Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has discussed why he’s no longer trying to get all PlayStation and Nintendo players to come over to Xbox and is instead trying to meet players where they are.
“I’m not trying to move them all over to Xbox anymore,” he said on the XboxEra podcast (via VGC). “We’re all so invested in where our games are; let’s just allow more people to play.”
Spencer said it is important to invest in Microsoft’s own platforms, in part because it makes a full 100% of revenue from first-party game sales, compared to 70% on PS5 and Switch, with the other 30% going to PlayStation and Nintendo, respectively. But even at 70%, that’s “helpful to us being able to build great portfolios,” Spencer said.
In an ideal would, Spencer said, he would want to “make all of the money for all the games” that it releases, but that simply isn’t the landscape anymore.
“There are people–whether it’s that their libraries are on PlayStation or Nintendo, whether it’s that they like the controller better, they just like the games that are there–and I don’t want to then look at that and say ‘Well, there’s no way that we should be able to build a business there, find fans of our franchises there.'”
He added: “I know it’s not what everybody else is doing, but I just believe games should be the thing that’s at the forefront. It doesn’t really benefit people to gatekeep games. Restricting where games can be played is not helping the games themselves.”
Also in the interview, Spencer mentioned that, with Microsoft’s new multiplatform approach, he aims to be “transparent with people.” And this means if Microsoft is putting a first-party game on Switch or PS5 or Steam, fans can expect to see logos for those systems, even during Microsoft’s own games showcases.
“People should know the storefronts where they can get our games,” he said.
One of the next big Xbox game to come to PlayStation is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which comes to PS5 this spring following its debut on Xbox in 2024. After that, Doom: The Dark Ages comes out in May for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, launching on all platforms at the same time. The RPG Avowed from Microsoft-owned studio Obsidian launches for everyone on February 18, but it has not been announced for any rival platforms outside of Xbox and PC.
Microsoft embracing this new kind of strategy comes at the same time that Xbox is in third place as it relates to console sales, with Xbox Series X|S tracking behind the PS5 and Nintendo Switch. As Spencer noted, Microsoft stands apart in being a platform-holder launching its own games on rival platforms, as Sony and Nintendo generally do not do that on console.