Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer isn’t committing to Starfield staying put on Xbox as, generally, keeping games off platforms is “not a path for us” as it “doesn’t work for us.”
Speaking to former IGN video lead Destin Legarie, Spencer meets a question over whether he can solidify Starfield staying put for the time being with a definitive “no.”
“There is no reason for me to put a ring fence around any game and say this game will not go to a place that it would find players, where it would have business success for us,” he says. “What we find is we’re able to drive a better business that allows us to invest in great game line-up like you saw, and that’s our strategy.
“Our strategy is to allow our games to be available. Game Pass is an important component of playing the games on our platform, but to keep games off of other platforms, that’s not a path for us. It doesn’t work for us.”
Last year, Microsoft revealed it was letting several of its games cross the console divide, with Hi-Fi Rush heading to PS5 alongside Obsidian’s Grounded and Pentiment jumping to the Nintendo Switch. We’ve even seen games after that, such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, factor in staggered PS5 releases into their launch strategy – even if the Xbox Series X is given a head start.
Amidst all that, Starfield has remained a ‘will they, won’t they’ situation. While Spencer’s comments don’t guarantee that it will happen, they lend a certain sense of inevitability.
Doom: The Dark Ages will release simultaneously for PS5 and Xbox Series X when it lands in May, because the director told Phil Spencer he “wanted to sell it on all platforms.”
