Industry Growth Was a Filter That Influenced Every Major Decision Phil Spencer Made at Xbox

Last year, Xbox started porting its first-party games to competing consoles, which significantly altered the company’s exclusivity strategy. In 2025, this multiplatform shift is expected to continue, as per Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming. Sea of Thieves, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, and Grounded were the first Xbox first-party games to be given the multiplatform treatment.

Later in 2024, Microsoft revealed that Doom: The Dark Ages, The Outer Worlds 2, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would also be available on the PS5 in 2025. The first two titles will be day-one releases. However, all of these decisions by Spencer became possible because of one factor.

Phil Spencer wants Xbox to be a contributor to the industry’s growth

In an interview in 2023 with Eurogamer, Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming talked about Xbox and its future plans. Game Pass has always been a trump card for Xbox from the very beginning. In that regard, PlayStation has always fallen short behind Microsoft’s long-hailed console company.

Even from 2023, PlayStation stopped sharing its PS Plus numbers. Amidst this situation, Spencer was asked in that interview if that would ever help Xbox to grow further and this is what he replied:

Spencer clearly stated that what matters the most is his own company’s success as he never wanted to rise high by dragging others down. Spencer wanted his company’s growth to be a part of the gaming industry’s growth. He believed if the company can be a part of the growing game industry, then it will also get its fair share of return as well.

Before taking every major decision, the first question that comes to Spencer’s mind is, “Will this help the industry grow?” And this was the “filter” that used to influence the decisions of Spencer and Xbox as a whole.

Spencer also revealed in that interview that the company’s tactic has always been to make its games available in more places. That is why Microsoft emphasized gaming on cloud so that people can still play all the modern titles instead of actually buying each of them.

That is why the CEO thinks subscription isn’t an alternative or combatant of retail, “it’s just another way [for] more content in more places with more diverse business models or price points for players or families to build their library.”

However, that’s not the only thing Spencer has to say about console exclusivity and gaming in general.

Microsoft Gaming boss shares his opinion about breaking the console-exclusivity norm

Spencer defended Xbox’s multiplatform strategy in a recent interview with Gamertag Radio, saying that the platform holder won’t “put walls up” for players who wish to play its first-party games on other platforms. Spencer claims that “every creator out there” aspires to create games that appeal to as many players as possible.

Spencer, however, hopes to disrupt the console exclusivity paradigm with Xbox by enabling players to experience it in “different forms,” including cloud, PC, handheld systems, and mobile phones. This is in contrast to platforms like PlayStation and Nintendo. He concluded by affirming that more Xbox first-party games will “no doubt” eventually appear on PlayStation, Nintendo, and Steam.

Spencer’s remarks undoubtedly support the idea that Xbox is fully committed to giving up console exclusivity. Only one upcoming Series X/S console exclusive, South of Midnight, was revealed during Xbox’s most recent Developer Direct 2025 presentation; all other featured games were confirmed to launch on the PS5. However, that only game is going to stir huge controversy.

It’s interesting to note that the Developer Direct specifically indicated “PS5” among the platforms that were available for Ninja Gaiden 4, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. This wasn’t really the case in any previous Xbox presentation. Xbox appears to be moving toward a multiplatform future; only time will tell what this means for the company’s upcoming hardware.