Xbox head Phil Spencer says that making games for both Xbox One and its next-gen console won’t hold back the Xbox Series X.
It seems that Sony and Microsoft are taking two very different paths when it comes to next-gen gaming. Whereas Sony is focusing entirely on the PlayStation 5 and making exclusive games that are optimized to run on their latest and greatest console, Microsoft is telling its studios to ensure their games remain compatible with the Xbox One even as they make games for the Xbox Series X.
This has led some to believe that the PlayStation 5 will have the better library thanks to great optimization. Some have even accused Microsoft of “holding back” the Xbox Series X by making games that are equally compatible with last-gen hardware.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer doesn’t seem to agree. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Spencer explains that he believes in making games work on all kinds of hardware and that not focusing on the Xbox Series X with its first-party titles isn’t going to result in either lesser games or a lesser console.
“Frankly, ‘held back’ is a meme that gets created by people who are too caught up in device competition,” Spencer said. “Yes, every developer is going to find a line and say that this is the hardware that I am going to support, but the diversity of hardware choice in PC has not held back the highest-fidelity PC games on the market. The highest-fidelity PC games rival anything that anybody has ever seen in video games. So this idea that developers don’t know how to build games, or game engines, or ecosystems, that work across a set of hardware… there’s a proof point in PC that shows that’s not the case.”
It’s bizarre how Microsoft is suddenly the inclusive company when it comes to gaming, what with releasing almost all their titles on PC (including Steam). But hey, crossplay and inclusive gaming should be the norm, and we’re happy that Microsoft is championing that cause.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
