As a part of my COVID recovery, I found myself taking a lot of naps and lounging around to watch TV and play video games. I even found enough time to update my Xbox and reconnect it to my Stream Deck. Mainly, I just wanted to play more Starfield while watching TV. Then it dawned on me. I never got around to playing Starfield, just more Vampire Survivors. Then Friday morning hit and I realized that Xbox was supposed to be talking about their future on Thursday.
So, what did they actually talk about.
A Chicken in every pot and Xbox on every screen
While no chickens were mentioned in his memo, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer did say that the future will be one where “every screen is an Xbox”:
We have a different vision for the future of gaming. A future where players have a unified experience across devices. A future where players can easily discover a vast array of games with a diverse spectrum of business models. A future where more creators are empowered to realize their creative vision, reach a global audience, unite their communities, and succeed commercially. A future where every screen is an Xbox.”
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer
In a way, Microsoft is really close to that goal. A lot of TVs, set top boxes, and even VR has gained access to some form Game Pass Cloud Gaming. Devices like the Steam Deck need a little work, but are there.
More and more people are starting to pick up what Xbox has been putting down lately. Xbox isn’t merely just the console anymore. We’ve said as much on Tech Talk Thursdays that Microsoft has been moving away from hardware. Just like most tech companies nowadays, its all about services. Xbox has been shifting in that direction for a while. I still think that’s what got them Activision Blizzard.
Look who’s coming to Xbox Game Pass
Speaking of Activision Blizzard, Xbox President Sarah Bond announced yesterday that the first game from their new purchase to be put on Game Pass is Diablo 4. The game will be coming to the service on March 28th. Hopefully, this will be for both the Xbox and PC and will allow cross saving.
As you can see in the video above, I enjoyed my time with it and in the accompanying article, I enjoyed much more of it from my Steam Deck. I cannot wait for this game to hit Game Pass!
I heard about other consoles?
Oh, right! Sarah Bond did mention something about the next generation of Xbox. She said that Microsoft will deliver “the largest technical leap” with it:
We’ve got more to come. There’s some exciting stuff coming out in hardware that we’re going to share this holiday. We’re also invested in the next-generation roadmap. What we’re really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation, which makes it better for players and better for creators and the visions that they’re building.”
Xbox President Sarah Bond
Phil Spencer went further and said they are working on different kinds of hardware. Maybe we’ll see a Surface “Pad” that is their version of the Steam Deck. I kind of envision it something along the lines of a Legion Go. That way, it could function like a small form-factor Surface tablet when the controllers aren’t attached.
No, I’m talking about games on other consoles?
Oh! My bad! You’re here for THAT news.
So, they actually addressed this bit first in their little sit down podcast interview.
Phil Spencer stated that there are 4 games that are coming over to other consoles. He mentioned that two are community-driven titles while the other two are smaller titles that did good on Xbox but aren’t as big. Sources that are close to these things are saying that the two community games will be Sea of Thieves and Grounded while the two others may end up being Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment.
After seeing those names, I can kind of see those making the jump. For all of them to be exclusive to Xbox console, they don’t really scream “XBOX” and I could see them being on other systems. Honestly, its nice to see them doing this. It doesn’t look forced, but it’s not like we got to see the deals made to get that ABK acquisition done. With MLB: The Show, we at least know that the MLB forced Sony’s hand in that deal.
Of course, the podcast moderator had to try and ask about Starfield and Indiana Jones. We all know she was supposed to just so they could say no and put it to bed. However, never say never. While they aren’t a part of the first four games (keep in mind, the four going over were never announced), it’s not to say that once Xbox gets tired of them, they won’t send them over to Nintendo or Sony.
Yeah, but we haven’t seen that yet. We’re obviously one of the biggest publishers on PlayStation and Nintendo today, when you think about the Activision Blizzard and Bethesda lineup of games. So we know what it means to ship games on Steam, PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox. These are games that originally launched on Xbox. They were Xbox-branded games and we want to see what happens, because going and doing the development work to bring them to new platforms is real work. We want to make sure that the return makes sense. We want to make sure the audience that’s there has an appetite, maybe they don’t.“
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer
So, there you have it! What people thought were going to be doom and gloom all week was really just a bunch of nothing. I was out of time when the news broke, so I have no idea how this all got started in the first place. But it’s good to see that more games are going to be in the hands of more people.
And isn’t that what gaming is all about?
Source: The Verge
