Microsoft recently reiterated that players will not be forced into purchasing an Xbox Series X to experience first-party next-generation games. Hence, the reason why for the next couple of years, all new games coming from Xbox Game Studios like Halo Infinite will be available to play on both Xbox Series X and Xbox One.

Microsoft wants to avoid alienating one player-base from the other while ensuring that players do not have to purchase an Xbox Series X just to play first-party exclusives, at least for the next couple of years. The message implied that Xbox Series X will receive no exclusives at all for the said period and that Xbox Game Studios as a whole have been instructed to add cross-generation support to all in-development games. That message was not quite as implied.

Speaking with GameStar in a recent interview, Phil Spencer, head of the Xbox brand, clarified that first-party developers under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella have the complete freedom to decide whether or not to make cross-generation games. If a particular developer wants to create a game exclusive to Xbox Series X, without support for Xbox One, Microsoft will not argue otherwise.

Spencer noted that Microsoft is not dictating any terms or rules for the Xbox platform. Rather, Microsoft is supporting first-party developers to create games as they want. Hence, there may possibly be first-party games being developed exclusively for Xbox Series X right now. Also, Microsoft is not holding back Xbox Series X by forcefully supporting Xbox One.

If a creator comes to us and says ‘No, I really want to focus on next generation’ with their games, we’re completely open to that and we’re very supportive of that. If a creator comes to us and says I have this vision for reaching these customers across different platforms and different generations we’re completely supportive of that.

It is really about our creators having choice and allowing them to build the games that they want to build to reach the audience that they’re looking for and not things that we’re mandating to our creators in terms of what they have to go do. It’s not our rules for our platform it’s more about creators creating the games that they want to go build looking ahead.

Microsoft will be hosting a new digital showcase for Xbox Series X next week where first-party gameplay footage is being expected to premiere. Halo Infinite has already been confirmed to be the start attraction. Microsoft has even teased that the showcase will be a solid hour of games for fans.

Posted: Jul 19, 2020 9:02 am
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://segmentnext.com/2020/07/17/first-party-xbox-studios-xbox-series-x-exclusive-games/