
Microsoft plans to release Xbox Game Pass on TVs as well as on standalone streaming devices using its xCloud streaming service. However, they remain committed to the video game console market and are already hard at work on future consoles.
With 23 studios first-party studios, Xbox plans to release a new game every quarter. Xbox also plans to continue to acquire more studios and invest in its studios behind their tentpole franchises.
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
True and it's obviously one of the big reasons MS is pumping so much money into the Xbox division. They will keep buying devs, innovating cloud gaming and ignoring fanboy tears.
Pro-consumer from an unsung hero.
I think he means we are the only company that will soon be shipping games to all three...still waiting on that exclusive game. Kidding of course, looking forward to their E3 and hope to see Perfect Dark released soon!
Unsung Hero of the Generation.
This kind of thing would matter if the games were really good.
and we love you for that
I'm fine with Microsoft building up their first party studios, but can we please stop using the terminology that they have "grown" their first party studios? They didn't grow, they used the massive amount of money that Windows generated to purchase the vast amount of studios that now fit under their umbrella.
Umm Whats the difference?
organic growth from reinvested gaming profits, not parachuting money in to buy 3rd party business.
Where do you think they get the money from and the ability to do so from MS? You don't think Xbox is making profits? Also they aren't talking about organic growth, they are saying the brand has grown, meaning its bigger than before which is true.
i guess at E3 will find out how serious they are about gamers.
Its such a weird comment because the amount of people buying a game on playstation and then on their gaming PC is so small. Worrying about that group of people isn't worth your time and I'm one of them. Yet I've never bought a playstation game on both systems cause I don't need to. I already played it on my Playstation.
Except Sony doesn't "make" anyone buy their hardware up front. Consumers open their wallets and choose to do so. About 100 million customers each time, 4 generations and counting
This. People open up their wallets because there is actually content that they want . Maybe they should take a good look at why this approach didn't work for them instead of offering the same content on multiple platforms for a lower price and still generate less interest. Just sayin'
PS3 sold about 100 million?
Plenty of people buy a console to play a game they cant get on another device, the point is you have no choice but to buy a specific product to access specific content. Plenty of people dont always buy hardware to support a brand, they do it because they dont have a choice.
