Microsoft's Xbox business needs to get bigger. The company's Xbox Series S and He admitted that 2022 will be a dry year for Xbox games after Microsoft's big exclusive Bethesda games. star field It has been delayed.
Due to the slowdown of Xbox Game Pass, we're hearing that several Xbox exclusives are coming to consoles that Microsoft usually competes with. A source familiar with Microsoft's plans says: The Verge The company is preparing to release select Xbox games on PS5 and Nintendo Switch. According to several weeks of rumors: hifi rush, sea of thievesEven Bethesda titles star field and indiana jones It may appear on non-Xbox platforms.
The first two games scheduled to appear on rival consoles are: hifi rush and regret, according to sources. Microsoft is also currently planning a release. sea of thieves It's expected to launch on non-Xbox platforms later this year, and other first-party titles are also being considered.
Releasing Xbox games on PlayStation or Nintendo Switch is a huge shift in strategy and not one that Microsoft has taken lightly. This gives Microsoft the opportunity to gain greater access to its games and generate more revenue from its games, but it also carries many risks.
Thanks to the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft's overall gaming business has surpassed Windows in terms of revenue. A massive acquisition valued at $68.7 billion will weigh heavily on Microsoft's mind, especially considering this. call of duty is a massive multi-platform game that generates major revenue across these platforms and mobile. This slowdown in Game Pass is also one of the reasons why Microsoft is considering more multi-platform games.
In May 2022, Microsoft set an ambitious goal of reaching 100 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers by 2030. At the time, the number of Xbox owners able to subscribe to their library of games increased from 18 million to 25 million in 2021. It looks like Microsoft will continue to grow rapidly as it continues to focus on console, PC, and cloud gaming across devices.
Then Xbox Game Pass started crashing. star field and red waterfallwhich was supposed to be a major Xbox exclusive, has been delayed from its 2022 release date to 2023. star field Major holiday periods are missing.
“We will likely see gaps of nearly 16 months between major exclusive launches on our platforms,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in an internal email to Xbox leaders in May 2022. FTC vs. Microsoft example. “This is a truly disastrous situation considering everything our studios have invested in content. [Game Pass] “Content Fund”
In the months since, Microsoft hasn't provided investors with an update on its subscriber numbers. More than two years have passed since the 25 million figure was announced with the Activision Blizzard acquisition, and some analysts estimate that Microsoft only has about 33 million subscribers.
If accurate, it has grown by about 33% in two years. Microsoft had targeted Game Pass subscription growth of 73% for the single fiscal year ending June 2022, but achieved only 28%. The company then halted Xbox Game Pass growth in Satya Nadella's executive compensation goals last year after missing compensation targets for the second straight year, after exceeding ambitious Game Pass internal targets for the first time in 2020.
Instead, Microsoft scaled back some of its Xbox Cloud Gaming plans last year to focus more on growing PC Game Pass. The combination of the Xbox Series S, the effective $299 Game Pass console, and cloud gaming was expected to make up a big chunk of the leaked 100 million Game Pass membership figure. FTC vs. Microsoft But selling Microsoft's latest console doesn't mean the company can succeed alone.
Microsoft has been looking at Xbox Game Pass, a key reason for its Activision Blizzard acquisition, or other ways to grow gaming revenue, especially in the mobile space. The publisher's lineup includes the following mobile games: call of duty mobile, candy crushand Diablo Immortal. A new Xbox mobile games store could launch this year. Microsoft is seeking to force Apple and Google to change the way they distribute apps on mobile devices under the EU's digital markets law, ultimately opening their platforms and stores to competition.
But Apple's surprising new plan to comply with the European Union's latest technology regulations has disappointed Microsoft and others. “Apple's new policy is a step in the wrong direction,” Bond said of Apple's proposal last month. Spencer previously described the Xbox mobile store and the EU's digital marketplace laws as “big opportunities” for Microsoft.
All of this means that adding a bunch of games to the Switch and PS5 won't necessarily help expand Microsoft's ambitions for Xbox. That's why I think Microsoft needs to pay more attention to its future hardware vision.
Microsoft held an internal town hall for Xbox employees last week, with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, Xbox game studio head Matt Booty, and Xbox president Sarah Bond all speaking to employees. Shannon Liao was first to report details about City Hall.
Xbox executives have reassured employees that Xbox hardware will continue, but have not directly addressed the issue of persistent rumors that Xbox exclusives will be coming to Nintendo Switch and PS5.
Even rumors of this move have rattled Xbox fans with fears that Microsoft might eventually retire Xbox console hardware, rendering the digital Xbox library obsolete and publishing games on competing platforms. But after more than two decades of Xbox hardware, it seems inconceivable that Microsoft would suddenly divest from the Xbox platform and its revenue-generating ecosystem of devices. Instead, I think Microsoft's vision will be to distract some Xbox games from heading to competing platforms.
There are whispers of an Xbox handheld. Windows Central'S Jez Corden's claim Earlier this month, it was revealed that “Xbox has literally approved several new hardware projects in the last few weeks.” A few days later, Corden speculated about a potential Xbox handheld, while Spencer liked X's post describing a handheld as “inevitable.” Microsoft has a habit of predicting future hardware. Announcing Project Scorpio at E3 2016, it described it as “the most powerful console ever” before its release on Xbox One X 18 months later.
A discless Xbox Series I dismissed the leak pretty quickly. Since this is an old plan, the hardware may have been cancelled.
Still, without public promises about future hardware, Microsoft could be in trouble. The gradual opening of Xbox games to Nintendo Switch and PS5 also raises the question of how many games will be multiplatform in the future. Why do you want an Xbox if you can play Xbox games anywhere: on your PC, in the cloud, on Nintendo Switch, on PS5, etc.? That's the biggest question Microsoft will have to answer on Thursday.