It was a major shortcoming compared to Sony, which launched its PlayStation 5 with no fewer than three exclusive blockbuster games. As a result, Xbox launched with no major exclusive game to speak of. But Xbox pushed it to 2021 after reception to a gameplay showcase, just four months before its initial release, went viral. Pairing them together for another launch? Poetry.
HORIZON FOR XBOX 360 RISK SERIES
In Spencer’s eyes, Series X and S needed it: the original Halo defined the original Xbox in 2001. Infinite was the big tentpole release for Microsoft’s comeback console. And then within a month we had moved it.” “I don’t like that we showed the game, talked about it launching at the launch of the consoles. Most of those decisions don’t weigh much on his shoulders (“I’m not much of a keep-me-up-at-night guy,” he tells me) but delaying Halo Infinite, the flagship launch game for last year’s new Xbox Series consoles, still sits heavy in his heart. All of these monumental calls came in the wake of his inheriting 2013’s Xbox One, a console with a famously disastrous start to life. He’s also overseen the creation of Game Pass – the first Netflix-esque subscription service for video games – and doubled down on game streaming technology despite having seen several competitors elsewhere flame out in ignominy. And purchasing Skyrim and Fallout creators, Bethesda, for a record-breaking $7.5bn last year. That includes buying indie block-builder Minecraft for $2.5bn in 2014. Under his leadership, Xbox’s list of total first-party studios has increased dramatically, from five to 23. Throughout his seven-year tenure in charge of Xbox, Spencer has made some of the biggest moves not just in gaming but entertainment at large. But 'risk averse' is perhaps the least appropriate label for the guy who started his career helming the development of the Encarta CD-ROM encyclopedia. In the end, the rotating button – described by Spencer as “just another thing that could fail” – wasn’t worth the potential cost. Suddenly, that’s a hundred million dollar decision.
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