Xbox boss Phil Spencer says Microsoft will “announce some things that people havenāt seen” and “give updates” on previously announced titles.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencerās interview with the Kinda Funny Xcast is fascinating to watch, and not just because he addresses the failure of Redfall. He spoke about being third to Sony and Nintendo in the console market, and how Starfield wouldnāt cause people to sell their PS5s, even if it was an ā11/10ā game.
However, he is positive about the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase in June. First, he confirmed (transcription via VGC) that the company failed to deliver on its 12-month plan that it hyped nearly a year ago. āNo, we didnāt deliver. Thereās no ānecessarilyā. We didnāt deliver.ā
Avowed, Perfect Dark, State of Decay 3, Contraband, Fable and Everwild have also lacked updates despite being announced years ago. In response, Spencer said, āIām not going to try to oversell the Showcase here, because if I was on the other side watching this itās like, āhey, after Redfall, Iām going to put my hands on the controller and thatās what itās going to take to prove it to me.ā
āBut thatās not what the Showcase is, so Iām very enthusiastic about the Showcase. Weāre going to announce some things that people havenāt seen, some new games, [and] weāre going to give updates to some of the things that were on your list.ā
Spencer is also excited about the future, and how Xbox releases a ābig game out every quarter, at quality.ā He said, āThings are lining up finally after some of the slowdown through COVID.ā And while many may have heard that speech before, he admits, āIām tired of talking about that, but I can now see that weāve got games coming every quarter that I think will surprise and delight our customers.
āWe still have to deliver on the creative, we still have to deliver on the technical, not every game we ship is for everybody, we know that. Iām not trying to build the one game to rule them all.
āWe will have different creative takes, and we have a very diverse portfolio when you think about the stuff that Microsoft Game Studios builds, but I like that. I think for what weāre trying to do as Xbox, which isnāt to mimic any of the other platforms out there, [is to] create our brand and identify the diversity of what we build, [which] hopefully will end up being a strength.
āBut we have to do it at quality, we have to do it on time, and we have to show people what theyāre going to see. We have to show gameplay. And I think Iām kind of beyond that ā we have to put great games in the hands of our players. Thereās nothing else.ā
At the very least, the company is committed to showcasing gameplay, which is a plus. One of the titles that will receive ātons of gameplayā is Starfield, Bethesdaās upcoming sci-fi RPG. Following the Xbox Games Showcase on June 11th, the Starfield Direct will take place and provide more details, developer interviews and footage.