Updates on the Xbox Business | Official Xbox Podcast

Summary

In this episode of The Official Xbox Podcast, host Tina Amini is joined by Phil, Sarah, and Matt to discuss the latest updates at Xbox. They delve into the topic of game exclusivity, explaining that while Xbox remains committed to its core strategy, they will be releasing four older titles on other consoles to grow their franchises. The team emphasizes the importance of the long-term health of Xbox, which includes growing the platform, reaching more players, and supporting creators. They also touch on the Activision Blizzard acquisition and its impact on Game Pass, highlighting the upcoming addition of Activision and Blizzard games to the service starting with Diablo IV. The discussion further explores the future of live service games, cross-play, and cross-save functionalities, and the strategic importance of hardware in delivering the best Xbox experience. The team also addresses the significance of game preservation, with a commitment to respecting player investments across hardware generations and enhancing compatibility. Finally, they express excitement for upcoming major releases in 2024, including Hellblade 2, a Diablo expansion, Avowed, and the Indiana Jones game, positioning Xbox as a platform dedicated to player success and creator support.

Takeaways

• 🎮 Xbox is focusing on game exclusivity but will release four games on other consoles, not altering their overall strategy.
• 🚫 The four titles released on other consoles will not include Starfield or Indiana Jones.
• 🌟 Criteria for selecting games to release on other platforms include being over a year old, community-driven, and having reached their potential on Xbox and PC.
• 📈 The decision is aimed at growing the Xbox platform, supporting the long-term health of Xbox, and reaching more players.
• 🎲 Xbox believes that exclusive games will become less significant in the industry over the next 5 to 10 years.
• 🔄 Xbox Play Anywhere is a unique feature that allows Xbox games to be played on both Xbox and Windows platforms.
• 🎉 Activision Blizzard games, including Diablo IV, are coming to Game Pass, starting with Diablo IV's release on March 28.
• 🤝 Xbox is committed to cross-play and cross-save features, allowing players to enjoy games with friends across different platforms.
• 📈 Xbox's growth strategy involves expanding the player base and not just monetizing existing players.
• 💾 Xbox is dedicated to game preservation, ensuring that players can continue to access their games and progress across generations.
• 🔍 The upcoming Xbox hardware is expected to deliver a significant technical leap, enhancing the experience for both players and creators.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the Xbox strategy discussed in the podcast?

The main focus of the Xbox strategy is to prioritize the long-term health of the Xbox platform, which includes growing the platform, ensuring game performance, building the best platform for creators, and reaching as many players as possible.

What was the decision regarding game exclusivity made by Xbox?

Xbox decided to bring four of their games to other consoles, but clarified that this does not represent a change in their fundamental exclusive strategy. The decision was made to help grow their franchises using other platforms.

Why did Xbox choose not to name the four titles that will be released on other consoles?

Xbox chose not to name the four titles to respect the game development teams and their partners, who put a lot of energy into their announcements and have plans that are not too far away.

What criteria did Xbox use to select the four titles for release on other consoles?

Xbox selected games that are over a year old and have been on Xbox and PC for a while. They included community-driven games that have reached their full potential on Xbox and PC, and smaller games that were not initially intended to be platform exclusives.

How does Xbox view the future of exclusive games in the industry?

Xbox believes that over the next 5 to 10 years, exclusive games that are tied to a single piece of hardware will become a smaller part of the gaming industry, as more games are landing on multiple platforms.

What is Xbox's stance on Activision Blizzard joining their portfolio and its impact on Game Pass?

Xbox is excited about Activision Blizzard joining their portfolio and announced that Activision and Blizzard games, starting with Diablo IV, will be coming to Game Pass, reinforcing their commitment to making Xbox and its games widely available.

How does Xbox's approach to hardware fit into their overall strategy?

Hardware is a critical component of Xbox's strategy as it provides the best experience for players. Xbox aims to deliver the largest technical leap in a hardware generation, making it better for both players and creators.

What does Xbox's commitment to game preservation entail?

Xbox is committed to respecting the investments players have made in their games, ensuring compatibility across generations, and providing cloud save systems to maintain game saves. They also offer Xbox Play Anywhere, allowing games to be played across Xbox and Windows.

What are the key player-first features that Xbox is dedicated to?

Xbox is dedicated to features such as cross-play, cross-save, cross-progression, backwards compatibility, and cloud gaming, ensuring players can enjoy their games across various devices and platforms.

How does Xbox's strategy benefit both players and game developers?

Xbox's strategy benefits players by providing access to the biggest games, Game Pass, and player-first features. For developers, it offers a platform to reach a wide audience, support for creative endeavors, and the ability to launch games on multiple platforms and services.

What is the significance of Xbox's commitment to cross-play and cross-save features?

The commitment to cross-play and cross-save features allows Xbox to deliver on the promise of allowing players to play with their friends on different platforms and devices, and to maintain their game progress and saves across those platforms.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Xbox Podcast Introduction and Strategy Discussion

The podcast begins with host Tina Amini welcoming listeners to the Official Xbox Podcast. She is joined by Phil, Sarah, and Matt to discuss Xbox updates, game exclusivity, the addition of Activision Blizzard to their portfolio, and hardware strategy. Phil addresses the community's concerns about exclusivity and announces that four games will be released on other consoles, emphasizing this is not a shift from their exclusive strategy but a move to grow their franchises. The decision is part of a long-term plan to expand Xbox's reach and ensure the health of the platform. Tina inquires about the specific titles, but Phil refrains from naming them to respect the game development teams' announcements. The criteria for selecting these games include their age, community involvement, and business potential on other platforms.

05:01

🌟 Future of Xbox Exclusivity and Live Service Games

The discussion shifts to the future of Xbox exclusivity, particularly regarding live service games that can benefit from wider audiences. Phil and Matt explain that there's no change in their approach to exclusivity, with a focus on releasing games on Xbox, PC, and cloud to reach a broad audience. They emphasize the importance of cross-play and cross-save features, which allow players to enjoy games with friends on different platforms. Matt also announces that Activision and Blizzard games, starting with Diablo IV, will be available on Game Pass, highlighting Xbox's commitment to making their games widely accessible. Phil reinforces that Xbox's strategy remains consistent, with a focus on growth and player accessibility across multiple devices.

10:02

📈 Xbox's Business Strategy and Industry Growth

The conversation continues with the business aspect of Xbox's strategy. Phil discusses the importance of growing the gaming industry and Xbox's role in it. He mentions that Xbox has become one of the largest publishers on various platforms, including PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, due to titles like Minecraft. The goal is to create games that can be enjoyed by millions across different devices. Phil stresses the importance of a healthy business to ensure Xbox's longevity. He also addresses the industry's need for growth, citing challenges when it doesn't occur. The strategy focuses on expanding the player base rather than solely monetizing existing players. Phil and Tina touch on the importance of supporting gaming communities and the significance of hardware in delivering the best Xbox experience.

15:03

🚀 Community-Driven Games and Developer Support

The podcast highlights two major Xbox franchises, Call of Duty and Minecraft, which are community-driven games. The focus is on where players' friends are and their game library investments. Developers naturally want their games to reach the largest audience possible, and Xbox aims to facilitate this through its platform and hardware. Sarah Bond discusses the industry's evolution, where hardware and platforms now serve to amplify games rather than the other way around. Xbox's various investments, such as in cross-play and cloud gaming, are designed to give creators more options for success. The performance of Xbox's platform is strong, with growing user numbers and a commitment to supporting creators. The role of hardware in this strategy is also emphasized, providing a flagship experience for players and a target for developers to optimize their games for.

20:05

🕹️ Xbox's Commitment to Game Preservation and Future of Hardware

The final paragraph discusses Xbox's stance on game preservation and the future of hardware. Phil emphasizes the importance of compatibility and respecting players' investments in their game libraries. He mentions Xbox's achievements in backward compatibility and the ability to play games across devices due to cloud technology. Tina asks for a recap of what Xbox stands for today. Phil outlines that Xbox is a platform where the biggest games are available, with access to Game Pass and player-first features like cross-play, cross-save, and cross-progression. Xbox is dedicated to making games and creators more successful, ensuring better experiences for players. The investment in studios is highlighted, with more than ten major releases planned for 2024, including Hellblade 2, a Diablo expansion, Avowed, and the Indiana Jones game.

Keywords

💡Game Exclusivity

Game exclusivity refers to the practice where a video game is only available on a specific platform or set of platforms. In the context of the video, Xbox's strategy involves a balance between offering exclusive titles and making certain games available on other consoles to grow their franchises and platform. The decision to take four games to other consoles is mentioned as an exception rather than a shift in their overall strategy.

💡Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard is a major video game publisher known for titles like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. The company's acquisition by Microsoft, the parent company of Xbox, is significant as it expands Xbox's portfolio and potential impact on their Game Pass service. The podcast discusses how this acquisition might influence the strategy for Game Pass and the Xbox platform.

💡Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service from Microsoft that offers access to a large library of games for a monthly fee. The service is highlighted in the video as a key component of Xbox's strategy to make their games and services widely available. The announcement that Activision and Blizzard games, starting with Diablo IV, will be added to Game Pass is a major point of discussion.

💡Hardware Strategy

Hardware strategy in the context of the video refers to how Xbox approaches the development and marketing of its gaming consoles. The discussion touches on the importance of hardware in providing the best gaming experiences and how Xbox's strategy is not limited to a single device but aims to serve gamers across various devices.

💡Cross-Play

Cross-play is a feature that allows players on different gaming platforms to play with each other. It's mentioned as a crucial aspect of Xbox's commitment to player-first features, emphasizing the ability to play with friends regardless of the platform they are on.

💡Backward Compatibility

Backward compatibility is the ability of a new gaming console to play games designed for older consoles. Xbox has made significant efforts to support this feature, allowing players to enjoy their existing game library on new Xbox hardware. This commitment to game preservation is a key point in the video.

💡Live Service Games

Live service games are online games that are continually updated and maintained over time, often with new content and features. The podcast discusses how Xbox views these types of games as benefiting from larger, more diverse audiences, which can contribute to their long-term success.

💡Community-Driven Games

Community-driven games are those that are heavily influenced or shaped by their player communities. The video mentions that some of the games chosen to be released on other platforms are community-driven, emphasizing the importance of player engagement and support for these titles.

💡Xbox Play Anywhere

Xbox Play Anywhere is a program that allows users to buy a game once and play it on both their Xbox console and Windows 10 PC. It's brought up in the video as an example of Xbox's commitment to offering flexibility and value to its players.

💡Cloud Gaming

Cloud gaming, or gaming on demand via the cloud, allows users to play games without the need for high-end hardware. Xbox's investment in cloud technology is discussed as a way to expand the reach of their games and services to more players across different devices.

💡Game Preservation

Game preservation refers to the efforts made by gaming companies to ensure that games and their associated content remain playable and accessible over time. The video emphasizes Xbox's stance on respecting the investments players have made in their games and the importance of maintaining a player's ability to access their game library.

Highlights

Xbox is taking a strategic approach to game exclusivity, deciding to bring four games to other consoles to help grow their franchises.

The decision to release games on other consoles is not a change in Xbox's fundamental exclusive strategy, but a move to utilize what other platforms have to help grow their business.

Xbox is focused on the long-term health of the platform, which includes growing the platform, game performance, creator support, and reaching as many players as possible.

The four titles being released on other consoles will be announced by the game development teams soon and are expected to make sense in the context of Xbox's strategy.

Starfield and Indiana Jones are not the titles being released on other consoles.

The criteria for selecting the four titles include games over a year old, community-driven games, and smaller games that were not intended to be platform exclusives.

Xbox believes that exclusive games will become a smaller part of the industry over the next 5-10 years as big games increasingly land on multiple platforms.

Two of the four titles are community-driven games that will benefit from being on other platforms and allow for continued investment in the franchises.

The other two titles are smaller games that have reached their full potential on Xbox/PC and can drive more business value by being on other platforms.

Xbox aims to use other platforms to grow their business without damaging Xbox, and to introduce Xbox franchises to players on other platforms.

There will be no further titles released on other platforms beyond the four mentioned, indicating a limited approach to this strategy.

Xbox remains committed to live service games and games that can benefit from larger, new audiences.

Xbox's strategy focuses on growing the games industry by reaching more players in more places, and growing Xbox as a hardware platform, publisher, and platform for creators.

All Xbox first-party games will be available on the Xbox platform, released on Game Pass day one, and Game Pass will only be available on Xbox.

Cross-play and cross-save are fundamental to Xbox's strategy, allowing players to play with friends and on devices of their choice.

Activision and Blizzard games are coming to Game Pass, starting with Diablo IV on March 28, as part of Xbox's commitment to making their games widely available.

Xbox Play Anywhere allows Xbox game purchases to be played on both Xbox and Windows, with multiple entitlements to the game.

Xbox's strategy is not device-centric but focuses on making games as big and popular as possible, with the devices serving the games rather than the other way around.

Xbox aims to have a healthy creator community and business, with growth in the Xbox business being critical to its long-term health.

The gaming industry did not grow in 2023, leading to job eliminations and hard decisions for companies. Xbox aims to be part of a growing industry.

Xbox has been one of the largest publishers on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, and now also on mobile platforms, and aims to continue building great games for these platforms.

Xbox is focused on expanding the business by finding new players to add to the existing base, rather than just monetizing the current player base.

Xbox has more creators building games for its platform than ever before, with thousands developing games for Xbox.

Xbox is investing in the next generation of hardware to deliver the largest technical leap in a hardware generation, benefiting both players and creators.

Game preservation is a key focus for Xbox, with efforts to maintain compatibility with older games and respect the investments players have made.

Xbox is committed to player-first features such as cross-play, cross-save, cross-progression, backwards compatibility, and cloud gaming.

Xbox aims to make games and creators more successful to bring better experiences to players, with a focus on investment in studios and major game releases.

Xbox has over 10 major game releases planned for 2024, including Hellblade 2, a Diablo expansion, Avowed, and the Indiana Jones game.

Transcripts

[XBOX SOUND]

Hello, and welcome to The Official Xbox Podcast.

I'm your host, Tina Amini, and we have a very special episode

today, as you can probably tell by the fact

that, I'm joined by Phil, Sarah, and Matt.

Welcome.

And we're going to talk about some updates at Xbox.

We want to talk about game exclusivity.

We want to talk about Activision Blizzard

now that they're a part of our portfolio, how that might

be an impact on Game Pass.

And we want to talk about hardware too

and how all of this fits into the strategy at Xbox.

So where should we start, Phil?

Well, when we originally had planned for this show starting

back in December, I think we probably

would have started with Activision Blizzard,

maybe talked a little bit about the exclusivity

with some of the news coming up, and then hardware.

But we've had some unforeseen news that has come out.

So let's just go and tackle the exclusivity question,

because I know it's on the minds a lot of people.

We hear from the community, and that's

an important input for us.

So we made the decision that we're

going to take four games to the other consoles--

just four games, not a change to our kind

of fundamental exclusive strategy.

We're making these decisions for some specific reasons.

We make every decision, really, with the long-term health

of Xbox in mind.

And long-term health of Xbox means a growing platform,

our games performing, building the best platform for creators,

reaching as many players as we can.

We're always looking to learn as a leadership team and to grow.

And we think this is an interesting point in time

for us to use what some of the other platforms

have right now to help grow our franchises.

So we're going to do that.

TINA AMINI: So these four titles--

what are they?

Can you say?

I'm not going to name those games.

The teams that are building those games

have announced plans that are not too far away.

As we know, game teams put a lot of energy

into their announcements with the partners.

So I don't want to take anything away from those teams.

So I won't be talking about the titles specifically.

But I think when they come out, it'll make sense.

TINA AMINI: Can we say if either of those titles

are Starfield or Indiana Jones?

They are not Starfield or Indiana Jones.

TINA AMINI: Well, what was the criteria

in how the team was thinking about selecting those four

titles?

Let me start a little bit outside of that,

and then I'll get to the four specific games that

we're talking about right, now because the fundamental

decision driver for any decision that we make,

anything we're going to talk about today is the long-term

health of Xbox--

that we're running a growing platform that

is reaching more players, that our games are having

as much success as possible.

And I do have a fundamental belief

that over the next 5 or 10 years,

exclusive games, games that are exclusive to one

piece of hardware, are going to be a smaller and smaller part

of the game industry.

And that's not some great insight

because if you look at the last 10 years

and what the biggest games are today, it's a natural place--

whether it's one console in PC, multiple consoles,

mobile, console, and PC--

you see big games landing on multiple platforms.

And we want to be a great platform

for creators that are trying to realize that potential.

But now, back to the specifics of the question on these four

specific titles.

We looked at games that are over a year old.

So they've been on Xbox and PC for a while.

A couple of the games are community-driven games,

new games, kind of first iterations of a franchise that

have reached their full potential, let's say,

on Xbox and PC--

there's always growth, franchises that we obviously

want to continue to invest in.

Part of having the ability to continue to invest

is that the businesses behind those franchises continue.

We think it's important that these service-based games that

have communities behind them, that they can have confidence

that they're going to exist in the future.

So two of them kind of community-driven games

that will end up on other platforms

and give us the ability to continue to invest in them.

We think that's great for the business

and great for the communities-- more players to play with.

Two of the other games are smaller games that were never

really meant to be built as kind of platform exclusives

and all the fanfare that goes around that,

but games that our teams really wanted to go

build that we love supporting creative endeavors

across our studios regardless of size.

And as they've realized their full potential on Xbox and PC,

we see an opportunity to utilize the other platforms

as a place to just drive more business value out

of those games, allowing us to invest

in maybe future iterations of those,

so sequals to those, or just other games

like that in our portfolio.

And when we don't damage Xbox and we can grow our business

using what other platforms have to help us with that,

we're going to do that.

And that's really the story behind these four games.

And last thing I'll say looking forward,

I think there is an interesting story for us of introducing

Xbox franchises to players on other platforms

to get them more interested in Xbox.

We think there's a good brand value for Xbox there.

So four games, no promise beyond that.

So if you're on those other platforms

and you see these four games coming, please

don't take it as some signal that everything's coming.

It's not.

And we're going to learn.

TINA AMINI: So when you are thinking

about the future and this concept of live service games,

games that can benefit from bigger audiences,

new audiences, how does that apply to future titles

and how you're applying that criteria there?

Yeah.

There's really no fundamental change

to how we think about exclusivity.

We just came out of Developer Direct,

which was an awesome show where we showed great games that

are coming to Xbox, and PC, and cloud,

which really makes them accessible to hundreds

of millions of people.

So we're really focused on a couple platforms and what's

going to show up there.

But our key of play the games you

want, with the people you want, anywhere you want,

when everybody plays, we all win--

these have been part of our strategy for years

and will continue to be.

Our focus is on, how do we continue

to grow the games industry by reaching more players in more

places?

And how do we grow Xbox as part of that--

Xbox as a hardware platform, Xbox

as a publisher of great games, and Xbox

as a platform for the world's best creators.

And then knowing that, how do we

think about our first party games and Game Pass?

MATT BOOTY: Yeah.

Well, to build on what Phil just said, one thing I would add--

you were talking about growth--

is just that we've seen this inversion over the last five

years where it used to be that the platform was the biggest

thing, and the games would tuck in within the platform.

Today, big games like a Roblox or a Fortnite

could actually be bigger than any one platform.

And that really has changed the way that we think about things.

So in the midst of all that, I think we at First Party

can come back to some core principles--

first, that all of our games will be on the Xbox platform.

Second, all of our games will go into Game Pass on day one.

And third, we know that Game Pass will only

be available on Xbox.

So there's starting points for us.

As Phil mentioned, there are games today

that you can play that only can be found on Xbox.

And at the same time, we want to bring more of our games

to more players.

So we're going to continue to look at that.

Kind of moving aside, though, from some of those

and thinking more about, what does it really

mean for the player?

To me, the two key things are cross-play and cross-save.

Those things allow us to deliver on the promise of Xbox, which

is play with your friends where they are,

play on the devices you want, play the games you want.

So that is really only possible at a practical level

when you know that your saves and your player

are going to be able to move across all those parts.

So not all of our games today are necessarily

built to take advantage of that.

There still will be some games that don't.

As we bring more teams into the Xbox family,

there's some catchup to do as we get there.

But that cross-play, cross-save is

so fundamental to what we're doing.

And I think it's something that we as First Party

get such a good benefit from being so close to the platform.

Yeah, absolutely.

That's one of the things, like you said, all of our games

are always in Game Pass.

And so I'm excited to announce, with the coming

together that we had with Activision Blizzard King,

that Activision and Blizzard games

are coming to Game Pass starting with Diablo IV

on March 28, which I'm super, super excited to share today.

And it's all part of our commitment

to make Xbox, the Xbox experience, and the games

that we build as widely available as possible.

So now the 34 million Game Pass members

can all enjoy the fantastic experience of Diablo IV.

TINA AMINI: Amazing.

Can we come back to the point--

Phil, you mentioned at the top of this,

this isn't really a change in strategy for us.

Can you recap for me how it isn't?

Yeah.

And I thought both Matt and Sarah

did a really nice job of talking about what we're doing

on Xbox, where we're going.

If you take a platform feature like Xbox Play Anywhere, which

has been a promise that we've made on our first party games,

that you can buy our game once, you're

going to get to play across Xbox and Windows--

I think we're the only platform that does this--

that makes it possible for you not only to play

with your friends wherever they are,

but to know that you actually have multiple entitlements

to the games.

I think that's a technology I'd love to see

applied to more platforms.

But it is this view that people are

going to play Xbox in multiple places,

whether it's play the games you want with the people you want

anywhere you want, whether it's content,

community, and cloud, whether it's when everybody plays,

we all win--

we've had different taglines different strategy

kind of words that we've used, but always

with this view that Xbox is a platform for creators

who want to reach the most players.

Our investments in xCloud, our investments

in franchises like Minecraft, and now Call of Duty,

and other large franchises so that we

learn how to build those.

This has been a strategy that we've been on for, I'd say,

a decade.

It's not about one device.

It's not about games in service of a device,

but, rather, the devices that people want to play on

should be in service of making the games as big and popular

as they possibly could be.

Because, really, a healthy creator community

on Xbox, a healthy creator community in gaming

all up is the thing that all of us as Game Players

should be voting for, because that's

the thing that will lead to the best long-term success

and growth in this industry.

TINA AMINI: And my understanding just

from listening, and learning from you

three over the past few weeks, just

understanding what's happening with Xbox

is that we see trends with player behavior

where people are playing on multiple devices.

That is the reality.

And we have put some games out on multiple platforms before.

So my understanding is that that's been good for players.

How does that come back to the business

with all of that in mind?

Yeah.

As you said, we have shipped games on other platforms.

In fact, realistically, if you look

with the addition of Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax,

we're one of the largest game publishers on PlayStation.

We're one of the largest publishers on the Nintendo

Switch, especially when you put Minecraft into the equation

as well.

And now, we're one of the largest publishers

on mobile platforms as well.

And that's not something that we want to back away from.

We want to continue to be building great games

that millions and millions of people can love

and that they can play those games where

they want to go play.

But we do understand the business success

that Xbox has to have.

Us as leaders in this business, the system

today, the system that all companies

that we play video games from is a world of you've

got to be growing your business--

growth in our Xbox business is critical to

the long-term health of Xbox.

Many people know I've been on Xbox for over 20 years,

and I want to make sure Xbox is in the best

position for the next 20 years.

That means healthy player community, healthy creator

community, and healthy business.

So when we look at opportunities to allow more people to play,

more people to engage, more people to buy,

more people to subscribe, it's all about

putting Xbox in the best position.

And our hardware is a critical component of that.

The absolute best experience somebody has on Xbox

is hardware that our team builds and that people play on.

But that's not going to be everybody.

We fully accepted that we're going

to have Xbox players across all kinds of devices.

So I think a lot of people think

about 2023 is this incredible year for gaming.

And in a lot of ways, it was.

There was some really amazing releases

that I think we all enjoyed.

But what were the signals behind the scenes that maybe indicated

how we wanted to look at the future of Xbox

and how we keep up with the industry?

Yeah, such a good question.

And I think as people who care about the industry, which

I assume is people who are watching this,

it was an amazing year-- some great launches.

Some of the games that I think will stand

the test of time and people will be talking

about a decade from now.

But it's an industry that didn't really grow.

And what happens when an industry doesn't grow?

You end up with some job eliminations, which we had.

We had even our own hard decisions

to make about building a sustainable

business for ourselves, but in no way were we alone in that.

When you think about a healthy industry,

I want players who believe that they

will find the best games on the platforms that they love.

I want people who invest their careers in working here

to feel like this is a place that they can be successful.

And that really is down to being part

of an industry that is growing.

If you listen to Lisa Su, the AMD CEO,

she'll say that AMD-powered consoles

are likely to decline in 2024.

I think there's an amazing set of games coming in 2024,

but if we don't get to growing as an industry,

the industry will struggle.

And today, there's really two choices

on how do you grow the industry.

Do you say, I have a fixed number of players,

the players that we have today, and do I find new ways

to monetize those players to get more money from the players

that I have?

Or do you think about, how do I expand

the business I have by finding new players

and adding those to the base of players that already play?

Our focus on Xbox for the last decade

has really been on that latter point

of, how do we make sure Xbox is growing?

Growing for our players, growing for our creators

so those people are finding success

on our platform, which will grow the Xbox business

and put Xbox in a position to be very strong for years

and decades to come.

TINA AMINI: Matt, earlier, you were

talking about these growing gaming communities, how they're

incredibly large and comparable on such a different level

when we think about console audiences-- like you mentioned

Roblox, you mentioned Fortnite.

So we're obviously thinking about our responsibility,

our hardware responsibility in supporting the growth of gaming

communities.

How has that actually shown up for the players?

Are there other games we can speak to from our portfolio?

Well, as Phil mentioned, two of the biggest ones for us,

Call of Duty and Minecraft-- they are driven just from

the bottom-up by the communities of people that play those

games, which is so great.

Think about it, for the player community,

it comes down to, where are the friends?

Where are the people you play with?

And then equally important is, where have you built up

your library of games, right?

Where have you invested?

Where is that library?

I think those two things probably

are some of the biggest influences on where

people choose to play and what devices they choose to play.

Absolutely.

When we think about on the other side, the developer side,

just any game developer wants their game

to find the biggest audience possible.

That's just the nature of building a game.

You want people to enjoy and participate

in what you've made.

And I think we're in a unique position to deliver on that

just because we are the platform-- we build hardware.

We've got a first party games group.

And then we've got a system that ties that together that

brings together your friends, your progression,

your achievements, all of that.

And I think that's really what has

contributed to the momentum behind some

of these communities.

SARAH BOND: Yeah, absolutely.

When you just step back and you look

at the history of the industry, we've

moved from a place where it used to be that someone built

and launched a game to accelerate hardware,

to actually the things we do with our hardware

and with our platform are all in service

of making those games bigger.

And we think about that across all of the investments

we make-- the consoles we build, the investments

we do with things like cross-play,

cross-progression, the things that we're doing with cloud.

How do we actually give more options to game creators

so they can have the greatest success?

I think one of the fun recent examples about this

is actually Palworld.

Palworld was able to launch.

They were a game preview.

They launched in Game Pass.

They also simultaneously launched in Steam.

And so the combination of those things, Pocket Pair

was able to have this outsized success.

And it was the largest third party Game Pass launch ever.

And that's all because we give creators

options on how they can launch their games.

We've got subscription.

We've got retail.

We've got free to play.

We've got game preview.

We have the consoles.

We have our experience on PC.

And they can access all of those things.

And when we step back and we just

look at the performance of our platform all up,

we know it's working.

We're at the highest level of users on console,

the highest level of users on PC,

the highest level of users on cloud ever.

We have double-digit growth rate on PC and cloud,

places where we're enabling creators

to actually reach new players beyond the console ecosystem.

And that's why we're leaning into it

and doing more, because we see all those signals.

So we're talking about the role

that hardware plays for creators, for the games,

and those communities.

What about the role that hardware

plays for us as a business, for Xbox?

When we look at our hardware, it really is,

and Phil said this earlier, it's where

you get the most flagship, seminal experience of Xbox.

And it also represents a developer target.

Our developers can build the specs of our hardware,

and we invest to make sure when they do that the games are

going to run great on our hardware,

but they're also going to be able to be accessed

across any screen because of all the other investments we make.

So we're giving them an easy way to access

as many players as possible.

And we actually have more creators right now building

for Xbox than ever before, thousands of them,

by nature of those investments.

And we got more to come.

There's some exciting stuff coming out in hardware

that we're going to share this holiday.

And we're also invested in the next generation roadmap.

And what we're really focused on there is delivering the largest

technical leap you will have ever seen

in a hardware generation, which makes it better for players

and better for creators and the visions that they're building.

TINA AMINI: And then when we're talking about hardware, too,

there's these other considerations

that are really important to our community,

probably to each one of ourselves as well.

When you talk about library, because I

want to dig in on that a little bit more--

as we talk about cloud and the wider entertainment industry,

there's conversations about streaming.

How is that impacting how I own my content

that I've invested in?

So what can we say about our stance

around game preservation?

Yeah.

One of the highlights for me of being in this position

was getting to stand on stage when we announced back

compat coming to Xbox One.

It was fantastic.

People were reading the teleprompter

before I could read, I'm a slow reader,

and just feeling the energy in the auditorium

as we were saying that, and online.

One of the cues, I think, us as being part of Microsoft

take is looking at Windows, and how Windows, over decades,

has maintained software compatibility with things

that are built on it.

Like, I can still go back and play some of the games

that I love playing on Windows from decades ago

and it will still run.

And we try to bring that same view to consoles.

It's harder in console because the line

between what the hardware is and what the game is in consoles

is traditionally tighter, which you end up

doing these generational compatibilities

that we've built. But I will say compatibility, the ability

to not only play the games, but my saves are still there

with our cloud save systems, to try to keep the services up

as long as we can so that people can play

is a tenet of what we are as Xbox.

It's at our foundation.

And when we look at future hardware generations

and what we're going to support, making sure

that we respect, which is the word I use "respect"

the investments that people have made in Xbox going forward

is fundamental.

And the fact that you get entitlements

when you buy a game from us on both Windows and Xbox

also means you have the ability to play

that game across a multitude of devices, which I think

furthers the compatibility of the games that you own.

Can we go back to what Xbox stands for today?

I think we've pretty much covered all of the elements.

But if you could break it down for me.

When you play on Xbox, what we're saying is

you're playing on a platform where

you know the biggest games in the world

are always going to be.

You're playing on a platform where

you get to access Game Pass.

And all of the games from our incredible range of studios

will always launch in Game Pass day one.

And you're playing on a platform that's dedicated to you--

player-first features-- cross-play, cross-save,

cross-progression, backwards compatibility,

being able to play your games in your library anywhere

you want because of the investments

that we make in cloud gaming.

And so you're playing somewhere where you're investing

and you know you get to take the games forward

with you and across all of the screens where you are.

And I think most importantly, Xbox is a place where you know

when you're investing in Xbox, you're

investing somewhere that is dedicated to making games more

successful and creators more successful,

so that they can invest more to bring even better experiences

to you all of the time.

Yeah.

That investment in the studios is so--

and we feel that as part of first party with the platform

proximity-- it's kind of amazing now

to look out across all the studios that we've got

and just be reminded that we're now

one of the biggest development organizations in the industry.

What does that mean for players?

It means that the biggest games are going

to continue to come to Xbox.

And this 2024, the year coming up,

we've got more than 10 major releases coming up--

great stuff.

Hellblade 2, they've got Diablo expansion,

they've got Avowed, Ara, the Indiana Jones game,

and there's more in development, which

I think we're going to be able to share more about at our June

showcase coming up pretty soon.

Well, I guess I should get ready to work on that show.

[LAUGHTER]

Well, thank you all for showing up on the podcast today.

And we'll see the rest of you, this June.

Yeah.

Thanks, Tina.

Thank you.

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