What you need to know
- Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer spoke with Rolling Stone about how the company will have more consoles “and other devices” in the future.
- Spencer’s comments come as Microsoft rolls out an advertising campaign that emphasizes how different devices are all Xbox.
- Spencer also notes that right now, most Xbox player growth is happening in Cloud gaming and on Windows PC.
Console-centric players don’t need to worry about Xbox options going anywhere.
That’s according to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who spoke with Rolling Stone about how Microsoft is trying to grow Xbox across Cloud gaming and PC. While this is a big focus right now, the company won’t be abandoning the concept of consoles, with more to come after Xbox Series X|S.
“We’ll definitely do more consoles in the future, and other devices,” Spencer says. This comes as Microsoft is launching an aggressive advertising campaign showcasing how different devices like a laptop, ASUS ROG Ally, or even a Meta Quest 3 headset are really all Xbox.
“Our biggest growth in Xbox players is on PC and cloud,” Spencer says. “The console space all up isn’t growing, across all of them. We love those customers, but in terms of continuing to expand and grow Xbox, it’s about PC, it’s about cloud, ad [sic] it’s about making our games more available in more places.”
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Consoles and other devices all playing a role
The other devices Spencer refers to are almost assuredly handheld Xbox models, something the Xbox chief has hinted at for a while and outright confirmed will happen, though it’s currently years away.
Xbox Series X sales overtook Xbox Series S in the U.S. earlier this year, and while there’s a number of factors at play, it’s been made abundantly clear that Microsoft believes in providing a console as an option, but not as the sole centerpiece of its plans, which are really about getting Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming on every possible device.
It’s certainly an interesting approach, but it also means the company has a ton of irons all in the fire. The Xbox ecosystem is still not 100% unified, something Spencer has admitted in discussing how it’s fair for players to expect Xbox Play Anywhere support for all their games, including Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion, which does not currently support the feature.
Microsoft has grand ambitions for mobile gaming, including a store that’ll allow players to enjoy the games they already own, but these features have seen repeated delays. We’ll have to wait and see how it all pans out.
