Microsoft’s Sarah Bond on the future of Xbox: 'It’s not really about any one acquisition'

If Microsoft has committed to anything with Xbox in recent years, it’s the long game. Ever since the PlayStation 4 dominated the Xbox One, the company has withdrawn from reporting console sales, acquired high-profile studios and shifted the brand’s “metric of success” to the numbers for its industry-leading subscription service, Game Pass.

Even with more exclusives coming to the surface, Sarah Bond, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for game creator experience and ecosystem at Xbox, isn’t banking all the company’s hopes on those lifting Game Pass subscriber numbers.

[IamTylerDurden1]

True, it's about several multiplat acquisitions as to why XB is relevant.

ABK
Bethesda
Obsidian
Ninja Theory

Take those devs/pubs and their formerly multiplat IP away and XB is a 3 game publisher like they've been for 20+ years. If u can't make new IP, just buy them. Great for competition though. When we all play we win. Or w/e garble they spew. I have GP but it's still unfortunate for single platform, non GP ppl who enjoy Fallout, TES, Hellblade, Doom, Outer Worlds, Wolfenstein, Crash, Arkane/Tango games etc. But but Stellar Blade.....lol. FoH.

[KeeseToast]

I also use Gamepass, mostly on PC but I also have a Series S.
I would love to have CoD on GP because CoD is way overpriced on PC and most titles are only available on the stupid Activision Launcher.

That being said I strongly oppose the ABK acquisition by Microsoft because it further monopolizes the industry which worse than not having CoD on Gamepass

[Obscure_Observer]

@IamTylerDurden1

I shed a tear for you anticipating the next acquisition by Microsoft.

[IamTylerDurden1]

I guess it means more games for me on Gamepass. Add me Teedurden1. I'm on XB a lot more than PS nowadays so shouldn't be hard to find me. But i'm not a fan this business culture and i fear it will/is poisoning the industry. Also, i would prefer to play some of these games with a Dualsense as opposed to fumbling batteries into a recycled XB1 controller which they call an XB Series pad. See Deathloop, Ghostwire etc. Really much better with the superior PS controller. Plus, as we see with Ghostwire it runs worse on the bloated XB hardware. Tflops and all. But yeah. You got me..

[Sonic1881]

The biggest issue is that they have no Japanese studio or support. Microsoft only cares about the western market

[Lightning77]

Yeah Stellar Blade for the millionth time was announced to the World as multiplat. Future Wolfenstein games etc going for won't be announced for PS because they own them. If they announce Wolfenstein as a multiplat then said sike it's only on Xbox and PC then you'd have an argument. That's the the difference between Wolfenstein etc and Stellar Blade. One was announced to the world then taken away something like Redfall was not. MS Owns Sony doesn't own. You get it?

How many times do I have have to put this dumb narrative to sleep?

[Extermin8or3_]

Stellar blade was a cancelled until.sonnycame along and supported the dev.... as I understand it.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Like how Arkane and Bethesda admitted to scrapping in development versions Redfall and Starfield for PS? Your disagrees speak volumes.

[Lightning77]

The game got cancelled the moment Sony showed it off for PS5. They took over funding and rid of the announced Xbox version.

[wiz7191]

@Tyler I’m all against MS buying up all multi platform studios and what not .. but we not going to act like MS is the only one buying up could of been multi platform studios , Sony did the same thing bruh. Guerrilla made multi platforms games before being bought , insomniac was going the multi platform route before being bought by Sony , let’s not forget Bungie was a multi platform studio. Housemarque was making games for PC at first and their first console games was a original Xbox exclusive also was a multi platform studio lol and for Naughty Dog their top studio was founded in 1984 and was purchased in 2001 , that’s 17 years of not being owned by Sony. Lol Sucker Punch started out with a 64 game , and was founded by ex Microsoft employees.

[outsider1624]

"Sony did the same thing bruh. Guerrilla made multi platforms games before being bought , insomniac was going the multi platform route before being bought by Sony , let’s not forget Bungie was a multi platform studio. Housemarque was making games for PC at first and their first console games was a original"
I mean true Sony did the same thing, but i dont think anyone cared for them before they were bought. What stellar games did they make that was highly critical and successful.?

Meanwhile MS straight up bought the entire studios..which ironically were successful on playstation. Point to note though...i dont care much. Since MS wants to be in the game this way...then..go ahead. Its all they can ever do.

[DarXyde]

I should comment on this...

"Guerrilla made multi platforms games before being bought"

Guerilla also does not make any of those games anymore. Not a single IP since then is made today. They were almost bought by Eidos, so I see it as someone was going to acquire them.

"Insomniac was going the multi platform route before being bought by Sony"

They tried to anyway. SSO was a lot of fun, but a commercial failure. Fuse was not great either. I think it's a very fair point that Sony brings out the best in Insomniac, though we can say that's subjective.

"let’s not forget Bungie was a multi platform studio."
As I understand it, they still are. They are Sony-owned, but Sony had stated publicly that they will remain independent and free to publish their games wherever they want. That might change, but at the moment, that's what we have to go on. I should add that, for no other acquisition was this made so explicitly clear—that includes Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony's other acquisitions.

"Housemarque was making games for PC at first and their first console games was a original Xbox exclusive also was a multi platform studio lol"

HM is still making PC games, FYI. For the Xbox title, I remember TW Snowboarding. Pretty sure another one can be made without HM because they don't own the rights to that IP. That's a famous (albeit now defunct) magazine that licensed the game to the publisher that key HM develop the game. Not really a loss.

"For Naughty Dog their top studio was founded in 1984 and was purchased in 2001 , that’s 17 years of not being owned by Sony."

ND's history pre-acquisition is developing for PC, Apple, and 3DO. They also were not acquired until moving beyond Crash Bandicoot. Seems like they left everything pre-acquisition on the table and moved into creating who they are today.

"Sucker Punch started out with a 64 game , and was founded by ex Microsoft employees."

I vaguely remember SP going to Sony with ideas before being acquired and that led to the acquisition.

Generally, I frown upon acquisitions. But in the storied history of these acquisitions, I don't see any publishers. Microsoft has acquired two in the last 5 years, which I really don't understand how that's allowed. Ninja Theory, Playground, fair enough, makes sense. Publishers, though?

Crazier things, I suppose.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Lol.

I was waiting for someone to mention GG. They made what? A critical and commercial flop for Ubisoft literally 20 years ago. Stretch that into the same thing as Bethesda and ABK. Bruh...

Insomniac? Known for what? Resistence, R&C, Spidey. They dabbled in unsuccessful multiplats twice out of how many non VR releases 15 maybe? More? Over the past 25 years? You wanna go back to Spyro?

Housemarque? I'll help u, they made a game maybe 15 yrs ago for Ubisoft on XB. What have they done since? Weak, weak, spin. Weak. To act like Insomniac, GG lol, and Housemarque are the same as friggin Bethesda? ABK? Even Obsidian is silly. ABK and Thesda aren't studios (Bethesda is both kinda, i'd say Zeni but it's not as easily recognized) they are pubs with over a dozen combined multiplat devs, probably more. Obsidian, ABK, Bethesda make multiplat games. Period. The rare timed deal but their games are essentially all multiplat. They were 15 yrs ago, they are now. This totally different. What meaningful multiplat IP did Insomiac, HM, and GG's acquisition take from gamers? NAME ONE.

[wiz7191]

Idc about non of that goalpost move nonsense , it doesn’t change the fact .. it’s studios that were open for yeeeaaaarrrsss before begging bought by Sony. Idc what the prior work was or non of that , they didn’t nurture them from the start. Sony fans has a bunch of excuses but try to down play the next , just because half the gamers were still sipping on their mother nipples to even remember doesn’t change the fact.

[IamTylerDurden1]

343

I have Gamepass bruh. Playing Loop Hero rn. Teedurden1. I love GP. You got the wrong one. Hard on MLB, Atomic Heart, Loop Hero atm. I enjoy my XB, have from OG to 360 to 360 Elite to....XB1 was trash...to XB Series. I'm not afraid to be honest. Sorry.

[Lightning77]

Redfall was Never announced to the world that it was coming to PS5. So how can you take away a game that it was never announced for?

You're using downvotes to see if I'm right or wrong? Wow really? I'm getting downvoted because there's more Sony fanboys such as yourself upvoting dumb fanboy takes and downvoting takes that are none fanboy takes. (takes that makes sense)

It's common knowledge you know that. Stop pretending it's otherwise you know it's not.

[XxSPIDEYxX]

"Even with more exclusives coming to the surface" LOL

[XiNatsuDragnel]

So snatch devs to make comtemption right?

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Yea more spelling games you can play.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Lol 😆 🤣 off topic I got taught by a dragon so...

[Terry_B]

Its about releasing good games #thecompetition

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

If $500 million in Xbox’s hands can’t make a Halo game, then can $80 billion make a gaming ecosystem for them?

I’m expecting them to ruin what they buy, not support it for the better, like “the competition”.

[Terry_B]

yes.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

Yeah, probably… albeit it might just lower the bar for the entire industry when they decline.

[IamTylerDurden1]

There is precedent. Rare, Lionhead, 343, The Initiative, Undead. All faded or are in the toilet atm. Halo and Gears are shells of what they were. Ninja Theory's first post acquisition game was Bleeding Edge. Even Remedy was a bust with MS bar AW. They haven't had a big successful new IP in near 20 yrs unless u count FH. MS sucks at publishing. They suck. Point blank. Proof in the pudding. Crytek almost died making an exclusive for them. Platinum dev literally almost did. ReCore? Crackdown was good, wtf was CD3? MS sucks a making games. Period.

[TheEnigma313]

what MS is doing will backfire. All in due time

[Christopher]

The only way it will backfire is if someone steps in and breaks them up. But then Microsoft will argue that everyone else should be broken up as well. Microsoft has the lobbying and the money to ruin it for others, so it likely won't backfire as it would break the industry, but they'll get what they want anyway.

[Jin_Sakai]

The problem is that Microsoft are notoriously bad at running first party studies and for all we know Activision could fall apart under Microsoft just like 343i.

Redfall a “FPS” running at 30fps on a Series X “the worlds most powerful console” will be launching soon.

Ghostwire Tokyo a game coming from a first party Microsoft studio somehow runs much better on PS5.

We’re still playing Minecraft through BC on current gen consoles. No 4K, no 120fps, no SDGP, and no Ray tracing. But hey, we got Minecraft Legends.

I’ll never understand what’s going on over at Xbox studios.

[Christopher]

@Jin_Sakai: The hope is that Microsoft stays out of development entirely and just keeps the companies doing their thing and with their own management. Similar to how Bethesda has operated so far as it seems some others have as well. But time will tell.

But, if Microsoft buys up more publishers, I hope there is a push to separate the publishing from the hardware at the least. It's obviously competing with money to push out hardware via purchase options and they themselves have said the future is in Game Pass, not in hardware. So, do it or get broken up. At least that's my take.