Since its release in 2013, the Xbox One has not seen the same first-party support that the PlayStation 4 has. The gaming platform has been the home to many multiplatform games, but not as many exclusives as fans want.
Microsoft has addressed the lack of first-party games a number of times. Xbox executives have reiterated their need to take more ‘risks‘ and up their investment in first-party games. The game developer, publisher, and platform creators have even said that they will be bringing new studios into the picture.
Once again, Xbox Head Phil Spencer is answering questions on Xbox’s pursuit of first-party games/exclusives. Speaking with VentureBeat, Spencer detailed that Microsoft is dedicated to investing in first-party games and it starts with the hiring of Matt Booty as the head of games at Xbox.
Booty, the former head of Minecraft, will now report to Spencer and be corporate vice president of games in charge of all of Microsoft’s studios.
“I’m not deaf to the meme out there regarding our content and our need to invest more. Definitely, we are at a point where we’re investing more and we’ll continue to do that. When I look at Matt and his responsibility with his team, it’s about charting our future in first-party content. I feel like with each one of the leaders we have, there’s an existing plan, and I feel good about that plan, but we know that the plan all-up for studios is expanding. Having Matt’s leadership there in navigating the expansion, what bets we make, the teams we bet on, the teams we create, is going to be critical.
“Some of it is with the existing leaders we have there, and there are always opportunities to do more with the teams we have. But also, as we expand, having a leader in place so new investments can be driven and land in the strategy we have is going to be critical for me. That’s really where I look at Matt’s focus: both the existing franchises, and equally, if not a little more, thinking about our future content and how that growth happens in a thoughtful way, a way that delivers for our fans.”
Over the past few weeks, a number of rumors surrounding Xbox games have begun emerging. Most suggest that some of the rumored items are still very early in development, which means Xbox owners might have to wait a bit longer for exclusive titles to roll in.
Let’s hope for Microsoft having something to show off at E3 2018!
