Xbox has spent the previous few years bringing its video games to different platforms – a method that may’ve as soon as appeared unthinkable to these of us who bear in mind when a console was judged by the standard of its unique video games. For Xbox president Sarah Bond, nevertheless, the concept of exclusives is wanting downright “antiquated” as the most important video games on the earth are more and more wanting like platforms in their very own proper.
Asked about unique video games in an interview with Mashable, Bond says, “We’re really seeing people evolve way past that. The biggest games in the world are available everywhere. You look at Call of Duty, you look at Minecraft, you look at Fortnite, you look at Roblox. Like, that’s actually what’s really driving community in gaming. That’s where people gather [and] they have experiences, and the idea of locking it to one store or one device is antiquated for most people. You want to be able to play with your friends anywhere regardless of what they’re on.”
It’s easy to read a bit of defensiveness into what Bond’s saying here as Xbox continues to not produce exclusive games, but she’s really just reiterating the company’s long-stated strategy. Xbox is increasingly positioning itself as less of a platform to play games on, and more of a service to play games through. Exclusives don’t really help the argument in that case.
And yes, in 2025, it’s games like Fortnite, COD, Roblox, and Minecraft that are driving the industry, and the stats on the titles persons are really enjoying each month again that up. You and I – folks studying and writing for conventional gaming media retailers, respectively – may nonetheless desire the now-old-school ‘video games as a product’ or, gasp, ‘video games as artwork’ strategy, however these video games are small potatoes in contrast with the dwell service whales.
But then, is Xbox providing something significantly compelling for video games you’ll be able to play on another platform anyway? Cloud streaming? The promise of Fortnite bonuses in Xbox Game Pass? Devices just like the ROG Xbox Ally X? Bond leans into the hand held for instance of what Xbox is attempting to do: “We’re really leaning into that with this experience because it just opens up another way for you to play. As does cloud, as does PC, as does the consoles that we all own and have in our living room.”
Microsoft says the subsequent Xbox console “will be a very premium and high-end curated experience,” and you’ll see “some of the thinking” within the Xbox Ally handheld.