If Xbox announced many things during its last official podcast, such as the arrival of several games on competing platforms as well as the latest figures for Xbox Game Pass, the manufacturer carefully avoided several important subjects.
After weeks of rumors and leaks, Microsoft has finally revealed its plans for the future of Xbox, whether it concerns its games, its console and, but also its Game Pass subscription.
This is a mastered communication exercise, which meets the expectations of players, media and investors, but which also deliberately omits certain details.
What Xbox announced during the podcast
Let’s take stock of the various announcements from Xbox in its official podcast, relayed on its Xbox Wire blog and commented on everywhere in the media.
Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond and Matt Booty discussed these different subjects to allow different observers to take the pulse of Xbox’s strategy. Some of its announcements will have their own dedicated communication time during the year, notably during the Xbox Showcase. scheduled for June which will be an opportunity to announce new games.
But it is true that Xbox has also deliberately skimmed over or even avoided some of these subjects
What Xbox intentionally left out
If this announcement had the effect of a damp squib, it is mainly because it was the subject of numerous leaks, sometimes detailing Xbox’s plans in detail. And despite the more than 20 minutes of podcast, two subjects still remain unanswered.
The list of four games coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch
Against all expectations, Phil Spencer did not specify which four Xbox games were soon available on competing platforms, namely Sony’s PS5 and Nintendo Switch. The president of Microsoft Gaming did not wish to reveal the list to let the developers of these games announce them in their own way. But these announcements are not “ not so far away » according to Phil Spencer.
However, we know that these games were released more than a year ago on Xbox and PC, two of them are service games that have gathered a community around them, the first opuses of a franchise in full expansion . The other two games are smaller in scale and have, according to Phil Spencer, “ not designed as exclusives“.
In fact, recent indiscretions from several sources have almost confirmed the list of its four games, which would therefore beHi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of ThievesAndGrounded. But we will have to wait for official announcements from the various studios concerned to find out for sure.
The future of physical media on Xbox
One of the last segments of the podcast concerning the preservation of games and backward compatibility, the manufacturer’s workhorse since the announcement of the Xbox One more than 10 years ago. Phil Spencer said he wanted to take inspiration from Windows to try to make as many old Xbox games as possible compatible with the next Microsoft consoles.
He mentions in particular the “respect» from Xbox regarding the investment of players, both financial, but also in terms of time spent on titles released on older generations. But the president of Microsoft Gaming neglects to talk about the hot topic of recent months: the fate of physical media on console.
While the first leaks concerning the upcoming refresh of the Xbox Series Recently, Microsoft made mass layoffs within its division linked to the physical marketing of Xbox games while it was confirmed that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will not have a disc version on sale.
If the future of video games is dematerialized, Phil Spencer assures that he wants to “keep services online as long as possible” to allow players to continue playing is “the foundation of who we are at Xbox”. We’re waiting to see Phil.
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