This week’s edition of the Official Xbox Podcast is likely to have far more eyes and ears on it than usual. That’s because three top Xbox executives are set to lay out what’s ahead for the brand.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, Xbox President Sarah Bond and President of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty will “share updates on the Xbox business,” following rumors that several major games could be coming to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. Various reports have indicated that one-time exclusives such as Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are bound for rival platforms. Even tentpole franchises like Halo and Gears of War could be on the way to Sony and Nintendo platforms.
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Hear from Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond and Matt Booty as they share updates on the Xbox business. pic.twitter.com/TxwWJVUbgx
— Xbox (@Xbox) February 12, 2024
It’s likely that Spencer, Bond and Booty will either dispel such rumors or confirm the reports on the Official Xbox Podcast. Spencer pledged that the “business update” will include details “about our vision for the future of Xbox.” You can find out for yourself what that entails by checking out the episode on YouTube (which we’ve embedded below) or podcast services such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts when it drops at 3PM ET on Thursday.
It’s clear that Microsoft’s gaming division has been going through a sea change over the last few months after finally closing its mammoth takeover of Activision Blizzard in October and then laying off 1,900 people a few months later. We should get more clarity as to the overall direction of Microsoft Gaming today.
It does seem that Microsoft is about to become more of a multi-platform publisher, though. The company has already pledged to bring more of its games to Switch after making a deal with Nintendo to release Call of Duty titles on that company’s systems.
That said, Microsoft is unlikely to stop making consoles of its own any time soon. Spencer told staff at a town hall earlier this month Xbox has more hardware in the pipeline, according to Inverse. Bond also reportedly laid out a vision of making Xbox available on “every screen” and showed the smash hit Game Pass title Palworld on various tablets, TV screens, monitors and handheld devices.
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