Rumors that Microsoft has decided to make a major change in direction in its Xbox business are causing a stir. Ahead of this week’s official announcement, it appears that there are already efforts to put out fires within the company.
According to journalist Shannon Liao, Microsoft’s Xbox division held a town hall meeting on the 6th where management spoke to employees. Phil Spencer, the head of the division, assured employees that Microsoft is not withdrawing from the game console market and will continue to make Xbox in the future. He explained that it would be an expansion of the
It’s an incredible situation to have to make a promise to the employees of the Xbox division that we will continue to make Xbox. Behind this is the view that Microsoft is prioritizing its “Xbox Play Everywhere” philosophy, which allows players to play their own games without being tied to any platform, and is becoming less focused on sales of game consoles. Microsoft currently provides games through cloud gaming on Xbox game consoles, PCs, and mobile devices, but it is rumored that it plans to expand this to include PlayStation and Nintendo game consoles in the future.
This new policy is expected to be revealed in an announcement this week, but it seems unlikely that all games will be released on third-party hardware. It is believed that “Hi-Fi RUSH” and “Sea of Thieves” will be included, but some sources have denied that “Starfield” will also be included. However, there are still rumors that “Indiana Jones” and “Gears of War” will be released on multiple platforms.
There were concerns that this would effectively turn Microsoft into a third party, leaving it with little reason to continue making Xbox hardware. Xbox sales have already been twice that of PS for the second consecutive generation, and even Spencer admits that the company has effectively lost the console war with Sony. Microsoft has not announced Xbox sales figures for several years, nor has it disclosed the number of members for its Game Pass subscription service.
The most likely announcement Spencer will make this week is that Microsoft will continue to offer Xbox hardware, leaving the console as an option to plug into your TV and easily play all Microsoft games. It’s probably the policy. That’s how Xbox works now, and that shouldn’t change even if the game is released on other platforms. At least for the time being.
However, the fact that this had to be mentioned at an internal town hall meeting shows that there is widespread concern within the company about the future of Xbox. Of course, it’s even more worrying for Xbox fans who are forced to speculate on what’s going on from outside the company. The exact date and time of the “Xbox Business Update” that Spencer announced this week is currently unknown, but should be known soon.
