Microsoft Gaming head honcho Phil Spencer says 'I don't like expansions that are manipulative... like, the third level you cut before you launched'

pcgamer.com:

Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer has been doing a few interviews as 2024 draws to a close, celebrating Microsoft's generally strong lineup of games over the year while also warning that the PC-heavy lineup is «historical» and an «anomaly» following the $69 billion Activision-Blizzard acquisition.

Spencer's focus at the moment is talking up the strength of Xbox's lineup while flogging Game Pass, and moving towards a «Play Anywhere» marketing line that will see Xbox games work across a variety of devices. It's Game Pass that feels like the real driver right now, however, with the recent launch of Black Ops 6 the first time a Call of Duty title has been available day one on the subscription service. But that's part of a wider slew of offerings that, for the moment at least, tend to exclude most DLC and expansions across the slate.

In a new interview with newsletter GameFile, reporter Stephen Totilo pointed out to Spencer that three of Microsoft's nine fall releases are expansions: Diablo 4's Vessel of Hatred, World of Warcraft's The War Within, and Starfield's Shattered Space. Given that the Game Pass model is the blindingly simple subs, subs and then more subs on top, Totilo suggested that expansions are becoming more important revenue-wise, with Microsoft able to hive off paid expansions for popular titles and then offer them to a captive audience. This isn't small beans: Shattered Space was a $30 release while Vessel of Hatred was $40.

Spencer says there's no «top down mandate» on expansions, but then that's exactly what he would say from the top. «It's really left to the creators what plan they have for their stories. I think it's a great way for us to re-engage players who may be lapsed.»

Big Phil points out that Vessel of Hatred offered a new class in Diablo 4, while Shattered Space added a new world to Starfield, both being of obvious interest to existing players.

«I don't like expansions that are manipulative,» said Spencer. «I want it to have a unique point