Industry
The fact that Steam and Epic Games Store may come to Xbox does not mean that PS4 and PS5 exclusives will be supported
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, believes that consoles must open to the new reality and thinks that imitating the Windows model with stores could be an idea to consider.
Recent statements by the head of Xbox have given rise to endless speculation. In an interview with Polygon, Phil Spencer has confirmed his desire for other digital stores to arrive on Xbox. At the moment it is just an idea, a wish, but the executive points to the possibility that Steam or Epic Games Store will be integrated into their consoles in the future. Of course, he did not clarify how it would be done or how the games would work, but these words were enough to make some gamers dream of playing PS4 and PS5 exclusives on Xbox. Let’s not get carried away, because at the moment this situation doesn’t seem too plausible.
An example of this is services like Geforce Now or Apple’s MAC computers that run both Steam and the Epic Games Store. In both cases, incompatible games are blocked. If launched on Xbox, not all titles would work on Microsoft machines, either because they are not optimized or because third-party companies block them. Therefore, the launch of other digital stores does not guarantee that all titles will run on the console, much less that Sony will give in and allow the release of its exclusives from its ecosystem (PS4, PS5, and PC).
A change of perspective: Why Xbox is considering opening up to stores like Steam or Epic Games Store
Phil Spencer did not refer to PlayStation’s specific situation and focused on certain more general ideas, citing the company’s experience with Windows as an example. “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.” The executive recalled that in the past, hardware manufacturers invested in expensive consoles because they knew they would recoup and make more money from software sales, but the situation has changed for several reasons.
Component prices are not falling as fast as in other generations, and the console market is not growing. In this situation, the old method of recouping costs by selling games in the official store may not make as much sense and may be an insurmountable barrier. “What are the barriers, what are the things that create friction for gamers and creators in today’s world, and how can we be part of that openness?” he asks. One of the solutions he suggests is to allow other businesses to operate in their ecosystems.
In the same interview, Phil Spencer explained the reasons that led Microsoft to lay off 1,900 employees. He also talked about the strategy of bringing exclusives to other platforms.