Microsoft CEO Commits To Producing 'Great Quality Games' As Xbox Expands

As longtime Xbox fans question Microsoft and its current strategy shift, this is great to hear from the company CEO himself. As we mentioned in yesterday's Muse post, the future of AI in gaming is still uncertain, but if Nadella & co. understand that high quality games come first, we should be in good hands as Xbox fans.

Exactly. Xbox is killing it lately. Avowed, chefs kiss. The rest of the year is stacked and (DOOM especially) looks absolutely amazing. It's one hell of a time to be an Xbox fan!

we've got to produce great quality games, you can't be a gaming publisher without first and foremost being focused on that

Nonsense, I won't hear of it! People have been hanged for this kind of deranged, outlandish, unorthodox and most important of all dangerous thinking.

"cloud gaming is a natural thing for us to invest in because that'll just [...] expand the ability for people to play games everywhere"

If after this, people still don't understand that 'everywhere' mainly means the cloud, there's nothing more we can do for them. This is exactly what Phil has emphasized recently. But yes, more Xbox games on more platforms (mainly PC and cloud, and some temporary exclusives on competing platforms) also means better funding for studios and better quality games, and even better gamepass catalog. It's a virtuous circle!

I think the last few MS games have been pretty good from a quality perspective. They could be better I think but overall, most of their new games are playable.

If they want their review scores to increase I think they have to ship games in a bit better first day state though. To me that is the difference between 7-8.5 out of 10 and 9-10's.

I like the direction MS is headed but, they need to sustain the direction for years and not keep changing it. MS has tried things and often gave up too early on some stuff and way too late on others. I think the choice to bundle Kinect with XB One was a bold move but it was also a brutal failure. It increased the price of the console too much.

@Kaloudz
Totally agree and a series x with GPU is now turning into a great option to own.
Of course there are many that can’t see past their fan boy nose to see this.

Yes, it was good to see him mention the future of consoles too, @fatpunkslim. Oh, wait! He didn't...

Am I a fan boy, @OldGamer999...? 😉🤣

Great games will attract gamers and that means bringing in 'revenue' - either Subscription Fees, Hardware and/or Software sales. The more gamers you attract in, the more revenue and larger user base to sell additional content like DLC and MTX's too.

All these Games are guaranteed on Xbox - not all are guaranteed to release on Playstation/Switch (not Day 1) and therefore will give gamers a reason to buy an Xbox - that and the fact they are on Game Pass too making Xbox the better value hardware console to play Xbox games on.

As for the argument about games going to Playstation and therefore no reason to buy an Xbox. then the same can be said about Playstation - might as well buy a PC as Playstation games are all releasing there. Xbox release day 1 on PC and has Game Pass for PC and PC also has Exclusives and emulation of older Console games so has the most games of ANY hardware.

Games are what will attract gamers in and generate revenue and to me it makes sense to maximise revenue opportunities to invest in that Content Stream to keep players in their Sub Service, keep playing and spending money on their products etc...

It is refreshing to hear the ceo of microsoft so committed to making videogames. Xbox was always an underdog within the company but now is a major focus.

I will continue to say, preach, nonstop, that Microsoft be much, much, much, better off if nadella would leave Microsoft or if the Board found way to remove him.

Nadella has absolutely been terrible for long term health of Microsoft for about last 10 years.

Quality + fun = big win. Let's go!!

@Fiendish-Beaver
No, you are just wise
And I’m older but dafter 🤣

And the games of quality after 5 years of promises/waiting are?

@Kaloudz He's only talking about Cloud and subscriptions and A.I. Those things don't bode well for the Xbox consoles.

@donv2135 I love how you just took my comment without any depth of thought on your end.

I stated Microsoft as a whole over last 10 years. Not just Xbox. Nadella has canceled amazing and top notch products that could propelled into much better position for the future.

That's not even taking into consideration how nadella has done nothing but find ways to make everything he can into an unnecessary, overpriced, subscription service.

@Kaloudz @OldGamer999 is am playing Avowed and Ninja Gaiden Black 2 right now on GP. It’s unbeatable value. NGB2 is really good and i can’t imagine playing that on that the Dual sense. The Dual sense is to tall and wide for my hands to quickly adjust to a fast game such as NGB2. Avowed is coming along i got 5 hours in and enjoying it. It’s so good to look at i roam around to find all the chest boxes but also just to see the landscapes they built. Xbox never won the console war on hardware sales. It was always Xbox live on the OG, or Achievements and cross game chat on 360. And now we have had GP the last 2 generations as the difference maker along with quick resume. My point is Xbox being the 3rd console it has always sold like a 3rd console outside of 360, not to mention Xbox is dead and leaving the hardware business has been said since the OG and here we are. Sure things aren’t looking great for hardware for Series consoles, but i suspect they hit 40 million at the end. They ain’t leaving 40 million consoles behind when they have PC, Cloud Mobile and Nintendo and PS money on top of it. Now get the other OEM’s in on making Xbox’s and that could be a big thing, everyone talks about Nintendo in Japan and for good reason but guess what is growing like wild fire in Japan? PC and mobile. What if a Asian company like Samsung made a Xbox that catered more to that area’s needs in the form of a PC running Xbox Os? That likely would sell more than MS’s own Xbox. Don’t give up hope yet. Phil said the hardware has to appeal in order to sell. Could this be the plan?

All the doom and gloom surrounding Xbox in the social media space is so ridiculous. They're posting record revenue, they're opening up their games and their ecosystem to everyone, and they're realizing that they're not going to hit their 3 billion gamers goal by stuffing themselves inside of a plastic box. Microsoft is truly on the right road and the future looks insanely bright.

@HonestHick As weird as this may sound, you have to look at Xbox like you would an Apple product, oddly enough. Apple Mac Books don't sell as much as Windows based PC's, but yet it's a better made product with features people love that you can't get on Windows. There are WAY less iPhones in the wild than there are Android phones, but yet people seem to love the features of iPhones thanks to stuff like iTunes and the App store. Despite this, Apple doesn't give up on Mac Book and iPhone because they're not #1 in sales. Just because you can't outsell your competition doesn't mean to can't be number one in services and software. Xbox is going to be producing more revenue than Sony come the middle/end of the year and they know that it's only a matter of time until they're owners of the lions shares of money in the gaming market.

@HonestHick
Playing the same two games Avowed and NG2B on series x GPU.
All I can tell in the UK is they are replenishing stock not as quick as they should do but stock does arrive. That also tells me by looking that the stock does sell and run out.
I do wonder if instead of making new Xbox consoles for the UK, they could be redirecting stock from other European countries to the UK.

The Xbox consoles always do ok in the UK and sell ok. So there is definitely a UK and of course a USA market for Xbox consoles.
I have no numbers but I bet GPU sells good in the UK and only second to the USA.

I really hope we get a next generation home Xbox console like the series x but more powerful. But it must have quick resume a great feature.

The one who wins is the one who makes games and sells services; that's where profitability lies. And thanks to this funding, everything can follow: marketing campaigns, new games, a well-stocked Game Pass, competitive new consoles, exclusive games, etc. And all of this is to the advantage of Xbox players who enjoy a great Game Pass, new exclusive games, even if some are ported to other consoles a few years later. Xbox's good health is beneficial for Xbox players.

PlayStation players, on the other hand, are relegated to second place regarding Xbox games because they don't have access to Game Pass and can't play them as early (except for historically multi-platform games). As for their own exclusive games, there are not many, and there will be even fewer as third-party publishers turn away from PlayStation. Moreover, they will be forced to do day-one releases on PC quickly to remain profitable because things are going very badly financially for them.

Hot take: why buy a PlayStation? Unless you have been with them for a while or you are a fan of their studios, you can play way more great games on xbox for less money.

Most anticipated games on PS this year have so many MS titles: COD, Doom, Forza 5, Indy, OW2 and so on.
On xbox you have those with GPU and the money saved can go to monster hunter, GTA and such.
So you miss those couple of PS games but end up playing way more other games. Not even mentioning DS2 is a timed exclusive now and overall game not for everybody. And only big exclusive is ghost 2. They just dont have that many exclusives now to satisfy you thru the year and yiu will end up playing a lot of multiplat anyways which is cheaper and more accessible on xbox via GP.

In this economy not everyone can afford to buy all games they want but anyone can pay $20/m or cheaper for GPU and then also buy couple of anticipated games like GTA

Just get another elder Scrolls or two and fallout games then before I'm a pensioner and please God 🙏 don't make them dull and boring like starfield 😭🐕

@OldGamer999 I can't get my head around the thinking of it. It's insane to think that with everything they've invested, even just recently (acquisitions, Muse AI, hardware being worked on, and more besides) that they're about to fold lol. It's quite the opposite if you ask me. Muse AI alone shows that they're thinking years down the road.

@TheGameThrifter Gaming has got a long history at the company, and we want to be in gaming for gaming's sake

Yeah, not really. But as for the AI - it was touched upon yesterday when this was announced that one of the many tools this AI will be handy for is game preservation - ensuring games are playable well into the future. Quote:

We believe this could radically change how we preserve and experience classic games in the future and make them accessible to more players.

I personally think that bodes extremely well for consoles. Not to mention their hardware teams are hard at work creating the next Xbox, as well as updated controllers (if I recall) and more beyond...

@HonestHick not to mention Xbox is dead and leaving the hardware business has been said since the OG and here we are.

Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Christ, most people spouting it now were spouting the same nonsense back when Xbox One was 720 and PS was 1080 - and the brand is lightyears from there. It went from that to "no games on Xbox but countless on PS" to the direct opposite, and then some!

People soon forget that Xbox released a powerful Xbox One X console at the end(ish) of the last gen cycle and it cost a ton. It is also (I recall) more powerful than the Series S. It's also important to remember that gens are not barriered anymore unless devs stop showing support, and lets face it, they really haven't stopped supporting last gen.

There's less reasons to jump from gen to gen when you can play practically everything this gen, on last gen hardware. But even with the numbers to the side, you hit the nail on the head, there's so many moaners that were wrong then, and are still wrong now. Xbox - as you say - (especially GP) has outstanding value, and given what we know about Muse AI, next gen hardware, and everything between, it's daft to suggest Xbox is weaker than ever. It's the opposite.

@Millionski If you're into JRPGs and fighting games like I am, PlayStation is the unofficial home of both. It's not even about exclusives, I see those as nice bonuses; the overall selection is just much better-suited to my tastes. 🙂

@Millionski I have had the last 3 xboxes. picked up a PS5 a few months back and I have over 25 exclusives on my Wishlist. I respectfully couldn't disagree with your sentiments more.

@Millionski the simple answer is because that's where the majority now have their digital libraries after the last gen. The majority of purchasers (casual folks) simply won't drop it for GP

@Kaloudz i rarely get truly excited for games anymore (I'm old).

But DAMN I can't wait to play doom lol

@Millionski for me its as simple as GP has little to no value at all, I had it for abouit 3 months as i got it free and even then had very little I wanted to play on it.

Its not a dig at all, just as with anything its only got value if the games appeal to you and very little on there does.

@Dimey yeah if you never had ps then you would be swarmed with exclusives.

The poibt is if you catch up at least to ps4 games then there is not much this gen

@OldGamer999 the only thing i can think of is the Xbox Series X loses like $150 per unit sold. Maybe with the all white digital they are trying to find ways to lower cost and find the right number of units they need in regions around the world before they appear on shelves again. But please my friend take that with a HUGE pinch of salt cause i am guessing. Purely a guess and not intended to sound like i know that. However i do know they lose a lot per unit on the series consoles and next gen they will sell for either cost, or a slight margin or loss. But it won’t be this big of a lose for sure. I can’t wait to find out more out what Xbox will be doing hardware wise next gen in a few more years. One thing i do think we will see is a Xbox Os that is used on many devices meaning anything running it is a Xbox much like anything running windows is a PC.

@Kaloudz i agree they are stronger in the software side of things, but in fairness they are hurting in yearly hardware unit sales. Which stinks cause the Xbox 360 is, was and always will be my favorite console of all time ever made by any company. But the hardware we all know had its issues. The Series X is rock solid design and functions amazing. If Xbox can figure out its hardware and get it out to more gamers next gen then i ask all those doom and gloom people where is the weakness? They have near 40 studios owning some of the biggest IP in gaming not named Mario or Zelda. Great services and features. Sony as much as i like my PS5, they have none of that and lately they can’t seem to get a game past the cancelled stage. Sure that will change in time, but they said it themselves they are dry on big new idea’s for new IP. Well it shows trying to turn GOW into a live service game and saying Concord would be their Star Wars. Can we say out of touch? They will sell forever on name brand alone. Heck i even buy one even tho i pay it 85% less than my Xbox. But again i think MS needs to figure out it’s hardware plans and thats largely the only thing missing.

They have spent the last ten years creating a work that focuses on something else rather than creating an interesting game.
As a result, many IPs have collapsed.

I look forward to them making games again with exciting and engaging characters and worlds like they did on the Xbox 360.

A game publisher committed to making games? Radical, but it just might work

Yet another creator claims its content, seems even Microsoft doesn’t know what its end game is on this topic!

I bet it leads to more half baked games from Microsoft compared to the AAA from Sony. Hopefully Avowed is ok 7/10 is reasonable but I was expecting 9/10 at least.

@hbkay avowed, a game where the neutral npcs are static and you can't kill any of them, even eso the npcs move around in cities.