Xbox won’t be leaving the hardware business.
Xbox will reportedly not stop making consoles anytime soon. Xbox is one of the biggest video game companies out there and has rightfully earned the place of being one of the “big three” (Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox). Xbox has, however, been at the bottom of those three for a while as Nintendo and PlayStation have retained a strong hold on the console space for years now. Xbox has realized it likely won’t be able to compete purely with just exclusive games and has tried to carve out its own unique section in the marketplace by focusing on things like services. Xbox Game Pass has been an industry game changer and has allowed Microsoft to leverage itself in unique ways across platforms, possibly including rival consoles going forward.
There are currently a lot of reputable rumors going around that Xbox is planning to bring its biggest games to PlayStation, including Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Xbox is planning to lay out its plans more firmly next week and set the record straight, but all of this has created a lot of chaos. Many have began to fear that Xbox is going to leave the hardware space and focus on being a gaming publisher, meaning there may not be a new Xbox console next generation or the generation after. However, that is apparently not the case. According to reputable reporter Shannon Lao, Xbox boss Phil Spencer held a townhall meeting where it was clearly explained that Xbox is not leaving the hardware business. No specifics were given, but it seems Xbox still wants to have its own space in the market and not play exclusively to its rivals.
As game budgets increase and the overall state of the industry continues to be in flux, Xbox’s strategy may be one that seems normal 5 – 10 years from now. It seemed almost absurd to imagine PlayStation would have games on anything other than its own consoles in 2014. However, in 2024, it is expected that all of its major releases will come to PC at least a couple of years after they drop on console.
