Spencer throws fuel on Xbox first-party speculation fire
pcgamesinsider.bizThe head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, has fuelled speculation about the company's plans for its first-party line-up.
Taking to Twitter, the exec said that Microsoft will be providing a "business update" at an event next week.
This follows reports from a variety of different sources stating that Xbox is contemplating bringing some of its heavy-hitting first-party titles, such as Gears of War, Starfield, Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves, as well as the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, to other platforms. These include PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.
"We're listening and we hear you," Spencer wrote.
"We've been planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox. Stay tuned."
Since the weak release of the Xbox One back in 2013, Microsoft's games business has increasingly moved towards being software-centric rather than based on hardware. Of course, the company is still – for the time being, at least – making consoles for people to play its games on, but with its investments in the likes of its Xbox Game Pass subscription service and its cloud streaming business, it appears Microsoft is content for its audience to play its games wherever they want.
For some time now, Xbox has been languishing behind PlayStation when it comes to the commercial performance of its hardware; there is probably some sense in Microsoft opting to join them as it clearly can't beat them on that particular front.
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