After Microsoft took over Activision-Blizzard along with its wide array of development studios, it quickly rose to prominence as the biggest third-party game publisher ever known. So, it’s understandable that recent comments from Xbox head Phil Spencer, during an interview with Gamertag Radio, have stirred up significant attention. Spencer hinted that upcoming Xbox titles may be available on other platforms, including Nintendo and PlayStation, aligning well with the industry’s trend of broader accessibility.
In the interview, available on YouTube courtesy of Danny Peña’s Podcast Interviews, Spencer emphasized his vision: “I want people to be able to experience the games that we build, the services that we offer on as many devices as we can.” He also underscored the value of the native Xbox experience: “We obviously love the native experience that we have on our own platform and our own hardware, and that’s something that will continue for us.” Over its 26-minute span, this interview offers viewers a wealth of industry insights and a nostalgic look back at key chapters in Xbox’s story, including eras dominated by the original Xbox and the Xbox 360.
For anyone less familiar with the complicated history of consoles, these revelations might seem surprising. For context, consider Sonic the Hedgehog—not just the movie star but a legendary video game character originally exclusive to Sega systems. Until Sonic Adventure 2 appeared on the GameCube, Sonic titles were strictly Sega exclusives. Sega’s last console, the Dreamcast, faced a rapid decline because of the more capable PlayStation 2, reducing Sega to a third-party developer—a gap that Microsoft’s Xbox promptly filled.
During the early days of what was initially dubbed the “DirectX Box,” which eventually became the Xbox, the system maintained compatibility with some Sega Dreamcast games, partly because Dreamcast was already compatible with Windows CE. Although the final version of Xbox dropped this feature, notable titles from the Dreamcast era, such as Jet Set Radio Future, found a home exclusively on Xbox.
Spencer’s comments might initially seem like the desperate maneuvers of a struggling console maker, but Microsoft is far from struggling. As the newly crowned largest third-party game publisher, Xbox is now more focused on widespread game distribution rather than binding players to its own platform alone.
According to Spencer, “We want everybody to be able to play on Xbox, and it does mean more of our games shipping on more platforms, not just PlayStation. We love the work with Nintendo, and what we do with Valve on Steam, and that’s going to continue.”
Is Xbox following in Sega’s footsteps then? Hardly. Thanks to Microsoft’s deep pockets, Xbox is secure, but upcoming Xbox consoles will need to innovate to attract users with hardware, especially in competition with what could be Nintendo’s hybrid “Switch 3” and the potentially more powerful PlayStation 6, both of which are likely to showcase exclusive titles as their selling point.
However, if Microsoft isn’t diligent in maintaining Xbox’s identity as both hardware and a collection of games and services, they might face the issue of being everywhere and nowhere at once.
