Microsoft may launch a mobile game store next year in one of its most ambitious attempts to take on Apple and Google.
In an interview with Financial Times, via CNET, CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer said the decision is contingent on the company’s Activision Blizzard acquisition being approved.
“We want to be in a position to offer Xbox and content from both us and our third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play,” Spencer told said. “Today, we can’t do that on mobile devices but we want to build towards a world that we think will be coming where those devices are opened up.”
Microsoft plans appear to line up with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) that will require Apple and Google to allow third-party app stores on their platforms. Once the legislation goes into effect in March 2024, Microsoft will be able to compete on far more level ground.
Microsoft is in the midst of layoffs, with a picture emerging regarding which divisions are being especially hard-hit.
Microsoft announced in January that it was cutting 10,000 jobs, although the company did not provide much detail on what departments and jobs would be most impacted. According to Bloomberg, that information is starting to filter out, with employees in the HoloLens, Xbox, and Surface divisions bearing the brunt.
The HoloLens team, in particular, was especially hard-hit with much of the team let go. The HoloLens project has experienced a number of setbacks, including Congress refusing to authorize funds for the US Army to purchase more of the devices following concerns that soldiers experienced “mission-affecting physical impairments” after just a couple of hours of use.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer notified employees that some of them would also be impacted, although he did not elaborate.
“I encourage everyone to take the time and space necessary to process these changes and support your colleagues,” Spencer wrote in the email that seen by Bloomberg.
Despite the hits to the HoloLens team, Microsoft told the outlet that it remains committed to the project.
“While we don’t comment on specific staffing details, we can share there are no changes to HoloLens 2 and our commitment to mixed reality,” the company said.
Despite being the first E3 in four years, E3 2023 may be missing the biggest console makers: Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony.
IGN reports that none of the three biggest console makers plan to attend E3, citing unnamed sources. No reasons were given for the three companies skipping the event, and none of the three replied to IGN’s request for comment.
The news is even more interesting since Xbox CEO Phil Spencer seemed to voice support for E3 and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) just a week ago.
“E3 is just, to me, one of the seminal moments of gaming. I love the history of going down to LA, thousands of people there, getting to see great new things…getting to see people in the industry, the fan events that we’ve had. I definitely want that to continue,” Spencer told IGN.
“Xbox is on the board of the ESA, and I think a successful and healthy ESA is critical to what we’re trying to go do. So we place our showcase, like we always have done, at a time where hopefully it’s convenient for press and even consumers that are going to the E3 event, and that’s what we’re trying to do now. We will continue to work with ESA in terms of their plans. As I said, we’re on the board, and we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to help make the E3 successful.”
It’s likely Xbox plans on timing any announcements it may have to coincide with E3, giving it a chance to cash in on the hype without having a presence at the event. It’s unclear if the other two console makers have similar plans.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has fired back at Sony over the latter’s objections to Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal.
Microsoft announced plans to purchase Activision for $68.7 billion in early 2022, a move that was met almost immediately with criticism and regulatory scrutiny. Sony has been one of the most vocal critics, claiming Microsoft will use the purchase to unfairly favor its Xbox console in the gaming market.
According to VGC, Spencer is firing back, accusing Sony of trying to unfairly keep the Xbox a small contender to its PlayStation.
“Sony is trying to protect its dominance on the console. The way they grow is by making Xbox smaller,” Spencer said in an interview on the Second Request podcast.
“[Sony] has a very different view of the industry than we do. They don’t ship their games day and date on PC, they do not put their games into their subscription when they launch their games.”
Much of Sony’s objections revolve around Activision’s Call of Duty franchise, which Microsoft has committed to keep on the PlayStation long-term.
“Sony is leading the dialogue around why the deal shouldn’t go through to protect its dominant position on console, so the thing they grab onto is Call of Duty,” Spencer told Second Request.
“The largest console maker in the world raising an objection about the one franchise that we’ve said will continue to ship on the platform. It’s a deal that benefits customers through choice and access.”
It’s unclear if the Microsoft/Activision deal will go through, with regulators on both sides of the Atlantic increasingly objecting to it. The FTC most recently filed a lawsuit to block the deal from proceeding.
Microsoft has just made a major commitment, with an executive saying it will keep Call of Duty on the PlayStation forever.
Sony has been raising objections to Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, claiming it will give Microsoft too much control over the gaming market. Microsoft already controls one of the leading consoles, and Activision Blizzard will give it one of the leading game publishers with some of the most popular titles. Call of Duty has become the main sticking point, with Sony raising concerns that Microsoft may eventually make it an Xbox-exclusive.
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has set the record straight, saying that “as long as there is a PlayStation out there to ship to, our intent is that we continue to ship Call of Duty on PlayStation.”
Xbox chief Phil Spencer on Call of Duty on PlayStation:
It’s unclear if the declaration will do much to assuage Sony’s fears, but Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to make sure it’s acquisition goes through. The company has even taken the unusual step of acknowledging that Sony’s PlayStation sales dwarf that of its Xbox.
Microsoft on Monday announced plans to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, one of the largest, privately-held game developers and publishers in the world. The ZeniMax library includes game franchises such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, and Rage, among many others, Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will acquire ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in cash.
“Gaming is the most expansive category in the entertainment industry, as people everywhere turn to gaming to connect, socialize and play with their friends,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Quality differentiated content is the engine behind the growth and value of Xbox Game Pass—from Minecraft to Flight Simulator. As a proven game developer and publisher, Bethesda has seen success across every category of games, and together, we will further our ambition to empower the more than three billion gamers worldwide.”
“This is an awesome time to be an Xbox fan. In the last 10 days alone, we’ve released details on our two new consoles which go on pre-order tomorrow, launched cloud gaming in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and now we’re making another investment in the most critical part of our strategy: the games,” said Phil Spencer, executive vice president, Gaming at Microsoft. “Generations of gamers have been captivated by the renowned franchises in the Bethesda portfolio and will continue to be so for years to come as part of Xbox.”
Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media was founded in 1999 by Chairman and CEO Robert A. Altman; Bethesda’s structure and leadership will remain in place.
“This is a thrilling day for this company, our employees, and our fans. We have enjoyed a close partnership with Microsoft for decades, and this deal is a natural progression of those years working together,” said Altman. “The big winners today are our fans. We are continuing to develop our slate of AAA games, but now with Microsoft’s scale and entire Game Stack, our games can only get better.”
Today is a special day… We are THRILLED to welcome the talented teams and beloved game franchises of @Bethesda to Team Xbox!
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox at Microsoft, discusses the company’s acquisition of game maker ZeniMax and how this impacts gaming and the Xbox platform:
Adding ZeniMax Games To Xbox Is Incredible
Gamers love great games. The Xbox console is going on preorder tomorrow for the next generation. Just last week we added Game Pass cloud streaming so that people can play this Game Pass library across all of their Android phones. Then obviously Game Pass which is the largest game content subscription out there with 15 million subscribers and growing. So getting to work with ZeniMax to bring their amazing collection of games to GamePass is just an incredible opportunity for us.
Our plan is to leave it alone. ZeniMax has an amazing track record of building great games. Our goal is to make ZeniMax the best ZeniMax they can be. ZeniMax will be working individually with their studios on the great platform technology that we have, getting their creators feedback into the things that we need to go build. That’s just a critical flywheel for us innovating, just the feedback from the world’s best creators on our platform.
Committed To Bringing Game Pass To iPhones
When you get large scale general compute platforms like mobile phones people should have access to the great content and services that are out there. We remain committed to that. There are over 3 billion people who play video games today and many of them play on phones. We’re committed to bringing Game Pass to all mobile phones out there including Apple phones. We will continue to have conversations and I’m sure we will be able to get to some resolution.
Our biggest issue (with the Apple app store) isn’t a financial issue. Our biggest issue is that cloud game streaming apps are actually not allowed in the way that Game Pass is built for other platforms. For us, this is about gamers having great access to the content from the creators they love on the devices they own. Play the games that you want with the community that you want to play with the devices that you have. That’s our goal.
COVID Impacted Game Production
People with sheltering in place and work from home, we’ve seen incredible engagement in the gaming community over the last few months. We’re really proud with the way that gaming has been able to play such a pivotal role for people. Games today are hundreds of people coming together to build these massive games. It’s important that we’re conscious of the safety of our teams. COVID has had an impact on production and you’re seeing that out there.
When you look at this launch and people’s appetite for gaming right now we are very bullish on how are preorders are going to go tomorrow. We have the most powerful console on the market. We have the most affordable console on the market. We’ve got things like Xbox All Access that allow people to join this next generation of gaming for $24.99 a month with no upfront costs. You get a console and Game Pass. In times like this, I think that accessibility of price point and offer is really important.
People love rivalries. Apple vs Microsoft, Ford vs Chevy, Patriots vs the Bills and Xbox vs PlayStation are just a few of the greats. According to Protocol, however, the Xbox vs PlayStation rivalry may be nearing its end as Microsoft’s focus has shifted to Amazon and Google as its primary rivals.
“When you talk about Nintendo and Sony, we have a ton of respect for them, but we see Amazon and Google as the main competitors going forward,” Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s games business, told Protocol in an interview. “That’s not to disrespect Nintendo and Sony, but the traditional gaming companies are somewhat out of position. I guess they could try to re-create Azure, but we’ve invested tens of billions of dollars in cloud over the years.”
The change in focus is another indication of the growing importance of the cloud, and Microsoft’s determination to continue gaining ground in the market. While the company has enjoyed phenomenal success with its Xbox line, it sees the future of gaming in cloud-based streaming, according to Business Insider.
Google has already released its streaming game service Stadia, and Apple has a similar service called Apple Arcade. While Amazon doesn’t currently have a gaming service, it has the underlying cloud architecture to support one. Unlike Microsoft or Sony’s current offerings, for a low monthly price Stadia and Arcade stream a myriad of games to devices people already own and use, meaning there is a far lower barrier-to-entry. This is significant when taking into consideration the cost of a gaming console. Suddenly the potential market goes from hundreds of millions to billions.
Microsoft’s changed focus is just the latest thing that illustrates the many different fronts the cloud wars will be fought on—including gaming.
Microsoft announced late last month that Phil Spencer would become the new head of the Xbox division. As part of the announcement, Spencer said that he would bring a new focus on games back to the division that has seemingly focused on everything but games for the past few years. Can you really trust that though? Well, see for yourself.
Xbox shared a new video today in which Major Nelson interviews Phil Spencer about his time at Microsoft. There’s not a lot here about his plans for Xbox One and for good reason. This is all about selling games on Spencer as a person. Xbox fans have a right to be cautious as the Xbox division goes through these changes and Microsoft needs to get the message out that Spencer is just like them – a gamer.
During the interview, we’re treated to a few interesting revelations. When asked what was his favorite game he worked on, Spencer says that Xbox exclusive Voodoo Vince is at the top. While some may not even remember the title, he says it was the first title he beat with his daughters and thus holds a special place in his heart. He also teased that we’d be seeing a new game at E3 with a unique setting that’s on par with games like Brothers and Limbo. While no specific details were shared, it’s still exciting to think that Microsoft is working on more games like that.
We’re going to see a lot more Phil Spencer going forward so gamers should probably get used to him. That shouldn’t be too hard as he’s pretty personable and probably the best choice out of all the Xbox execs left at Microsoft. Under his leadership, Xbox may very well get back to focusing on games first.
Phil Spencer is probably the most likable of all the Xbox executives. He exudes confidence during all of Microsoft’s press conferences, and he has a legitimate love for games. In fact, you could say he’d be the perfect fit to lead Xbox in 2014. Well, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella seems to agree.
Nadella announced this morning that Phil Spencer will now lead the Xbox division. As part of the announcement, Nadella also revealed that the Xbox division will now include Xbox, Xbox Live, Xbox Music, Xbox Video and Microsoft Studios. Before the promotion, Spencer was the CVP of Microsoft Game Studios where he managed all the various developers under Microsoft. With Microsoft Studios now being consolidated into Xbox, he will still oversee the division he has grown into a powerhouse over the last few years while also managing the direction the Xbox hardware and Xbox Live software go in here on out.
Here’s what Nadella had to say about the changes coming to Xbox:
In this new job, Phil will lead the Xbox, Xbox Live, Xbox Music and Xbox Video teams, and Microsoft Studios. Combining all our software, gaming and content assets across the Xbox team under a single leader and aligning with the OSG team will help ensure we continue to do great work across the Xbox business, and bring more of the magic of Xbox to all form factors, including tablets, PCs and phones. Phil will continue his close partnership with Yusuf Mehdi, who leads business strategy and marketing for Xbox, George Peckham, who heads up third-party partnerships and Mike Angiulo, who will continue leading Xbox hardware.
Spencer took to Xbox Wire to talk about his new role within the consolidated Xbox division. While some gamers may feel anxious over bringing Xbox Video and Xbox Music into the fold, Spencer says that the focus will remain on games:
The growth of the Xbox community, with over 80 million Xbox owners around the world, is built on the foundation of exclusive franchises, new and original IP and the world’s most popular cross-platform games. Games and gamers have always been at the core of Xbox and the core of my work—and gaming will be our core as we take Xbox forward.
Spencer goes on to say that the Xbox division will focus solely on the consumer going forward. He doesn’t explicitly bring up last year’s disastrous DRM debacle, but that moment undoubtedly helped remind Microsoft that the gamers have the final say in this industry and they must serve them if they want to grow:
This past year has been a growth experience both for me and for the entire Xbox team. We’ve taken feedback, made our products better and renewed our focus on what is most important, our customer. Our mission is to build a world-class team, work hard to meet the high expectations of a passionate fan base, create the best games and entertainment and drive technical innovation. As we continue forward, this renewed focus and mission will be a foundational part of how I lead the Xbox program.
At the end of his letter, Spencer promises some big things from Microsoft this year as it heads into E3. He has already admitted that Microsoft’s originally planned E3 press conference was too big to fit into the hour and a half time slot. That alone should excite Xbox fans and hype them up for whatever Microsoft has planned for this year.
Microsoft was wise to announce the Xbox One before E3 last year. It opened up the annual trade show to focus exclusively on games since it got all the TV and sports out of the way at the May event. With E3 2014, will Microsoft continue its focus on games, or will we see a Doritos Xbox One app instead?
Speaking to a fan on Twitter, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer said that gamers wanting to see games won’t be disappointed at this year’s E3. The company’s press conference will focus less on executives announcing stuff and more on the games. In more encouraging news, Microsoft also has had to cut stuff to come within 90 minutes. In other words, Microsoft has a lot of stuff to announce at E3 and can’t fit it all into their press conference.
So, what’s going to happen to all the content being cut from the press conference? Will Microsoft host something like a Nintendo Direct where they speak directly with fans about upcoming games and products? It’s certainly a possibility, but Spencer is remaining mum at the moment. All he says is that there are plenty of places at E3 to make announcements:
@davidspringate@PotentialyGreat There are other places for us to announce things at E3. Day 2, 3 etc. Show things on the floor.
For the Xbox One fan, this is incredibly exciting news. Much like the PS4, the Xbox One has been hurting for content since launch. It did just get Titanfall this month, but that’s only one game. While the Xbox One may appeal to the shooter fan now, Microsoft is going to need a lot more variety to appeal to more people going forward. At E3, we may just get some variety from Microsoft’s publishing partners around the world.
Besides focusing on just games, Microsoft also needs to avoid the kind of controversy that handed Sony an easy win at last year’s E3. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see a return of Microsoft’s originally planed DRM, but it’s hard to say what will anger gamers and what won’t. If Microsoft continues to claim that Kinect is essential to the Xbox One, gamers may get angry over what they see as Microsoft forcing them to buy a peripheral they don’t want or need.
We’ll likely find out more over the coming months as Microsoft’s E3 press conference usually suffers from a few pre-show leaks. We might even learn a thing or two about the unannounced games we’ll see at the show – like a Halo 2 remake.
