We are experiencing a unique moment in the video game industry. And it is that, for the first time in decades, one of the three major companies has decided to change course in an unexpected (and unknown at the moment) twist.
We have had a few days of many news and updates regarding the American company. Even in some aspects, the news is quite harsh for Microsoft’s gaming division.
In late January, the company announced the layoff of 1,900 members of the Microsoft Gaming team, which is 9% of its workforce.
And now, this weekend, unconfirmed rumors claimed that Microsoft planned to release previous Xbox-PC exclusives like Starfield, the upcoming Indiana Jones game, and more on Sony’s PlayStation 5 console.
What will Phil Spencer say next week?
In a post on his personal Twitter account, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer stated that the division has been “planning a business update event for next week”.
Spencer stated that the event will allow Microsoft Gaming to share “more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox.”
It is still unclear whether this “business update event” is intended to be a typical conference, with video game announcements and official business statements, or just a live press release with Phil explaining the future of Xbox.
Whatever the way to do it, it is likely to be a turning point in Microsoft’s video game business in general. After the acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October, Microsoft has remained silent about its future plans for the gaming division.
And we still don’t have information about when Activision Blizzard titles will arrive on Xbox Game Pass. Let’s hope this business update addresses the future of Activision Blizzard IP on Microsoft.
Then there is the issue of the exclusive Xbox games, which seem to be coming to PS5 in the following months, although it is possible that not all of them will and they will choose very carefully which ones do.
There are many doubts, many. There are even people wondering if they could see Xbox Game Pass available on PlayStation 5. But this seems really difficult. We’ll see what happens.
