During a chat at this year's Game Developers Conference, Xbox boss Phil Spencer spoke about how he would like to break down certain "walled gardens" within the gaming space, so players could potentially buy games from other storefronts on Xbox.
When asked about a future where storefronts like the "Epic Games Store" and "Itch.io" could exist on Xbox, Spencer told Polygon that he's got some frustrations with closed ecosystems and could see "real value" in a console experience more comparable to Windows, where the storefront is a choice made by the user:
“Yes, [Consider] our history as the Windows company. Nobody would blink twice if I said, ‘Hey, when you’re using a PC, you get to decide the type of experience you have [by picking where to buy games]. There’s real value in that.”
Spencer also falls back on how the console market isn't growing enough and more players are moving to PC and even portable options - so the less barriers around home console platforms like Xbox, the better. This would all play into Xbox's mission to make gaming more accessible, break down barriers, and essentially give players more freedom.
"I think, what are the barriers? What are the things that create friction in today’s world for creators and players? And how can we be part of opening up that model?"
It'd certainly be interesting to see other third-party storefronts appear on Xbox - this is something we've not really seen before in the console space. Microsoft seems keen on further opening things up, so we'll have to see how the console landscape changes in the coming years.