The Xbox Series X will be the first generation entirely designed under Phil Spencer and he’s pulling all the required steps to make sure it’s the best. Other than offering the most potent hardware, Spencer is also looking to expand Microsoft’s umbrella of first-party games. Multiple studios were acquired last year for the same and some big names include Obsidian, InXile and Ninja Theory. These studios are responsible for some of the best titles we’ve seen this decade, and Spencer wants to make sure that doesn’t change.
In an interview with French outlet, Jeux Video, Spencer claimed that on the 23rd of July we’ll see what creative freedom really looks like. As per the Xbox head, it’s the player who actually matters rather than the device or the platform. He further goes on to say that if a developer wishes to launch their games across multiple platforms, they may do so. After all, every developer wants to make their work accessible to as many people as possible.
This is really good news (if true, that is). Most of the studios MS has acquired especially Obsidian and InXile are known for RPGs like Pillars of Eternity, Tides of Numenera, Fallout: New Vegas and Knights of the Old Republic II. These games may not be as popular as Horizon: Zero Dawn or God of War, but they feature a rich narrative and unparalleled lore, something we don’t see in mainstream gaming anymore.
If MS were to force these studios to make mainstream titles, it’d certainly lead to undesirable results. How EA has handled BioWare in recent years is a glaring example of this.
