Xbox: We can't reach the billions of gamers without underrepresented creators
Xbox talks frequently about its goal of reaching three billion gamers.
It’s why the company is spending so much energy and money on streaming and subscriptions. It’s why it has two different Xbox Series consoles. It’s why it’s releasing all its games on PC. It’s why it wants to launch a mobile app store. It knows it can’t reach three billion gamers with a high-powered games console alone.
Yet all these platforms, business models and distribution channels are irrelevant if Xbox doesn’t have the right games. And we’re not just talking the big blockbusters like Call of Duty. For that three billion dream to be a reality, Microsoft is going to need games that can appeal to different nationalities, genders, ages, sexualities, ethnicities, people with disabilities, social-economic backgrounds and more.
“I firmly believe that we can't reach the billions of gamers that we hope to reach, without empowering more developers who have access to other communities,” explains James Lewis, senior creative partner programs lead at Xbox.
“There are people who don't think of themselves as gamers because they haven't seen some of the games that are coming from these communities. It is better for our industry when we can grow and welcome in new voices who can reach more audiences.”
Lewis is talking to GamesIndustry.biz about the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program. It’s a program that started back in 2019. It didn't have that name, but it had the same mission: help underrepresented creators find success on Xbox.
The program was initially set up to help developers from underrepresented backgrounds port their games to Xbox. Microsoft would supply funding so that they could get their games on the Xbox store without having to sacrifice
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