Phil Spencer says that story-driven games are still part of Microsoft’s strategy.
Although a lot of money is currently being made from live service games, Phil Spencer believes there is still room for story-driven single player games. In an interview with the Guardian let the boss of Xbox know that games with a focus on story are still part of Microsoft’s plans.
“I think we’re probably building more of it now than we’ve been in Xbox history,” Spencer said, emphasizing the need to support riskier projects, which in turn will be supported by the wider availability of demos and early access through Xbox Game Pass and streaming technology xCloud.
Xbox will achieve this diversity by not pushing its teams to create a particular style of play.
“We don’t have a direction or mandate that says every game has to be an ongoing, ongoing game,” says head of Microsoft Studios Matt Booty. “Take Psychonauts: There may be a Psychonauts 3, but I’m going [ontwerper] Don’t tell Tim Schafer to go make it. Knowing the history of games he makes, I don’t think he’s going to make a game that has seasons and lasts five years.”
Both Spencer and Matt Booty also emphasize the need to broaden the scope of where a successful game studio could be located, and expand the kinds of stories Microsoft can tell in the process. To that end, studios in areas that aren’t traditional hotbeds for game development are all in the game.
“I’d actually be surprised if that doesn’t happen,” said Spencer, commenting on the potential for a studio acquisition from outside the larger developing markets.
“Just know the talent that is available, and the tools [zoals game-engines Unity en Unreal] that are so much more accessible… I’d be surprised if you don’t see a lot of studios in places that aren’t the traditional hubs of video game development in the next three to five years.”
This isn’t the first time Phil Spencer has taken a strong stand on where gaming is headed. He recently compared the next-generation graphics leap to the move from 2D to 3D, and he remains optimistic about continued Game Pass support.
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