Xbox’s Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty finally delivered an official Xbox business update today, addressing all the recent rumors and speculations from the gaming media. Many of the leaks were debunked today, while others were somewhat confirmed. I say somewhat, because four titles are going multi-platform, but Spencer did not name the specific games saying that the developers will be making the announcement themselves. The games, however, are over a year old and Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are not among the four.
For now, Xbox isn’t making any promises for multi-platform titles beyond the four games that have already been decided. The company is very likely going to see how they perform before deciding whether or not more games will be available on other platforms. Listening to Spencer, however, it seems very likely, as he essentially stated that exclusives will become less of a focus for the industry in the coming years. For what it’s worth, it appears that community-driven games—like Minecraft—will be more likely to arrive on other platforms.
A total of 10 major releases are coming this year from Xbox, and more will be shared in a showcase this June. Addressing the Game Pass rumors, all first-party games will continue to be available on Game Pass from day one, and Activision Blizzard games are going to make their way to the subscription service. Diablo IV will be the first and will be available starting March 28. Speaking of Game Pass, Xbox confirmed there are currently 34 million subscribers to the service.
It also sounds like Xbox has no plans to exit the hardware business and is currently focused on making the largest technical leap for the next generation. The team is currently planning to make a hardware announcement this coming holiday season.
Although the four games haven’t been officially confirmed, a few clues were given during the podcast. The internet mostly agrees that the four games will be Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Grounded, and Pentiment. You can watch the entire podcast below.
