Xbox Boss Phil Spencer On Series X Launch, Halo Infinite & Bethesda

There’s nothing normal about interviewing Xbox chief Phil Spencer these days.

[-Foxtrot]

“Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don’t sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?” I asked.

“Yes,” Spencer quickly replied.

Then he paused.

“I don’t want to be flip about that,” he added. “This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: ‘How do we keep other players from playing these games?’ We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games."

All I'm going to say about this situation is if he does make any of these big games complete exclusives then he'll become a huge hypocrite and a bullshit liar. We'll always revert to this...and remember this is around the time he was reacting to Sony and their exclusives earlier this year.

"“Gaming is bigger than any one device"

"and I find it completely counter to what gaming is about to say that part of that is to lock people away from being able to experience those games”

https://www.nme.com/news/ga...

So it's your move Phil...be careful what you do next. However considering the rambling he does in this interview, after the initial quoted statement above, it seems like he has no idea.

[crazyCoconuts]

He was noncommittal in his answer, which is certainly his right. He's bounced around on a number of topics and says whatever tells the best story at the time - that's just the expectation at this point, no biggie.
By the time there's an Elder Scrolls he and his team will look at the landscape and see where the money is and what the appetite is to take more losses to increase the base, and they'll make the call at that time. No harm in keeping us guessing until then. Honestly I'm surprised he doesn't just say they'll be exclusive right now in hopes to grow the base short term. He can always change his mind later.

[Mr Pumblechook]

Essentially this means the games aren't coming to PlayStation.

A person with a journalism qualification and some INTEGRITY would have pushed Phil Spencer on this, instead, we got an easy Q&A that was more like a PR press release. When news broke that Avengers on PS4 would get an exclusive Spider-Man costume RESET ERA and the BROKEN GAMES MEDIA had a meltdown and said it was anti-consumer, but THIS! These anticipated multi-format games that have sold best on PlayStation - and the media says NOTHING.

[Obscure_Observer]

@Mr Pumblechook

"These anticipated multi-format games that have sold best on PlayStation - and the media says NOTHING."

IGN´s Sydnee Goodman would like a word with you. ;)

[crazyCoconuts]

No, that's not what he said. you have to read carefully. He answered the specific question, and then continued to say that the intent isn't to restrict where the games can be played. It's completely noncommittal, but if you had to tease meaning out of it, he's saying they COULD still make money by making games exclusive, but don't plan on doing that. All of this could change at the toss of a dime though

[Kyizen]

He did right...a non-committal answer will sell Xbox system at launch but when these games come out in 2 or 3 years and if the install base for PS5 is high I am sure they will be timed Xbox Exclusives but will still come out for PS5 or MS is leaving a lot of money on the table.

[bouzebbal]

Minecraft is still multi platform.. You guys need to move on to something else

[UltraNova]

Personally speaking they can make all Bethesda games exclusive to Xbox and PC, it's their property now and they can do whatever they want with it. Do I like it? No. Do I care, no. Plenty of games out there to play and don't forget Obsidian proved that you can challenge a stronghold if you have the drive and talent to do it(OW vs Fallout) so who knows someone might challenge Elder scrolls in the future.

[lalalala]

@Mr Pumblechook - Totally not what he said. The question was can Microsoft make their money back if the games were exclusive to Xbox, to which he replied "yes". Because that's true, it would take longer but they would make their money back eventually.

The question wasn't will Bethesda games be Xbox-exclusive, I don't think they will be because of the rest of his answer.

[SyntheticForm]

Completely agreed.

They'll keep their eyes on the landscape, and if releases on PlayStation are deemed necessary, then there you have it.

But, do I expect Microsoft to release their games on PlayStation? No, I don't. I don't think putting games on PlayStation was part of the vision before and when they acquired Bethesda. But, I do think that enticing gamers to go to Xbox was. Look at the timing of the announcement; right before the pre-orders.

They're not looking to release Elder Scrolls and Starfield on PlayStation and why would they? Microsoft now own Bethesda, and they're not going to be merciful. This should be apparent by the fact that they just *purchased* Bethesda.

I'm only observing here, and these aren't my wishes.

[Abracadabra]

Likely timed exclusives, later on bring them to other platforms.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Doubtful. PC is a bigger platform than PS...then there is GamePass/mobile.

[Christopher]

***PC is a bigger platform than PS***

Not for profits, it isn't. PC ends up winning total copies sold in the long run after years of the games on sale. But, consoles see way more at release purchases than PC. Example: The Witcher 3 saw a first year 30/70 split between PC and console, most of that 70 split was on PS4. But, in 2020, it's 12m PC 10.8m PS4, 4.3m Xbox. Revenue declines and 2019 was the greatest year of sales for PC, pulling in about 5m of those sales digitally on PC.

The majority of revenue on PC come from GaaS/MMO designed games that flourish on PC. But, with those becoming more popular on consoles as well, analysts predict a continued decline in PC revenues and increase on console with mobile gaming growing more rapidly than both console and PC through 2023.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

I didn't know I was taking about profits Christopher. I was talking about userbase...and as I said if PS users want to play exclusive Microsoft Bethesda games they will have to play on PC, buy an Xbox, or subscribe to GamePass. Money is money. PS is usually capped at 100+ millions users by year 7-10. PC has 100s of millions users right now.

[Christopher]

***I was talking about userbase***

If your platform isn't creating profits but others are, AAA developers don't care about the size of your userbase when it comes to priorities. Kind of the same way the Android userbase is the biggest, but games go to iOS before Android.

***and as I said if PS users want to play exclusive Microsoft Bethesda games they will have to play on PC, buy an Xbox, or subscribe to GamePass. ***

Phil literally just said the opposite. He answered the hypothetical and followed it up directly with "This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: ‘How do we keep other players from playing these games?’ We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games."

[darthv72]

Let me ask you this Fox (and anyone who cares to answer). If they stick to their word and release these games on other platforms (like PS5)... would you buy them knowing you are ultimately supporting MS or will you still hold a grudge (not you specifically but those who hold a grudge against anything MS)???

[343_Guilty_Spark]

He'll be the first in line.

[purple101]

Depend on if there actually good games.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Besthesda almost always has good games that sell tons so what are we taking about?

[franwex]

Yes. They will hold a grudge.

Also, some 15 years into the future with Elder Scrolls 7 (if it’s a Microsoft exclusive) I guarantee they will refer back to this quote and bitch on to why is not coming out on PS7 too because it was supposedly promised.

[ziggurcat]

I will still buy the game(s) if I am interested in it/them, but I don't believe that they will release unannounced games on PS. Would be shocked if the next Fallout or Wolfenstein makes its way to PS, but I honestly don't believe Phil when he said the deal wasn't meant to take games away from other player bases as they've already said that the multiplatform thing basically only applies to already-announced/released games.

[P_Bomb]

“If they stick to their word and release these games on other platforms (like PS5)... would you buy them knowing you are ultimately supporting MS”

Personally I haven’t bought a single Bethesda game all gen. I have paid a fair bit to keep my kids topped up in Minecraft and Roblox though. They’re currently playing Among Us on iPad. My daughter mains on PC. No beef with MS.

The worst customer service I’ve had is actually with Rockstar for GTAV online. I’d happily sub to GamePass before dropping another cent in that. We won the casino car but never got it, I took a video, they keep replying with derp all responsibility. Horrible QA/customer retention.

[Sunny_D]

Why would anyone stop buying a game from a developer that was always multiplatform? Just because it’s owned by MS, doesn’t mean I stop buying it. MS is a trillion dollar company, they aren’t starving for my money. My purchase wouldn’t do anything to make them any richer than they already are.

[outsider1624]

"If they stick to their word and release these games on other platforms (like PS5) would you buy them knowing you are ultimately supporting MS"

Hell yeah i would. Depending on the type of game and a good one at that(say Elder Scroll 6), I'd buy it. Which also means i don't have to buy an Xbox for ES6.
So I'd say thankyou to MS.

[jznrpg]

I would buy ES6 but if it’s worse than Skyrim I’m done with them (Bethesda)

[gamer9]

"Gaming is bigger than any one device", exactly - Xbox and PC lol

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Didn't you all say y'all wanted Xbox to have great exclusives so it would justify getting an Xbox.

You can always play on your turbo charged PC.

No worries!

More than likely the games will be GamePass, PC, Xbox, and certain Samsung Refrigerators. Don't worried you're covered.

[RazzerRedux]

"You can always play on your turbo charged PC."

Very true. For PC gamers like me, this is no loss at all. But it is also no gain. Microsoft is providing no more and no less games to PC gamers than they were before. Does this somehow improve Microsoft's portfolio of first party games as far as I'm concerned? Nope.

[ziggurcat]

"Didn't you all say y'all wanted Xbox to have great exclusives so it would justify getting an Xbox."

Uh huh... and they could do that by building studios internally or creating secondary/tertiary teams within their existing studios to focus on new IPs instead of stealing games away from other platforms.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Sony didn't build Insomniac.

[ziggurcat]

Not a valid comparison. Nothing was being taken away from Xbox/PC owners with Insomniac's acquisition.

[aconnellan]

@zigg

You could argue it removes the possibility of Xbox ever seeing a sequel to Sunset Overdrive

[ChasterMies]

Spencer has a public persona of being every gamer’s friend. Microsoft needed that after the disastrous E3 in 2013. Make no mistake about Spencer’s intentions. He will always do what is best for Microsoft.

[Fishy Fingers]

Isnt that the point? What might be best could be shifting millions of extra copies of ES6 on PS5.

But who knows its their choice, they own it, they have the luxury to do doing what they want, when they want and they're not going to make those decisions, let alone make them public, now.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Should he do what's best for Sony?

[Critic4l_Strik3]

He already is a huge hypocrite and bullshit liar...

[Atticus_finch]

The disagrees are hilarious.

[Sol4ris]

Not quite the snake oil salesman that Jim Ryan is but close enough (unfortunately).
You probably don't know who Ryan is, otherwise you wouldn't call Spencer a hipocrite nor a bullshit liar.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Now now you still have Minecraft

No need to be angry

[ElementX]

When Phil talked about "locking people away", I think he was referring to releasing all games exclusively on next-gen at launch instead of having cross gen support for a while.

"Xbox Series X is the most powerful console out there and it will have absolutely the best versions of OUR CONSOLE GAMES. But that's not to exclude other people from being able to play.

"Sorry, I am a bit soapboxy with this one. Gaming is about entertainment and community and diversion and learning new stories and new perspectives, and I find it completely counter to what gaming is about to say that part of that is to lock people away from being able to experience those games. Or to force someone to buy my specific device on the day that I want them to go buy it, in order to partake in what gaming is about. "

https://www.gamesindustry.b...

People take what he said out of context without reading the preceding paragraph, where he says "our console games"

[Atom666]

Their other favorite is when he talks about not liking 3rd party/timed deals.

It started when he tried to talk about how deals like Tomb Raider aren't his focus, instead wanting to build 1st party content. Any timed deal after that made him a liar.

Then when talking about his dislike of exclusive DLC, his position again gets twisted anytime there's any kind of 3rd party deal.

Yet many of the biggest critics gleefully point out how PS nets more 3rd party deals. They don't say a word about their favorite platform doing these deals and how its leaders never speak about how lame it is -- but instead embrace it.

So they twist his words and then cry foul if Xbox dares to try to hedge off Sony from gaining even more paid deals.

I just don't know what they want. The dude is honest and says he doesn't like a certain practice, recognizes it's hypocritical to some extent, and talks about the importance of doing some of those types of deals at times.

But anything short of allowing Sony to do 100% of the deals makes him a liar?

[--Onilink--]

He didnt ramble, he was asked if they can recoup the 7.5 billion by not launching bethesda games on the ps5, he said yes, they dont need to do it.

If he was asked if they can make more money by also launching on the ps5 the answer might have been different, it might have been the same, who knows?

His reply is no different than before, it will be a case by case basis and even then, knowing that keeping it “exclusive” means that it will still be playable on PC and xCloud.

Its not really that hard to understand, some games will be exclusive, some wont be, thats it

[Obscure_Observer]

"All I'm going to say about this situation is if he does make any of these big games complete exclusives then he'll become a huge hypocrite and a bullshit liar."

You called him a bullshit liar many times. You never gave him credit for anything; and NOW that he has the games that you want, he suddenly should give a F* about you and what you think? Hilarious!

[NEXUS-6]

You know Bethesda make shit games - right? You also must know that Bethesda will try and charge gamepass subscribers a yearly fee to access content in Starfield and ES6.

I made a few assumptions right there - but if you seriously think that is above Bethesda, you really don't know how shit of a company they are.

It just works.

[Sol4ris]

@-Foxtrot

**All I'm going to say about this situation is if he does make any of these big games complete exclusives then he'll become a huge hypocrite and a bullshit liar. We'll always revert to this...and remember this is around the time he was reacting to Sony and their exclusives earlier this year.**

I have never been in the exclusive games bull**it and really hope that Microsoft will not make ES and Starfield exclusives.

But, I would love to see the inevitable epic meltdown from the super- hipocritical Sony fanboys like yourself if that's not the case. 😂😂

[Atom666]

Shoot, I'm already laughing at the flip flopping.

"Exclusives are the most important part of gaming! Xbox has no gamez!!"

A month later...

"It doesn't make financial sense for MS to make these games exclusive"

[gamer7804]

Technically it would be cheaper for ps only players to purchase gamespass ultimate and play all the Bethesda games... it’s clear MS isn’t releasing the games on ps4, so yah seems like you are the only one without a clue

[dumahim]

Yeah, hypocrite, but did anyone really expect differently? They've been absolutely torched for their lack of exclusives. I think he knows very well that needed to change and he's been taking steps to do it. I just don't expect him to admit he was wrong about it his other comments. It seems to be the MS way. Only talk the positives. I think he's doing the right thing for Xbox with this move, even if I don't particularly like it as a gamer for myself.

[DeadManMMX]

Since I own all consoles I’m all for it. They can’t afford to keep playing nice while Sony runs around and spends money to specifically keep games like Final Fantasy and Street Fighter off Xbox for years at a time. He can’t continue singing Kumbaya while Sony plays by its own set of rules. Make people come to your platform.

[spicelicka]

Lol Jesus Christ control keep your shorts on. They're bringing the games to PC and mobile (via gamepass) = more player base.

"huge hypocrite and a bullshit liar. We'll always revert to this". You sound like a child honestly, I'm sure he cares a lot about your tantrum.

Surely there are more people with smartphones than PS5s so you're wrong anyhow.

[Abracadabra]

If those games don't arrive on PS5, don't worry... all Playstation gamers have gaming PC's to play them (that's what they claim).

[DEEHULK88]

Most Playstation gamers said that they have PCs anyway, so this shouldn't be an issue.....unless they were 🤥🤔. Get Xcloud/gamepass/ PC if you want to play and it's as simple as that. They are no obligated to release anything on Playstation just because you want them to. Little spoiled gamers

[DiRtY]

Well, post the whole paragraph then!

„But I’ll also say in the model—I’m just answering directly the question that you had—when I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us. „

[lelo2play]

Purchase a Xbox.
Problem solved.

[Tedakin]

I don't think Phil ever said first party exclusives are bad and I hate to break it to you, all Bethesda games are now first party Xbox games, the same way Uncharted and God of War are first party Sony games.

[porkChop]

He wouldn't be a hypocrite. He isn't locking games to one platform. Xbox, PC, and xCloud allow pretty much anyone to play their games wherever they want. You don't spend 7.5 billion to continue releasing games on your biggest direct competitor.

[Profchaos]

Deliberate mixed messaging. I think we will see these games be timed exclusive releases elder scrolls, fallout, doom and Wolfenstein are the biggest franchises Bethesda own and beloved by many.
Ms basically has no obligation to release the games in every platform but one of id tech foundation's was always to push tech on all platforms that includes all consoles. Ms has also never been against multiplatform games where it makes sense.

So we have zero idea what will actually happen and probably won't for another few years at this stage we will still be getting Doom enternal on ps5 and switch and deathloop but after that anyones guess is valid.

At least we won't have to buy a Xbox console to play their games with everything coming to PC doom and Wolfenstein just feel better on PC with my preference being fallout on a console I'll adjust to PC in the worst case

[Profchaos]

@Mr Pumblechook
Unfortunately if you push Phil or anyone in Microsoft you get on a blacklist ala angry Joe he pushed on the original X1 design and got excluded from all future Ms promotions.

[agnosticgamer]

No offense... But you don't buy a Publisher for $7.5B then release every single game multi-platform to include competing platforms. To think otherwise you are an idiot.

After the current wave of Zenimax games are released / and contracts honored you will see probably 90% of their games go into the Xbox echo-system of Xbox/PC Game-pass / Win10 / android and X cloud. Which according to Sony Fanboys wouldn't make them exclusive and they can enjoy them on PC.

I'm sure the Sony fanboys who also attack Xbox for not having enough... or enough quality 1p games wont really have any sway. Your post obviously means they now have an F-ton of possible quality 1p exclusive games in their stable so I guess this would be mission accomplished? And with MS CEO sayta Nedella saying they aren't done you can probably brace yourself for more acquisitions.

These moves also aren't just aimed at Sony... But also Amazon, Google and Apple. All of which companies could make major Publisher / Studio purchases to gain a foothold into their expanded ambitions in gaming.

To say these moves are only Sony related... Means someone has a serious case of tunnel vision and isn't paying attention to other GIGANTIC companies that could swallow up major publishers. This is about securing the future of Xbox and Xbox Game Pass because they are substantially increasing the amount of high quality games that will only appear on their subscription service.

[Atom666]

Fanboys will be prepared to call him a liar no matter what, but he's being pretty clear. Their games are available on console via Xbox, PC, and mobile through xcloud. What more do you really think they need to do here? They're the most platform agnostic of the big 3.

As others pointed out, quote him in full. Those big Bethesda IPs are going exclusive.

I know armchair financial analysts can talk about how trillion-dollar MS should try to make a few hundred million on PS sales, but they really don't care.

[jznrpg]

He’s already a hypocrite and liar but yeah he will be a bigger one

[StarLink]

He won't be a hypocrite if they don't come to PS. Since they aren't exclusives either way they are on Xbox, PC and mobile. So try again. But but but....BUT nothing they aren't exclusives.

[TranceHop]

“Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don’t sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?”

Phil Spencer: Yes.

Mic drop lol.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Is he lying? If PC gamers want a Bethesda game they have options....one which they always bring up is "I'll play on PC"....good that means MS makes money...or buy on Xbox that platform that supposedly won't have any games.

Or GamePass. PS users will have many options to play good games.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

PS Users*

[RazzerRedux]

Uh....usually people stop talking after a "mic drop".

[TranceHop]

@RazzerRedux It’s a mic drop for me personally. I’ve been waiting for Phil to say this all along.

[Father__Merrin]

There's no mic drop untill we officially hear no more Bethesda games on playstation which won't be the case. Your setting yourself up for utter dissapointment. At the moment all we have is individuals who personally dont want elder scrolls on the PlayStation that's all

[TranceHop]

@ Father__Merrin U mad bro? Lol

[Ghostbob]

He has to say that! recouping a $7.5 billion investment is not going to happen with pc and game pass alone and how is xcloud doing right now? As it is now out of beta but casual gamers are not talking about it only the hardcore!

[yomfweeee]

Was there any new information in this interview? I didn't see any.

[chiefJohn117]

I see sequels being Multiplat (potentially timed exclusives or dlc exclusive) with new ip being exclusive. It's not right to make a Multiplat sequel exclusive

[CoolcypherX]

It’s hard to tell what Phil is going to do. He may or may not make them exclusives

[Sonyslave3]

Sony did it with street fighter 5 and ff7 remake hell they doing with ff16 and make it worse i remember reading articles about sony going to every 3rd party trying to buy time exclusive or full.

[RedDevils]

Do xbox User play Final fantasy or any JRPG answer are probably 90% NO

[MellauxGMNG]

@reddevils Where did you get those "statistics" from? lol

[Father__Merrin]

The main Bethesda games will be on PlayStation it's impossible for xbox console to be in a commanding lead in a few years time. Most people will have playstations it wouldn't make any sense. Bethesda already came out and said they are still the same company and retain self publishing.

It's possible Microsoft will publish themselfs xbox version of Starfield for eg with exclusive items or expansions releasing first. But Bethesda will publish to the rest as normal

[Jericho1337]

A few things wrong with this - 1) surely one of the main reasons for buying Bethesda is to prevent PlayStation gaining a commanding lead by making their games exclusive? 2) while PlayStation is the most popular gaming platform right now, I’d say there’s enough of a market on PC and Xbox to buy their games. 3) Bethesda self publishing doesn’t really mean much - they ultimately report to Microsoft now and they will have the final say.

[ziggurcat]

“This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that."

Uh... yeah it was, Phil. There'd be no need to say he'd take things on a case by case basis if that wasn't his intention. He's lying through his teeth here.

[Valkron1]

No. He is just listening to all the Sony fan boys who said all they need is a PS5, a PC, and maybe a Switch. Don't you worry, Phil can still take your money without ever putting anything on PS5. But you might need to fork over $70 for just the base game if and when they do publish games on PS5. You will just be paying more for a stripped down version 🤣

[Futureshark]

$7.5 billion is alot of cheddar even in MS large cheque book.

If the return isn't made in the expected time then heads will roll. Lots and lots and lots of Gamepass subs required, but surely that avenue must be reaching saturation, so how else are Xbox division going to make their money back without publishing on other platforms.
Not much profit on hardware sales, even with that proprietary drive expansion included.
So Phil, what makes you so sure?

[jukins]

Yea im puzzled how eliminating almost 50% and some cases above, of you potential customer base makes it easier to recoup 7.5 billion.

[Fishy Fingers]

They paid $8.5b for Skype, a company that was losing money yearly. What makes you think there is any rush to recoup? They're a multi-channel trillion dollar company. They can afford to play the long game if they choose.

[jukins]

Lol fanboys much? Because clearly you missed the EASIER part of my comment. But continue on. Not to mention Skype is dead in 2021. . .

[RedDevils]

Sound like you saying MS is on it way making yet another big mistake after another and skype is an example. I wonder do they even want to repeat that same mistake?

[Valkron1]

I can give you a hint. It's new markets. Maybe he doesn't need to convert the Sony fan base when there are a billion people in India who all have cell phones and xCloud within reach. I love owning consoles and PCs, but there is an ocean of users who don't need any additional devices to pay to play

[Euthanasia]

Phil been giving y’all hints since it’s been announced some people just can’t get it. Once the deal is done there will be exclusive to Xbox eco. Can’t say nothing now because of PS timed exclusive. You can’t tell the public that Ghost n Death loop Won’t see a part 2 on PS until there timed is up. That’s a breach of contract.

[ziggurcat]

I've said this since the day the deal was announced. Currently-released/announced games will remain multi, but all unannounced titles won't be. That means the next Wolfenstein, Fallout, etc.. won't be coming to other platforms other than Xbox/PC.

I'm even skeptical of TE6 and Starfield. I wanna say that announced those games on stage during MS's E3 presentation, but I could be wrong on that.

[Ghostbob]

For fuck sake this guy does more interviews than a Russian prostitute dose!🙆‍♀️!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!🙆‍♂️!!!!!

[Jericho1337]

Isn’t that a good thing? How often does the president of PlayStation do interviews??

[Manic2014]

Over here, since its for Xbox, it's not a good thing lol

[jahcure]

you all realize elder scrolls 6 is at least 5 years away right...the game hasn't even begun development. They are just wrapping up Elder Scrolls Online and it's most of the same team.

If xsx is anywhere close to ps5 numbers, sure it can be exclusive, but 5 years in, if it's anything like the ps4 to xox battle, they would be pretty insane to leave it on one platform.

[MellauxGMNG]

"you all realize elder scrolls 6 is at least 5 years away right...the game hasn't even begun development. They are just wrapping up Elder Scrolls Online and it's most of the same team."

You'd think from reading this that you work on the game lol, whered you get all this info about the games release date and development schedule??

[Tedakin]

I'll say it again... if Sony had bought Bethesda, do any of you honestly believe they would put Elder Scrolls and others on Xbox? They would require you to play on their platform. It's such a double standard. And to anyone who says "Well MS needs Sony's huge player base." MS puts their games on Windows and Steam, Sony does not. The base for Windows, Steam, Xbox and now Android combined dwarf's Sony.

[galmi]

you arent allowed to make sense here or say something positive about MS

[jukins]

Eh even as I say over and over it makes no sense to eliminate such a large customer, at the same time you just gotta expect that these games to ultimately be some kind of exclusive to xbox/pc.

This will just result in either sony either countering with their own elder scrolls like series or an even more economical move would be to secure exclusivity of the big jrpgs that sell just as well as any elder scrolls.

[Valkron1]

Why wait? Sony should just start on their Elder Scrolls killer now. Might be done by the time the PS5 Pro comes out, lmao! They should already be working on Haze 2 by now, that should be out before Halo Infinite

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

Minecraft is still multiplatform and so is Wasteland 3. I suspect that Microsoft will try to sell as many copies of games as possible, but I do expect them to have timed exclusivity for extra content and dlc.

[DiRtY]

Minecraft was multiplat before, Wasteland 3 was announced before. Every future InXile game will be exclusive though.

Same with Bethesda. Already announced games will be multiplat or even times PS5 exclusive. Every new game won’t be on PlayStation.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

Well I don't really care because I have a gaming PC, but if games like Wolfenstein or Fallout go full exclusive to Xbox/PC, that's going to suck for alot of people.

[Hitman007]

Wow people are not bitter or nothin ehhhhh lol
Its a business people maybe some should come back to reality and out of there parents basement to see how the world works 💰💰💰

[mrsolidsteel20]

So you he states he doesn’t need to put the Bethesda catalog on other platforms to recoup the 7.5 billion. That’s going to be interesting to see if the Xbox consoles and PC is going to be enough to try to get a little of bit of that portion back of that huge number.

But he also states MS didn’t just purchase Zenimax/Bethesda to keep it tied to just the Xbox ecosystem. So does that mean they will potentially be open to bring certain Bethesda titles over to Nintendo and Sony?

Like always we have to take what Phil say with a grain of salt.

[gold_drake]

again lol People are overestimating Bethesda games. their two main franchises are Fallout and ESO
lets not fool ourselves and believe that locking out PS player will be beneficial for them.

Bethesda was a Multiplatform Game company. you cannot just make them exclusively to one or two platforms.

[DiRtY]

Well, MS is doing it. I guess they can.

[pedrof93]

Doom is pretty big now too.

[Valkron1]

Halo was going to be exclusive to Apple Macs. Things change 🤣

[anast]

It doesn't matter SX or premium graphics cards will be much cheaper by the time ES6 comes out. I'll pick up one of the two when the game drops.

[pedrof93]

I feel that Microsoft found its interest in the gaming world, there is clearly a focus on Xbox division than ever before. For that I'll be trying SX this gen, I have a feeling that I won't be disaponted, the Gamepass is a great deal to play the few Xone exclusives that I missed. I'm excited :D

[arminukxbox]

Nobody cried when Sony made Spider-Man exclusive to PlayStation stop being baby about Skyrim not coming to PlayStation 5 btw I tho PlayStation player own the pc too so don’t worry it will come out on pc too

[Tankbusta40]

Microsoft bought the studios to help them gain exclusives since that's what most people consider when buying a console.

Sony supporters have been screaming for years about their "access" to the best games...

Microsoft buy Zenimax to help tip the scales in their favor...

Sony Supporters "MAH BETHESDA GAMES BETTER STILL BE ON PS5 OR PHIL IS A LIAR"

some people are nuts...

[goldwyncq]

People who believe MS is willing to spend 7.5 billion dollars just to put their games into the competition’s console must be smoking some serious shit.

[Darthpaul84]

I don’t see them supporting other consoles on a regular basis. They are in a great position having the backing of ms that they don’t have to try and make back the 7.5 billion as fast as possible. The Bethesda deal is a long term investment in the Xbox echo system and could start paying off as soon as next year. When the acquisition is finalized they are gonna give a more definitive answer I’m sure but you can rest assured they didn’t pay 7.5 billion $ to let Sony or Nintendo get a 20% cut of each copy sold on their platform.