Xbox's Phil Spencer has final say on game exclusivity

Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer has the final authority on whether or not a game is made exclusive to the Xbox console and PC platform ecosystem of products.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

So Phil is responsible for these changes gotchu.

[chrisx]

Xbox needs new leadership from top to bottom. Phil doesn't cut it.

[darthv72]

Im curious to see what he can do once the 'nice guy' gloves are off... and this whole shit show is making him take the gloves off (finally).

[sinspirit]

@darth

You confuse "nice guy gloves" with a nice guy mask. He's always had core gamers as his last worry for the three consoles he's been in charge of games for. He has never done one thing that was done directly for hardcore gamers. Not a single thing. Not one big franchise release or passion project for the gaming crowd. Any time there was an actual push for what should have been an epic first party exclusive it's basically always ended up horribly. Every time there has also been alternative reasons as well. Like instead of just making a good product that goes into the hands of loyal and good customers it's always got some alternative reasoning that brings the game quality and content offering down. He did it by pushing Kinect games on 360 and ever since he took over all game development before becoming the head of XBox. Not a single thing he has done was ever for gamers. It's only ever been done for Microsoft, which is obvious because Microsoft doesn't actually have a true head of XBox to run XBox. They always intend to steer the ship themselves toward trying to control the market using a near limitless budget, sell gimmicks, and sell services while they let Phil wear the captain hat.

[Zeref]

Lol what? 😂

[Abracadabra]

What a strange world we live in. The CEO's are making the big decisions in a company. I always thought it was the intern that made the big decisions. /s

Someone should warn Jim Ryan that he's not making the big decisions at Playstation. /s

[InUrFoxHole]

Lol

[Obscure_Observer]

@XiNatsuDragnel

"So Phil is responsible for these changes gotchu."

Of course he is. He´s the man who saved Xbox and is leading Xbox into a brighter future with his talent and vision for gaming.

@chrisx

"Xbox needs new leadership from top to bottom. Phil doesn't cut it."

You´re out of luck! Phil ins´t going anywhere till his retirement from Xbox.

[Rynxie]

Nice joke bro. Phil is doing such a great job, that he's avoiding competing and instead, trying to build a monopoly by taking games away from other platforms/gamers.

[Crows90]

So Xbox was in trouble then...finally some confirmation. It's been years of denial.

[staticall]

@Obscure_Observer
> the man who saved Xbox
Microsoft themselves disagree though - https://n4g.com/news/255654...

[outsider1624]

"He´s the man who saved Xbox"

But i thought he said xbox lost..which is it?

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I wouldn't say saved, but at least he convinced Microsoft to persevere with Xbox after the Xone reveal debacle when Microsoft was about to exit the market.

[jjb1981]

🤣🤣🤣

[EvertonFC]

Saved 🤭

[4Sh0w]

In other news, water is wet. Lucky Phil is a nice guy because if it were me the only way I'd put a game *my company owns on ps5 is when they make a deal to do the same 1 for 1. I think only MLB because of a licensing contract forced sony to make it available on Xbox. Honestly, Phil plays waaaaay to nice, in Ryan's case people don't even question whether anything sony own's will be exclusive and thats how it should be. In this biz people take advantage of "nice guys", think about Ryan doesn't even have to answer that question bc we all know where ps stands but *only because Phil goes out of his way to talk about considering to pick n' choose whats exclusive gamers who don't own an Xbox & thus aren't entitled to anything Microsoft has purchased actually think their purchase of the competitors hardware does in fact entitle them to play it on their preferred console. lol, you simply cant make this stuff up. -I mean I'd disagree still but I could kinda take them seriously if the constantly criticized sony for buying any game, rights or content outside of their own long standing 1st party studios but they don't. So it makes me laugh at the fake concern for gamers, nah, maybe ps5 only gamers and this is why I wish Phil would push back harder.

[Obscure_Observer]

Phil played the nice guy for long enough.

It´s past time to bring the heat. Xbox current generation started slow but it´s finally picking up speed and won´t stop!

[The3faces]

I couldn't agree with you more 👍. If Sony had bought Bethesda we all know the games would be exclusive to playstation and there would be no outcry it would just be accepted, the same applies to Mojang and Activision.MS is so rich they're held to a different standard than Sony, it's why they are always expected to play nice even though Sony doesn't.

[sparky77]

How is this even news, who else would be making that decision Jim Ryan? lol

[SullysCigar]

How about the developers/publishers themselves? I.e. Bethesda could decide to put Redfall on PS5 if they so wished, heaven forbid? Quit being so defensive all the time, and think.

This proves (like any further proof was necessary) that Phil is a liar, being that he claimed to believe that exclusives are "completely counter to what gaming is about" or that he didn't want to "force someone to buy my specific device on the day that I want them to go buy it, in order to partake". Yet here we are, with him holding back games - or even straight up cancelling games already in production - for other platforms.

[sparky77]

Err no, why would Bethesda get to decide when MS pays the bills.

Developers like Cory says he would love to make his games available to everyone and was happy when GOW went to PC. I am sure him along with Neil would love all those PS exclusive to go to Xbox as well but that is not happening.

[SullysCigar]

Todd Howard said: " WE'LL decide what best makes sense when the times comes" when interviewed about exclusivity. Just more lies.

Microsoft "pays the bills" for Mojang, too, but they can't remove Minecraft from PlayStation due to the purchasing agreement. Sometimes it's left up to the developer to decide, sometimes it's contractual obligation to publish on rival platforms and sometimes it's up to the acquiring party. It all depends on the agreements made - which, to answer your original question, is why this is news.

[sparky77]

Obv it depends on agreements, Bethesda wanted these games to not release on Playstation Todd himself said he was happy they didn't have to make a PS5 version as they could focus more on Xbox and PC. Even in the trial yesterday Pete said if Starfield were to have a PS5 version it wouldn't be releasing this year.

So I will say again most devs like Cory from PS would love their games to be available to everyone even a lot of studios do to. Bethesda didn't want to release on PS if they did they would have made it part of their purchase agreement like Bungie did with Sony.

So the only person who is lying these days is Jim with his emails.

[SullysCigar]

^ Okay, at this stage I'm genuinely not sure if you're being dumb or deliberately obtuse. You asked a question and I answered it. Then you start taking quotes from Bethesda out of context to try to paint a different picture. Bethesda could, at any stage in the past, have decided NOT to release on PlayStation in order to speed up development, if that was their aim. But it wasn't. Making money was. They'd like their games on PS5, but are towing the party line now they've been purchased, as one would expect.

If Zenimax had published their Redfall game on PS5 it MIGHT have had a chance of not being a huge financial failure, due to not everyone getting the memo that it was shite.

For some obscure reason, you're mentioning games like GOW which were already EXTREMELY successful - both critically and financially - in some bizarre, platitudinous attempt to bring Sony's studios into the debate. I'm still unsure why. Diversion tactics, I suppose.

[sparky77]

So you have decided to just ignore what I wrote, not surprising.

I will say again Bethesda did not want to release on PS if they did they would have put it in their purchase agreement like Bungie.

That it all there is to say in this discussion. If they didn't want MS choosing where their games released they would have done so like Bungie.

I don't understand why you are struggling to understand these simple facts.

[SullysCigar]

^ LMAO I literally just replied to what you said!

The whole point here is that you said "How is this even news, who else would be making that decision Jim Ryan? lol"

I explained that sometimes that's not the case. You've yet to concede the point or counter it. Instead, you bring Sony studios into the discussion (because whataboutisms is the smoothbrain's escape route of choice) and then you claim Zenimax had the luxury of deciding what clauses to include in the purchase agreement - something you can't possibly know or prove! It's a baseless claim - unless you'd care to link to a verifiable source?

If you want to speculate, one could just as easily say that Zenimax may have tried to include such a clause and that Microsoft were not prepared to accept it, so the clause was dropped in order to let the acquisition proceed. < Just more baseless speculation, sure, but you don't seem keen on facts, so 'fire with fire and' all that...

And you STILL haven't reponded to my point - supported by verbatim quotes - about Phlip Phlop Phil saying one thing about exclusivity and then doing another. This is a two-way conversation, so let's hear it...

[sparky77]

I have answered your point over and over you are choosing to ignore it, which is typical.

Keep believing what you want to believe and I will continue talking facts so people don't get confused with your misdirections ok :)

[shinoff2183]

Sully

That's what alot of the fans do over their. They play dumb and take things out of context. Seen it time and time again from a few of em

[Lightning77]

"that Phil is a liar, being that he claimed to believe that exclusives are "completely counter to what gaming is about" or that he didn't want to "force someone to buy my specific device on the day that I want them to go buy it, in order to partake".

Yet here we are again for the 100th time taking that same tired ass quote taking it out of context. Because that's what you ppl do.

“As a player, you are the centre of our strategy,” Spencer stated. “Our device is not the centre of our strategy, our game is not the centre of the strategy. We want to enable you to play the games you want to play, with the friends you want to play with, on any device.”

https://www.nme.com/news/ga...

He's talking about not just Xbox but his own devices. We all know what his own devices are.

There you go. Please learn something for a change.

@Shin yeah you're right SOMEBODY here takes things out of context alright lol.

[Abracadabra]

So, I guess Insomniac, Sucker Punch, Naughty Dog should decide if they want to release their games on other platforms.

[outsider1624]

Don't bother explaining. One showcase and these guys have gone through their head. Look at most of their comments..Obscure's, kionic sparky..etc.
"Lord phil", "best everrrrr" "must own console"
Jeeze the cringe!

[Pyrofire95]

The studio should have a say but I think it's in every right for MS/Xbox to making those decisions. Xbox has (should have) it's own strategy and they'll need to be the ones making the choices for that.

[DOMination-]

Utter bollocks. The publisher ALWAYS decides where a game ends up, not the developer.

The whole point of making a game exclusive is to ensure that your platform is more unique. If your game is only available on X platform, than X platform in theory is more desirable.

Xbox owns Bethesda and their IP and they can do what they want with it. Yes it's annoying - I'd rather play these games on PS5 too BUT It really isn't that hard to understand.

[Crows90]

Your comments are silly. Jim Ryan hasn't been on and on about exclusivity not being a part of their strategy...Phil has done that over and over again.

The point is he is a PR guy and lies a lot...or at the very least is completely misleading consumers.

I personally 5hink he has every right to make all their recently purchased games exclusive. But don't go lying about it. Just be honest.

[Muigi]

No wonder barely anything has come out 😏

[Leeroyw]

I honestly can't tell if king kionic and obscure observer are ironic accounts, like the onion, or south Park. Because if they are serious about "us xbox gamers be eating well tonight" etc then that's kind of strange language.

[XBManiac]

Crackdown 3, Halo Infinite, Redfall... yes, some things have come out 😏

[potatoseal]

I thought this was the case anyway

[gold_drake]

of course he does.
stupid decisions usually come from .. well you get it.

[Hofstaderman]

Phil says….no

[S2Killinit]

Looks like MS is starting to throw Phil under the bus, I have a hunch they are contemplating to replace him in the near future.

[Lightning77]

The court hearings are interesting. Especially considering where the exclusivety is
concerned.

This is what happened with Starfield according to Phil Spencer which is backed by Pete Hines in terms of why it's exclusive.

According to Phil during the hearing, he heard that the next big Exclusive game that was going to be timed exclusive ro PS5 was Starfield. Along the other 2 games in Ghost Wire and Deathloop. Phil Heard SF was going multiplatform so instead of Outbidding Sony like they have in the past they decided to buy out ZB. That much is known.

Pete went on record and explained that if the game was multiplatform it wouldn't ship on Sept 6 but at a much later date. He also went into detail on why he thinks it was good idea to go with one platform. Basically saying, it would be buggy, more delays which racks up the cost they want a smooth launch as possible. They have 100 people testing the two platforms.

I'm not saying this will happen, but what if again what if, Starfiled does release on PS after a year or 2 after Xbox? According to Pete Hines it takes half the work load away when focusing on one console. Bethesda are platform agnostic they ship their games every where except for Morrowind on OG xbox. They almost signed a exclusive PS agreement already before MS bought them they would only ship on PS so they would of been happy (with the money) and knowing they can focus only on 2 platforms.

It's all conjecture of course but Bethesda is being ran semi independently after all I'm just wonder what Pete would think about the theoretical PS5 version after all?

[anast]

Phil is acting alone...

[PhillyDonJawn]

So he really is top dog. 🤔 ok Phil #InPhilWeTrust
Nah I'm jk lol this was obviously. Who else would be calling the shots? Elmo?

[Christopher]

We have been told in the past that these sorts of decisions would be left up to the studios, specifically in regard to Bethesda and Activision. I think most of us knew that wasn't really true, so it's just nice to see it confirmed. But, yeah, you kind of had to know that Phil isn't involved and a key element in these decisions to begin with. What's next, Todd Howard made no design decisions in Starfield? That's his job.

[Reaper22_]

Well he is the CEO so he's basically doing his job. Keep up the good work, Phil. Haters are always gonna hate.

[joannegoode]

How is this even news, who else would be making that decision

[Knightofelemia]

So Phil is the reason why there are a lack of games on the Xbox home plate. And why some of their exclusives are boring and a mess. I'll just stick to Playstation once and if Xbox gets some decent titles that might entice me to buy a Series X.

[InUrFoxHole]

Good make everything exclusive. Sony and their fans are gonna cry no matter what.

[Good-Smurf]

Have you guys saw latest Yong Yea video?
I can only facepalm through it, he either simping MS for views or just don't get the difference between buying a publisher and an exclusive deal for a game.
Probably both.

[Pyrofire95]

For the peeps who nay saying Phil, he's come off as a scapgoat to me with the things that have gone wrong for Xbox lately with things like Redfall. Could he have done more? Yes in hindsight but in the moment Xbox has many new studios and he can't keep so closely in tuned to each as one man. This is a structural and support issue, not a Phil issue. Xbox isn't used to having so much to manage and they are failing now and learning how to do better (hopefully)

P.S. For context about my stakes. I don't have an Xbox. I play on PS and PC. I care in Xbox succeeding as far as wanting to see gaming succeed as a whole; I don't believe in console war fanboyism.
P.S.S. Fire Jim Ryan.

[XBManiac]

It is like someone (ejem, Phil, ejem) is leaving the house (Will he have a paid exit like it is used when someone in Microsoft makes a mistake and is fired with the typical message of "xxxx leaves the company").

[Soulsborne]

Atleast hes gotta die or retire at some point. Until then cry, seethe and cope in final place lunchbox. You choose the order doesnt matter to me

[Markdn]

I've tried so very much to stay with xbox over the years but Phil is just lying these day, yeah ghostwire etc were Ps5 timed exclusives and if he came out and said starfield is a timed exclusive people would understand more than fully exclusive. Or cancelling games in development. Xbox has stirred the pot to make Sony look bad for sure, but unfortunately when you do that you stir up stuff about your own actions. As what has happened here