Phil Spencer said "not every screen is equal" about Xbox Multiplatform Strategy

[fatpunkslim]

I would like to revisit some quotes from Phil Spencer during the recent Xbox Era interview that confirm or clarify Xbox's multiplatform strategy.

And obviously not every screen is equal. Yeah, like there’s certain things we can’t do on the other closed platforms that we can do on open platforms, cloud – it’s different. But games should be the thing that we’re focused on. And the strategy that we have allows us to do big games, while also supporting our native platform from hardware to the platform and services that we have and that’s going to be our approach.

(...)

But yeah, I would love to make all of the money for all of the games that we ship right, like obviously we make more on our own platform. It’s one of the reasons that investing in our own platform is important.

(...)

It’s why us embracing Windows and embracing Cloud has allowed us to grow. One of our fastest growing regions for us right now is Asia and it’s not because we’re selling more consoles in Asia, but through cloud and PC, we’re finding more users year over year than in any other place. The fastest kind of platform is Cloud

To summarize:
Phil Spencer discusses how their strategy is tailored to different types of screens, acknowledging that "not every screen is equal." He explains that their focus is on open platforms like PC and cloud, which are growing rapidly, while also supporting closed platforms like competing consoles on a case-by-case basis. He emphasizes that games are the primary focus of their strategy, allowing for the development of major titles while still supporting in priority their own hardware, services, and platform. (where they more money).

Phil Spencer emphasized in his interview with Destin that not all Xbox games will be available on other consoles.

He also said it a year ago during last year's Xbox Developer Direct about the case-by-case strategy and not to think that, i quote: "these 4 games were a not a sign that everything else will follow, that is not the case."

He reiterated this point during the Xbox Era interview, stating that "not every screen is equal," and explained how their strategy differs depending on the type of platform. He noted that their approach primarily focuses on open platforms like PC and cloud, rather than closed platforms such as competing consoles.

Xbox's strategy is much more nuanced than some believe; it's not all or nothing but somewhere in between. Xbox is aware that they make more money with their own ecosystem, services, and hardware. And They are also aware that it is in their best interest to prioritize open platforms like PC and especially the cloud.

It's logical, what brings the most is PC and cloud, and their own ecosystem, where there are no 30% commissions, as he said in the interview. It's logical that they continue to prioritize their own ecosystem, it's just good business sense.

The mistake often made by some people is to believe that the multiplatform strategy primarily concerns other consoles, but that's false; it mainly concerns growing markets like PC and cloud. As for other consoles, it will be on a case-by-case basis like we can already see and as has been said many times., and for the few games that will be ported to other consoles, these are temporary exclusives, as it seems to be the case: sea of thieves (Exclusive for 8 years), forza horizon 5 (Exclusive for 4 years), etc.... Of course, games that are already multiplatform remain multiplatform, like Call of Duty, Doom, Outer Worlds, etc.

It should be noted that Phil Spencer wants to be more transparent about what will or will not be released on other platforms, as he mentioned in the interview, which is also a good thing and will avoid false speculations.

Source: https://xboxera.com/2025/02/15/xboxera-interviews-phil-spencer/

 

[fatpunkslim]

It's funny, I asked ChatGPT, which I use very little, what it thinks about the media treatment of Xbox's multiplatform strategy.

The media play an important role in the perception of events and company strategies. Clickbait is a common practice to attract visitors, even if it means presenting information in a misleading or sensationalist manner. In the case of Xbox, some media may exaggerate or misinterpret Microsoft's actions to create catchy headlines that generate traffic. However, it is important to rely on facts and official announcements to avoid falling into the clickbait trap. Microsoft has clearly stated that they continue to invest in exclusives for Xbox while exploring other opportunities, particularly with cloud gaming. False information can create confusion and misunderstandings, so it is essential to refer to reliable sources.

It's also funny to see that no media has picked up on the phrase "not every screen is equal," which is quite eloquent, nor on the fact that they continue to invest in their own platform which brings in more revenue, that the multiplatform focus is mainly on the cloud, etc. Everything revolves around competing consoles because that's what gets clicks, even if it means misleading and completely missing what Phil Spencer actually said. That's what attracts PlayStation fanboys and also Xbox fanboys.

 

[fatpunkslim]

If media did their job, you would know that it is the entire console market that is in decline, not just Xbox. According to VGChartz (data from January 2025), the PS5 sold 2 million less units than the PS4. non one talk about that.

If media job did their job, you would know that there is no mid-gen for this generation of consoles, so it's not comparable to talk about console sales. Even though there is indeed a decline, all other things being equal. But with fewer consoles, Xbox generates more revenue than PlayStation ...

If Media did their job, you would know that Xbox has never talked about ending exclusives. Just because they release some games on other platforms doesn't mean it's the case. But of course, clickbait is a must! No one talks about their multiplatform strategy differ between open and closed platform, but it's visibly too complicated to explain. Clickbait should be simple; otherwise, it's no longer clickbait.

If Media did their job, you would know that there are still exclusive games on Xbox, and several are announced. Why do some talk about the end of exclusives as if it were already the case? It will be the case when no one makes exclusives anymore, not before! Attention, I am 100% behind the current multiplatform strategy. I'm just saying that it is more nuanced than some want to make us believe; it's not all or nothing, but something in between! But again, nuance has no place in the current media system.

If Media did their job, you would know that Phil Spencer recently stated on XboxEra that "not every screen is equal" when comparing open platforms like PC and cloud, where they go all-in, and closed platforms where their multiplatform policy is different (case by case). But of course, it contradicts the whole narrative they've been pushing for months, so it's difficult for them to backtrack.

What's funny is that when people finally realize that Xbox continues to announce exclusive games in 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, for the next generation of consoles, they'll say "Oh, Xbox has changed its strategy, they are making exclusive games again"... But actually, they never stopped, they are just doing both at the same time.

Moreover, it's already happening. Count the article and video titles like "Xbox has changed strategy..." Really? Xbox has been making both multiplatform and exclusive games for years now; what's so complicated about understanding that ? The evolution comes simply from the fact that they have many more studios than before, so they are making both more multiplatform games (especially games historically multiplatform from studio acquisitions) AND more exclusive games than before.

If, and I repeat IF, they start releasing games day one on other consoles—which they haven't done until now (except for games that are already multiplatform of course)—I will reconsider my position. But until then, I am convinced their strategy is to maintain a balance.

An interesting test will be Forza Horizon 6. If that game is released day one on other consoles, then I can say I was completely wrong and that Xbox is making a big business mistake by doing so. But I really don't think so because I believe they are smart enough to release Forza Horizon 6 only four years later on other consoles, thereby attracting PS players to the Xbox ecosystem (Game Pass and platform).

Maintaining a balance serves both to support the studios and at the same time to support their own ecosystem (services and hardware), and that's exactly what I understood from the latest Xbox Era interview.

But to understand that, you just need to read the entire interview, simply, and not the media that takes small parts to make clickbait.

Besides, it's funny because this is precisely a topic addressed at the end of Phil Spencer's interview, about media bias and "information" (or misinformation) made for SEO or clickbait.