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Phil Spencer: Xbox Won't Rule Out Any Games for PlayStation or Nintendo

Phil Spencer: Xbox Won't Rule Out Any Games for PlayStation or Nintendo - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 December 2024 / 2,874 Views

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer speaking with Bloomberg said Xbox won't rule out releasing any game on other platforms like PlayStation and Nintendo.

"I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say 'thou must not,'" said Spencer. He added it is too early to make a decision on the next version of Halo.

Spencer did say he was pleased with the sales of the first wave of Xbox games that released on other platforms.

Xbox announced in February it would be releasing four its game on other platforms like the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. The four games were PentimentHi-Fi RushGrounded, and Sea of Thieves. Pentiment and Grounded released for the PS5, PS4, and Switch, while Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves released for the PS5.


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 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.


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30 Comments
jsowers (on 13 November 2024)

"Read my lips: no new exclusives"

  • +11
Wman1996 jsowers (on 13 November 2024)

We went from Xbox no longer having standard exclusives (as you can play on PC) to now the real possibility that Microsoft games will only be timed exclusive to Xbox and PC.
On the Sony front, I see more games getting PC versions but almost all staying away from Xbox and Nintendo.
Nintendo will continue to ignore PC for a long time, and I can't fathom them putting games on PlayStation and Xbox.

  • +4
VAMatt Wman1996 (on 15 November 2024)

I think it's clear that the way of the future is cross-platform games. Nobody makes money on hardware. They only sell hardware to the extent that it helps them drive revenue and profits from software sales. Microsoft is very clearly trying to figure out how to become less and less dependent on hardware without sacrificing profits from software sales.

The same, though probably in a longer term sense, is true of Nintendo and Playstation. We haven't actually seen Nintendo take any steps in this regard, but they're not stupid. They don't want to sell money losing hardware any more than anybody else.

  • 0
zero129 (on 13 November 2024)

"it is too early to make a decision on the next version of Halo." That right there is it for xbox console exclusives.

  • +8
MastermindPT zero129 (on 14 November 2024)

The last Halo sucked!

  • -5
Wman1996 (on 13 November 2024)

Master Chief Collection for PS5 and Switch 2 heavily implied.

  • +5
Terramlea (on 13 November 2024)

If they do it for Fable, i'll take a ps5 version, and maybe a flight sim. At least, it would prevent me from either getting a series S as i lack hdmi ports on my tv or get a more powerful computer, so, why not. But then, what are Xboxes for if they do that ?

  • +2
MastermindPT (on 14 November 2024)

The problem is that most of PlayStation users don't like M$ games (ex: Halo), we just want M$ to release COD on SONY consoles, the rest of the games don't matter.

  • +1
smroadkill15 MastermindPT (on 16 November 2024)

Such a silly comment. I'm not sure why anyone would decline wanting more games on their preferred system. Sea of Thieves sold well on playstation so you're statement is already debunked. It doesn't make sense unless you really take the console war stuff way too seriously.

  • -1
Cerebralbore101 (on 14 November 2024)

With the OG Xbox and 360 Microsoft had the advantages of having better or exclusive ports from PC. Once PS4 came out those advantages disappeared and Xbox became a redundant console, unless you really cared about the handful of Xbox console exclusives. Now with Xbox console exclusives coming to PS5 people have even less of a reason to buy an Xbox. This explains why Xbox is being outsold on a monthly basis by over 3 to 1.

  • +1
JRPGfan (on 13 November 2024)

Thats gotta mean Halo,Gears,Forza. They want to grow them, the IPs.

  • +1
Kanemaru (on 13 November 2024)

If that's allows me to finally play killer instinct then, sure, good idea!

  • +1
darthv72 Kanemaru (on 13 November 2024)

I see people comment like this and wonder what is really stopping them from just buying an xb and playing the games now? I've never been one to limit my enjoyment of this hobby to just one system.

  • +4
method114 darthv72 (on 14 November 2024)

To me personally it's just not worth it. I once bought an Xbox for just one game and was very disappointed by it. Luckily I could return whole thing for a refund but realized I'll never do that again. Also all my friends, trophies, games it's all on PS. I don't want my game purchases spread out to the point I need to buy two consoles every time.

  • +2
LivncA_Dis3 (on 13 November 2024)

Not gonna hold my breath but the flood gates have been opened

  • +1
Slownenberg (on 13 November 2024)

Just make Diddy Kong Racing 2 for Switch 2. Thanks.

  • 0
Blood_Tears (on 13 November 2024)

And Jez had a lot of people believing not too long ago that they were putting a hold on releasing more games on rival platforms. The writing is on the wall for them to become a third party at this point.

  • 0
Imaginedvl Blood_Tears (on 13 November 2024)

And Jez keeps saying dumb things over and over, all of it being guesses and stuff coming out of his hats, so I'm not sure why you are using him as a reference :).

I believe Microsoft is definitely opening up to having more of its games on other platforms, but its hardware is going nowhere. They are not going to stop it; even if people keeps saying that over and over since the original Xbox came out. Every year, every time Microsoft is doing something different, people are claiming that it is the end of the Xbox console... And everytime it is something like "Yes, but this time, it is for sure...".

The form factor may change (like making it able to run Windows instead of just being an Xbox), but Xbox is not going anywhere.

Now, if having most of their games ALSO available on other platforms is what makes you call them "third party," I guess that's accurate :D

All in all, this is a good thing for gamers.

  • -6
jvmkdg (on 13 November 2024)

My bet is that Starfiled, forza horizon 5, senuas saga 2, microsoft flight simulator, are the next games released on ps5. Maybe announced later this year

  • 0
Imaginedvl jvmkdg (on 13 November 2024)

I would not bet too much money on that if I was you :)
I can see Starfield/Senu on Play Station 5 this year. But not Forza/Fable or even Microsoft Flight Simulator.

  • -2
Azzanation (on 14 November 2024)

I believe this is a good thing, Hoping this drives the industry forward and others follow once investors start seeing the profit margins rise.

What baffles me more is every year we hear that Xbox has no games or their games are not good, yet they seem to be extremely excited on socials with this new. Crazy

  • -2
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Imaginedvl firebush03 (on 13 November 2024)

If I would get a dollars everytime I saw that line in the past 20 years, I would probably have something like 6000$ more in my bank account today!
No, it is not over for Xbox...

  • -4
firebush03 Imaginedvl (on 13 November 2024)

doesnt look too good, that much is for certain. Microsoft is prioritizing getting their games and services onto as many platforms possible, and while Nintendo and Sony will gladly take games, they will not take services such as GP, for instance, as long as Xbox is available. (The reasoning is that once you’re in the Xbox ecosystem with GP, then you’ll be more willing to put down the money for an Xbox system…there’s a reason why Nintendo and Sony have publicly stated they will not allow any form of Microsoft gaming services on their respective platforms).

XBSX may sell well LTD (~45/50mil), though Microsoft is focused on making their gaming sector as profitable as possible, which would likely call for Xbox to be thrown away. I could be wrong, esp with all this talk of an Xbox handheld releasing soon, this is just how I feel.

  • +2
Imaginedvl firebush03 (on 13 November 2024)

I mean, you can say that "many others" believe if you want :) At the end; "many others" believed the same thing each generation.
There is a big difference between being the market lead and being sucessfull enough and that's something "many others" seem to have hard time understanding.

They see Microsoft as failing big time in the console market, EVEN when they sold 30+M so far (probably 45+M lifetime) simply because the others are way higher. They are not; would they want to be way higher than that? I mean, for sure. But they are doing well enough for them to invest and even expand their gaming division.

That's not how I see it, as well as "many others," I'm sure, including Microsoft themselves.

Having Microsoft publishing some of their games on other platforms is a good thing for everyone, including people who will never buy an Xbox.

And it does not mean at all that Microsoft will stop producing their own hardware (that's made up stuff from people who either want Xbox to go away since like 4 generations, or people who are drama queens to be honest)...

Xbox is not going away.

  • -2
firebush03 Imaginedvl (on 13 November 2024)

I editted my original response w/in 5min of posting...it seems you were a little eager to jump lol. I didn't like my original comment; maybe the new version reads better? You're tackling a point I cut from the original draft.

Also, I see no point in arguing about this? You and I have no idea what Xbox's future will look like, this is all speculation.

Lastly....you're response makes it explicitly clear you did not read much of what I wrote.

(i) I said XBSX will sell 45/50mil LTD, which is about as successful as XBOne (not bad!). My reason in believe Xbox may not have much of a future stems from Microsoft having expressed interest in pivoting towards software-and-services over hardware. Xbox isn't failing, Microsoft just has different ideas...so I don't understand why you bring up "Xbox selling 30mil is a failure??"

(ii) Never said it's bad that Microsoft is publishing on rival systems, just saying it serves as evidence that Microsoft is prioritizing software-and-service over hardware.

(iii) "Xbox is not going away" okay so you're arguing entirely based on emotion? You're closing your argument with what you likely believe as being a "powerful statement". Only problem is that this is only powerful to the ppl who are passionate about Xbox living on...which makes obvious your bias.

  • +3
Imaginedvl firebush03 (on 13 November 2024)

I was "eager" to jump? WTH? I just replied to your comment whenever I read it. I'm sorry if I did not know that I had to "wait" before posting so it does not appear too jumpy. I'm not sure what the hell that is supposed to mean. I'm not going to read it again, no, especially with that kind of snarky comment after you edit your own post lol.

Now, regarding your last reply...

(1) I am not even going to respond to that; I do not even know why on earth telling you that 30M is not a failure seem to be an issue for you...

(2) Who said that you said that?

(3) From what are you getting that I am arguing based strictly on emotion? I'm afraid I simply disagree with you, and when you post arguments like "many others said so", or "you have a bias (so I am right by default)", or "you think that just because of emotion (so I am right by default cause I'm not?)". You clearly show that you are taking this to another level than just facts or beliefs or even assumptions. Just because someone thinks differently than you and prefers the Xbox ecosystem does not mean that anything he will say is just because of emotion or dislike or one brand or another or anything like that (if anything, your response shows that about you...) I could clearly say the same to you then; you clearly have a bias (I mean, your post history is public); you also seem to be emotional enough to edit your post and then point out how I dared to respond to it before you could edit it.... probably realizing that it was not good)... I mean come on lol

But back to the point: You are claiming that Microsoft is pivoting—that's all; that's a "claim." Microsoft NEVER / EVER said that. Focusing more on something does not mean leaving the other side; that's your own interpretation. But you use it as some fact to prove your hypothetical point and then call me "emotional" because I disagree with you. If anything, Microsoft themselves clearly stated that they are not leaving the hardware business anytime soon. Heck, there is even another article today about that and the handled device. So if when they say that they will focus more on software and service, your brain transforms that into "we are pivoting into. "... Then, when they say that they are not leaving the hardware business anytime soon, how can you come up with ideas that they seem to planing to leave it? I have no clue.

I'm not going to read your reply, so go ahead or edit your last post and call me whatever you want for not waiting more than 15 minutes to reply and let you have the time to edit whatever you want to edit.

Have a good day.

  • -1
firebush03 Imaginedvl (on 13 November 2024)

Imaginedvl calm down. My "eager" comment wasn't meant as an insult, just saying you responded a lot quicker than expected. (i hoped the "lol" communicated this...but ig not.) Sorry for not communicating well.

Getting back to the original point: I just view Microsoft statements and actions as indicating a future where software may be prioritized over hardware. I could be wrong, as I have already stated: This is speculation after all. No point in arguing. You can believe what you want, I can too. It's all fine.

  • +7
CGI-Quality firebush03 (on 14 November 2024)

Appreciate you trying to keep things cordial.

  • +1
firebush03 CGI-Quality (on 14 November 2024)

appreciate your comment, CGI. :)

  • +1