Yesterday at Xbox X019, Microsoft's yearly Xbox event, a host of Xbox personalities and developers took the stage to share what's in store for the platform in the near future. In addition to some new titles coming to Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription service, there was quite a bit of news eluding to a growth in first-party Xbox offerings from Xbox Game Studios.
Throughout the show, Xbox unveiled a few new upcoming first-party titles for gamers to look forward to, along with some third-party offerings. After showcasing a variety of upcoming titles to excited fans, the show pivoted to Xbox UK personality Charleyy Hodson to wrap up with Xbox chief Phil Spencer at her side. Hodson pulled the thread further about the announcements with Spencer, particularly leaning toward the first-party presence discussed during the show.
Twinfinite.net pointed out that during the conversation, while referencing the abundance of news about upcoming and in development titles from Xbox Game Studios, that fans of the platform should "get used" to an increased cadence of first-party announcements.
“Frankly, when we look forward and we look at the shows to come, I can’t see a show when we won’t be announcing new first party games. There’s just so much in development, and there’s so few shows that I think this should just be something that we should get used to.”
This shouldn't come as a surprise, as Xbox had spent some time in the last couple of years acquiring some new studios to their repertoire, insinuating that a first-party initiative was in play. Earlier in the X019 event, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty solidified that prediction while referencing the number of teams under the Xbox umbrella.
“Across all of our studios we’ve really shifted from a focus of growth and acquisition, moving onto execution and delivery.”
With recent acquisitions of studios such as Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and Obsidian Entertainment, in addition to some long-term staples like Rare and 343 Industries, it's an exciting time for Xbox fans. Sony has generally been leading the charge with the amount first-party output on PlayStation, but it seems Xbox is more than ready to kick into high gear and deliver fresh new experiences for their dedicated fan base.
While the the first-party focus generated the majority of the buzz, Xbox padded out the event further with some announcements about some celebrated third-party games that will be making their debut on the platform soon. Spencer shared that he had been traveling between Seattle and Tokyo quite a bit, and was happy to share that fan favorites Kingdom Hearts, Yakuza and Final Fantasy XIV will be coming soon to Xbox. Between the tease of an increased flow of new titles from Xbox Game Studios, fresh third-party titles, and a few favorites set to make their first appearance on the platform, gamers certainly have a lot to look forward to with the future of Xbox.
Source: Twinfinite.net