Microsoft Employee Inadvertently Adds More Fuel to the Xbox Multiplatform Fire

It gets worse and worse for poor old Microsoft and now the FTC are back gunning for em 😂.

Not sure why this such a surprise. Years ago is was leaked that Xbox wanted to become the ‘Netflix’ streaming service for games.

What I found even more interesting is the rumor that the event will be held by corporate. IIrc, the gaming division has surpassed Windows in revenue. Maybe Satya smelled blood and will be taking it into his hands now or restructure/rebrand the division. Internal strife between Xbox and corporate over the future strategy seems to have gone on for a while now.

I think it's probable that at least some more Microsoft owned franchises will come to other platforms but couldn't this post have just meant games that are on these platforms already, Psychonauts or Minecraft for instance?

I think Microsoft are focusing more on pc and will stop make "consoles" and instead shift to making XBOX branded PCs running a gaming version of Windows 11 (including a steam desk rival). They'll make their games exclusive to there own pc games launcher. This will allow them to focus on dominating the regular PC market and capture the new' "branded" pc market ( Which steam has tried with the Steam Deck and Steam machines). Plus they can still make money in the console space by flogging games to both Sony and Nintendo customers. And if they go down the full PC route gamers on that platforms will still have access to Sony games (not via the Xbox launcher) as most Sony exclusive are on PC now (after a delay). That's my random predictions. Cheers and good day.

@dschons Exactly this. This is the corporation pulling the chain and reigning in Xbox game studios, reminding them of where they got there endless cash reserves.
I doubt if this is gonna go down the way Phil would want it to, but I think it has been taken out of his hands and the shareholders want this.
It will be interesting to see what goes down ...

Last time I checked, Minecraft is on all platforms and COD will be too. So this is probably weakest "proof" or "hint" in existence of universe.

So if Xbox does go multiplatform, does that increase Jim Ryan legacy? Got rid of PlayStation biggest competitor, launched a system during a horrible pandemic, record sales, a lot of great acquisitions (excluding Bungie), and launch of a successful PlayStation production making great stuff. The only complaint I have is lack of communication.

This proves nothing. For instance, MS releases Minecraft to all platforms you can think of.

@Godot25 then why update it and then change it back?

@dschons

Microsoft is a mess no matter what division one talks about.

From Windows to Office to Azure and beyond; the company is either too big to deal with this much or just poorly run. The communication between departments is just massively poor.

Considering that both ABK and Zenimax group of studios have 'current' games across ALL platforms, the likes of Minecraft, CoD, OW2, Diablo, ESO, Fallout76, Doom, Wolfenstein etc etc, many of which have received extra content, updates etc, there is a 'LOT' of MS owned IP's on Playstation and Switch already.

That doesn't mean that they'll bring EVERYTHING to PS or Switch - maybe they'll treat PS/Switch in a similar way to Sony treats the PC - release 'some' games a year or more later. Still 'exclusive' on Xbox at release - or maybe the 'incentive' for MS could be Game Pass vs having to spend $70+ to play Day 1...

The fact is, MS will release games on PS/Switch - maybe not their 'entire' catalogue but a selection - Minecraft & CoD certainly aren't going anywhere...

@sword_9mm Like Shawn Layden famously said: Acquiring is the easiest part, managing acquisitions is multitudes harder.

@naruball This article is exact reason why.
Because especially since this week's events, people are literally grasping for any straw to fit their narrative.
And I'm not saying that rumors about Microsoft porting their games on PlayStation are not true.

I'm just saying that Microsoft is already third-party publisher in some cases (Minecraft, TESO, F76, Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch etc.), so it's obvious that they need to take care about all platforms in Asia. But people will read it and immediately put it alongside other rumors from last several days.

@UltimateOtaku91 They are worth 3 trillion I think poor old Microsoft will be just fine 🙄 Is just the Xbox fanboys having a complete meltdown and then some insufrible PlayStation fanboys gloating, I think someone here fits that second one perfectly 👀

@Tecinthebrain After xbox fans gloating about the Bethesda and ABK acquisitions and making Starfield exclusive I'm enjoying the roles being reversed, let me enjoy this moment 😜

@meistergeister
Good, cause their hardware has always been shiite

Minecraft dungeons, Minecraft legends, quake 1&2 remaster. This doesn't necessarily mean anything. Xbox has been on PS and switch for awhile now.

Minecraft is on all consoles.

This could be a great big nothing burger.

@UltimateOtaku91 I’m not entirely convinced the toxicity around all that came exclusively from Xbox fans…

@Godot25 forget about the article. Forget about changing it back because of articles like this. Why update it in the first place? What changed?

@Kienda Of course not, playstation fans were obviously peeved they were losing games they were guaranteed on their system and xbox fans were happy playstation fans were losing those games and getting entire publishers, there was bound to be toxic back and forth between both sides.

@naruball Because as I already told you, Microsoft already IS third party publisher, so even if his bio was left intact it doesn't necessarily mean what you think it means.

He had his profile like that for month and nobody cared, until one Twitter user pointed it out and people connected it to recent events.

@Kienda Everyone revels in cutting off their nose to spite their face these days - it's even celebrated. It's pretty sad, actually.

I’d be happy if they’d just release an exclusive game on Xbox first, then slate it for PS release a few months to a year later 🤷‍♂️

Timed exclusives would keep the Xboxers happy while it’ll also expand Microsoft’s revenue further when it gets rereleased on other consoles

Wouldn’t mind dipping my toes in Fable for the first time (when the new one comes out) I’d also love to play Gears of War with my PlayStation controller.. here’s hoping Fallout 5 comes to PS too when it’s finished!!

Just a reminder that for those saying “we told you the ABK acquisition would be bad - now look at whats happened to Xbox”, try not to cheer on Xbox exiting the console race so much. Might seem good to team blue in the short term but lack of competition in the console space is not a good thing. Because of Xbox, Playstation has trophies, a better subscription service and potentially backwards compatibility.

Also remember when consoles are being revealed and how obvious it is that Xbox and Playstation are waiting to see who announces the price first? To see what they can get away with? Yea that will be gone as they can charge whatever they like, the upgrades will be incremental etc.

Also just look at Crunchyroll.

@somnambulance then why remove it ?

@Godot25 that would be the case if he didn't remove it straight away

@CharlieChooChoo Yeah it certainly is, although I can see nothing coming of it in the end as I pretty much predict Microsoft will back track on any plans due to the backlash from their fans.

Sustainability. Microsoft = SEGA

It seems very likely that Microsoft will come out and announce select games will come to previously rival platforms, most likely focusing on Hifi Rush first, Sea of Thieves, then Starfield and others.
They'll try to make it seem like they're giving to the industry, when all but Sea of Thieves would have been on PlayStation and potentially Nintendo of the ZeniMax Acquisition hadn't happened.

Long term I doubt XBox will stop having hardware, but rather will integrate more with PC, have Windows Gaming more baked in, to consolise the experience, but also make PC more accessible to gamers.

I said it ages ago and it makes perfect sense for them to keep this side of the equation, while opening up the games to a "new" audience.

I also think making a handheld and a VR/AR device would be a good call for Microsoft, to capitalize on those markets.
Something akin to Apple Vision Pro, but more affordable, with good specs and a device like Rog Ally or Lenovo Legion Go at an affordable price around £400 would be great.

They need to also make an adapter for storage expansion on Series consoles, along with making versions of their controllers officially available for PlayStation and Nintendo.

@K-Wud your opinion is respected but the 2 core ideas are things pc players don't want. They don't want to pay for prebuild pcs and they don't want to use other launchers to play games, that's why ms started releasing blizzard games on steam.

When was it ever a right idea to buy up a multiplat dev and make their games exclusive... The Bethesda name was almost fading out, I'm sure they started complaining. Bethesda, Activision games would be multiplat, I think they would just keep their Halo and Gears.

Killer Instinct for PS5!

They have to do something. Xbox is massively lagging behind PlayStation in console sales so obviously that means they wont move massive amounts of their 1st party games. Going multiplatform with their IP's is a good idea. It would generate sales that they wouldn't get otherwise. This is why it makes no sense that Activision wanted the deal with Xbox so bad. If Xbox was to cut CoD from being multiplatform the amount of sales they would lose would be absolutely massive. Xbox are struggling and need to do something drastic. I hope they don't drop hardware because that would be bad for everyone because Sony could relax a bit with less competition and stop pushing the boundaries.

@BAMozzy That’s what I’ve been thinking, treat PS and Switch as dumping grounds for year old titles. Only way to make money really since they put everything on Gamepass day 1. I could see the original Gears trilogy on PS5 but keep the newer ones on Xbox. Same for Halo and Forza.

And besides all the games you mentioned Cuphead and the 2 Ori games come to mind as big Xbox exclusives that later came to PS and Switch. Maybe not 1st party but pretty sure MS published them.

All that said, it is possible the guy had that on LinkedIn for the reasons you stated but someone at MS suggested he make the changes just b/c. Though the article seems a little fuzzy to me when he added PS and Switch,just that they were removed recently, so it’s hard to say when I don’t know. I’m ok with the article though, something to ponder even if it ultimately means nothing, b/c it could be something.

Happy decade anniversary commenting on PS. (Not until December but still, it’s been awhile)

@gymratAmarillo thank you for your respectful reply, I really appreciate it. I would see a Windows 11 Xbox branded PC more as away to onboard consoles owners into the PC ecosystem, rather than Microsoft's goal being to get PC regularly owners to switch to a Xbox PC. If you run a regular PC with Windows they've already made a sale from you. Your right the launcher is more of an issue. But with all those lovely IPs I could see that being a long term goal. Cheers and have a good one.

Getting bored of the rumours and speculation now. Microsoft needs to put out a clear statement, whatever the direction is going to be.

And if those ported games don’t sell, yikes!

Am I the only one that thinks this kind of behaviour is weird? I mean Xbox does have games published on PlayStation (Ori, Cod, Minecraft) and Nintendo so is this really news?

I can see why removing the platforms could be seen as a move to remove fuel to the fire but some people just want to start the fire and watch the world burn.

I think the point of this article is more about him deleting the platforms off his LinkedIn.

Where’s Adam Orth in all of this?
#DealWithIt

(Of course, he was absolutely correct.)

An interesting fact:
When Xbox doesn’t like their numbers, they quit sharing them.

Long gone are the 360 days of sharing consoles sold. That ended quickly after One released and quickly got doubled throughout its lifespan by the PS4.

But GamePass, the Xbox pride and joy, was continually being updated with subscription rates…until it wasn’t. Last subscription update? January 2022. Over two years ago.

There’s a reason Xbox is going multiplat.

@GuttyYZ eh kinda. If he just said he over saw atvi and blizzard, no to do over that, we know this already. However older titles not so much, that work wouldn't be worth mentioning in a new position unless that position is doing more work for the likes of zenimax and ms studios. What this does reinforce what we've been hearing.

If it was truly innocuous, he wouldn't have bothered to change it.

@K1LLEGAL Crunchyroll case doesn't even apply here because their problem is the same as Netflix, Amazon Video, Twitch, Youtube and so on: the costs of running a video on demand service are huge right now, like really huge.
A simple 1080p stream with 1000 viewers on Twitch costs around $2000 to keep around, and that's per stream, people are estimating Netflix and Crunchyroll might be the same or even more given they don't own the infrastructure used to deliver or distribute the content.

TL;DR: The upkeep for those kind of services are quite high and the price hiking is inevitable for both the company and the customer. It's unsustainable in the long term and god knows if streaming is really the future now that we know that..

@XboxistheBestBox I don't know Kaz was pretty bad. Ridg...e racer lol

@K-Wud That's my line of thought, as well. In a way, Xbox is already what you described. It runs a stripped down version of Windows, to the point where the graphics interface is the exact same - DirectX 12 Ultimate.

The APU itself is very slightly customized, especially compared to what consoles used to be. Digital Foundry's Richard Ledbetter even has a PC running a repurposed Xbox APU. At the end of the day, Xbox is nothing but a consolized PC.

Granted, PlayStation is not all that different, but Sony still makes a little more effort to differentiate its consoles, with slightly heavier customizations and unique features.

@Americansamurai1 Well, I'm not a Jim Ryan hater, but it has to be said that Bungie was PlayStation's biggest acquisition ever. It's one thing for Microsoft to make a bad 4 billion bet, but it's another thing entirely for Sony to eat that loss.

Granted, Ryan had his hand forced by the ABK deal, and it's a lot easier to analise that retroactively. But it was seemingly a gigantic mistake, and that alone would be reason enough to evict him.

Now, it must also be said that the ABK deal itself was a mistake big enough even for Microsoft, to the point where they now will have to pivot the whole business to course correct.

@Art_Vandelay i completely agree bungie was a huge mistake.

Lolz so many people leak on that sight

Mr. Phil “Talks in circles” Spencer is essentially killing the XBOX brand. I’ve been saying it since they started with the “Netflixing” of games; this will essentially kill off the console, or the result in every developer creating their own streaming platform that we have to pay monthly for in order to play their games. Exactly what happened to TV!

Err... but they already do that. Ori came to the switch and elder scrolls online is still on playstation and also minecraft, so that wouldn't be a lie even without the upcoming announcement.

@K1LLEGAL You mean because of Microsoft we now have mandatory subscription for online, rushed games patched post release as the norm and dlc/micro-transaction malpractices.
Yes, i loved their introduction. Praise to the Microsoft competition. 🤷
Nintendo exists, even if you pretend they don't. With the battle going back to software rather than hardware we will all benefit. Microsoft's competition brought nothing positive to the market. They are a greedy and mediocre hardware and software company to the point they needed to buy Activision Blizzard and Bethesda to remain relevant in the games market.

@Nem when did I pretend Nintendo doesn’t exist? They destroy both Xbox and Playstation in terms of innovation.

I already listed things Xbox helped introduce. But another is the accessibility controller which makes gaming possible for so many people around the world.

But you just went off on one about Xbox that shows you clearly just hate them; which isn’t what I was talking about.

They are walking the SEGA path...just let them

@K1LLEGAL Of course i hate them. I bought their console, it broke down with the red ring of death. They lured me in with rpg exclusives from japan such as blue dragon and lost odyssey and once they achieved sucess they kept to just forza gears and halo. I hate them cause they are dishonest and greedy and make the market worse with their bait and switch schemes, just as they do on the pc market with windows where due to their monopoly we are forced to upgrade windows versions for no practical reason but to give Microsoft more money.
So, don't imply my opinion is worth less cause i hate them. I hate all companies that provide me with mediocre products.

As for the controller, i have no idea what you mean. Plenty of third parties that make controllers for every necessity. There is nothing special on their controller. It's just the continuation of the controller the dreamcast had. 🤷

Also you presumed Nintendo didn't exist when you presumed that Xbox leaving the hardware market meant there is no competition for Playstation. Simply not the case.
So, nothing to worry about.

@Nem you have a real issue with putting words in my mouth.

1. I said lack of competition. Not “no” competition. I am aware Nintendo exist. Sony wishes they were Nintendo.

2. I didn’t imply your opinion is worth less. You were talking about how much you hate Xbox all of a sudden which was a tangent from the discussion. You are entitled to your opinion.

3. The controller I was referring to, which I said in my comment, is the accessibility controller. Which Playstation just copied. Feel free to look it up if you don’t know what it is.

Stop crying about things I never even said in the first place.

Wow. Now there are reports that games like Fable and Avowed have removed Xbox Series mentions and have generalized to console and PC. Big changes coming!

@sword_9mm Windows is the most used OS for desktop computers in the world in what way is it a mess? Who even uses linux or mac?

@Art_Vandelay I don't see how ABK was a mistake when Microsoft can make the money back easily since people aren't wising up and not buying call of duty or candy crush turns, call of duty and candy crush practically print the money.

@K1LLEGAL

Not at all. Lack means no or not enough. I think Nintendo doesn't not qualify as "not enough" given they sell the most consoles atm. So, be more specific with your words to get your points across.

No, i wasn't. You were giving a biased account of Microsoft as a positive competitor. I disputed that fairy tale version of Microsoft. They are a net negative for consumers.
Just cause they made a controller with acessibility options does not excuse the other malpractices they brought.

In fact you are crying cause your biased opinion was challenged and your defense is that "i'm hating". Hating is a consequence of the experience they provided me with, not cause i am on team blue or some crap like that. It's factual.

@Deityjester ABK's yearly net income for 2022 was reportedly $1.513B. Microsoft acquired them for $69B. I don't know about you, but 45 years surely doesn't qualify as "easily" to me.

Yup, that's damning. If it wasn't that big of a deal, or it were less than what people really think it is, there wouldn't be all of these sudden moves to try to retract all of these whoopsies. It just goes to show, I guess, how large corporations are also hiring incompetent people with no common sense. This isn't a "I'm only human and make mistakes" sort of deal, these are morons that you not only wonder how they got a job with reputable companies (THEY HAVE COLLEGE DEGREES) but they're executives that can't do anything as simple as keeping their mouth shut until an unveil. They ALSO have no integrity. In a law-enforcement job you swear an oath to maintain your integrity, meaning you can't be bought. All of these people have no integrity or we wouldn't see all of these leaks, they're bought off, you can't trust people. This isn't a whoopsie, this is incompetent and he wouldn't be posting anything on LinkedIn unless he was unhappy with his job and was hoping someone else would offer him a better. Figure the math on that, why would you update your LinkedIn if you're happy where you're at?

There you have it ladies and gents. Next week is going to be a devastating day for Xbox loyalists. I've been there with the fall of SEGA and watching Sonic Adventure DX show up on the GameCube and I was furious! But we get over it. Sony also makes great hardware so, while it's frustrating it feels Xbox betrayed you, PlayStation will take good care of you and competition is still out there with Valve on PC and Nintendo getting ready to launch their next gen system.

This is why having such a thick shroud in the gaming industry rather than being transparent is so dangerous, look at all this damage that's unfair to consumers that just want to be treated fairly, it's poor customer service. If this all wasn't such. a big concern, because Minecraft and Doom and such are still on PlayStation, he could have left it and said "Well, there's other Bethesda and Activision Games on PlayStation, right?" But even Xbox's PR staff suck. Don't try and hide it, it only makes you look more guilty.

If this goes otherwise next week, then I guess you have to really give Xbox's Marketing Team props for pulling the best David Copperfield they've ever done to generate attention, like good TV, but it doesn't look that way