Summary
The CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, has recently said thatXboxis “evolving” rather than losing its identity amid the changes suffered by the brand.Xboxhas been increasingly pushing forward a multiplatform approach these days, and while some fans may argue that this could hurt the brand’s identity, Spencer believes otherwise.
It seems clear that exclusivity is no longer a major concern for Xbox, asMicrosoft has been bringing more games to PlayStation and Nintendorecently. Last year, the company started this new approach by bringingHi-Fi Rush,Grounded,Pentiment, andSea of Thievesto other platforms. While some games likeAvowedremain as Xbox console exclusives, others such asDoom: The Dark Ageswill also come out for PS5, and this change has worried part of the fanbase.
Phil Spencer recently explained during aninterview with Gamertag Radiowhy he believes that Xbox hardware will remain important even with fewer exclusives. According to Spencer, the goal is to “win based on the hardware capabilities that we have,” not only because of first-party exclusives. He acknowledged that this is a shift from what was seen in the last 20 years, but the majority of the most successful games nowadays are available on multiple platforms. In another interview with Destin Legarie, Spencer also explained that Xbox is not losing its identity, only “evolving” into something else, stating that “I think our identity will continue to evolve, which it frankly always has.” He cited features such asXbox Play Anywhereand crossplay as an important part of this change.
Phil Spencer Believes Xbox is Evolving as a Brand
I think our identity will continue to evolve, which it frankly always has.
In the same interview with Legarie,Spencer also praised the Xbox Series S’ parity requirement. According to him, the parity clause is not a hindrance, as it’s seen by some third-party developers, but an advantage, as it allows games to be easy to port to other platforms. With the rise of handheld gaming and the upcoming Switch 2, this is seen as a perk by Microsoft, helping titles to reach a wider audience.
Xbox is going so far with the multiplatform approach that even some upcominggames shown on Xbox Developer Direct will get PS5 Pro enhancements. Both the first-partyDoom: The Dark Agesand the third-partyClair Obscur: Expedition 33will be PS5 Pro-enhanced, which is excellent news for Sony fans. It remains to be seen how successful Xbox’s multiplatform approach will be, but it’s likely that it’s here to stay, considering the company’s recent efforts.
Xbox Series X
Microsoft’s ninth-generation console, the Xbox Series X is a powerful machine that can support 4K resolution and 60 fps, depending on the game. Released alongside the Xbox Series S, the Series X has a Custom AMD Zen 2 CPU, a Custom RDNA 2 GPU, and 16 GB of RAM.
