Assessing the New Studio Landscape and the Future of the Gaming Industry

The Gaming Industry has been through a lot in the past few years, and the player base has enough reason to be concerned about the future. Previous generations have had an established path for each competitor like Microsoft and Sony, two major gaming corporations battling with unique strategies.

While each platform has unique strengths like hardware and first-party software, one of the two is making some moves that can breed catastrophe or the right step forward for the future of gaming. Perhaps the time has come for these gaming corporations to abolish the old ways and start anew.

The Console War Kept the Gaming Industry Alive

The gaming industry was rocked after Microsoft head Phil Spencer announced that four first-party titles would be ported to rival hardware. Spencer’s intentions or strategy was unclear; however, it is worth noting that games like Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush performed better on the rival platforms. Perhaps Spencer is no longer interested in directly competing with Sony concerning first-party IP despite going on an aggressive acquisition spree.

The gaming community assumed that collecting third-party developers like Activision Blizzard and Bethesda Game Studios was meant to improve the Xbox’s brand and lack of compelling first-party games that led to its downfall in the previous generation. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case after the company shut down Tango Gameworks and many more to reshift resources elsewhere.

Console exclusivity is the most powerful asset the PlayStation brand had and secured the platform’s relevancy in the past two generations. Games like God of War, The Last of Us, Uncharted, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima, Helldivers 2, and many more first-party triple-A games that has set the standard for what quality gaming should look like.

The Microsoft player base wanted to see first-party games of this caliber; however, Spencer has his sights on ending the war of acquisitions to set the company on a more level playing field.

Xbox First-Party Games Are Headed to the PS5 Anyway

The gaming community had high hopes for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, knowing it would be an Xbox exclusive until it wasn’t after this year’s Gamescom. The Xbox community expressed their profound disappointment after being let down by Spencer when he previously claimed that no other major first-party game will be ported. It is evident that Spencer’s plan is either ever-changing or nothing has been set in stone to begin with.

There were even rumblings of Microsoft potentially porting Halo, an original first-party Xbox franchise that single-handedly kept the brand afloat. Doing so is like giving away the only golden goose the Xbox platform has which did not sit well with most fans.

The idea of console exclusivity is that it encourages all platforms to bring their best to keep up and learn from the opposition. Without any direct competition, most projects will feel flat and dry. The spirit of competition keeps both platforms afloat and on the edge of their seats but Microsoft seems to be waving the white flag and is more than willing to share rather than to keep its first-party games tethered to its ecosystem.

Triple-A exclusive games can sell consoles and it is silly to think otherwise. Most PlayStation users play first-party exclusives on the console and can even play major third-party games. Nintendo is in a similar boat while the Nintendo Switch is not a powerhouse like an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, Nintendo is thriving with its first-party exclusives.

Now that Microsoft seems to have lost all interest in competing and acquired major third-party developers only to share these games everywhere else, there is a slim chance that future triple-A games will be affected. Most game developers compete with themselves to improve what was already done before which is a healthy way for self-improvement.

Are you concerned about the future of the gaming industry? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!