Microsoft has reiterated that first-party Xbox Series X exclusives are not part of its launch strategy for the next-gen console.
While exclusive games have traditionally been key to driving console sales,Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty said in Januarythat the company is keen to avoid alienatingXbox Oneowners by releasing platform exclusive titles during the new console’s early days.
Revisiting the subject in ablogpublished on Thursday,XboxbossPhil Spencersaid first-partyXbox Series Xexclusives won’t be released for a number of years.
“You won’t be forced into the next generation,” he said. “We want every Xbox player to play all the new games from Xbox Game Studios. That’s why Xbox Game Studios titles we release in the next couple of years—likeHalo Infinite—will be available and play great on Xbox Series X and Xbox One.
“We won’t force you to upgrade to Xbox Series X at launch to play Xbox exclusives.”
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The approach is unique in the console space and in stark contrast to the strategy of rivalPlayStation, which has committed to releasing games thatare only possible on its more advanced PlayStation 5.
Spencer’s blog also touched on plans for backward compatibility when Xbox Series X launches during the 2020 holiday season.
“It’s our intent for all Xbox One games that do not require Kinect to play on Xbox Series X at the launch of the console,” he said.
“And because of the unprecedented power of Xbox Series X, most of your favorite games will load faster andlook and perform many times betteron the new console.”
Microsoftsaid in May thatXbox Series X already plays 1,000s of gamesthanks to its advanced backwards compatibility support.
In March,PS5lead system architectMark Cernysaid Sony expects almost all ofthe top 100 PS4 games to be playable on PS5when it too launches during the 2020 holiday season.
In a follow-up statement,Sony Interactive Entertainment’sHideaki Nishino saidthe company believes “the overwhelming majority of the 4,000+PS4titles will be playable on PS5”, although he didn’t say when that might be.
“We’re expecting backward compatible titles will run at a boosted frequency on PS5 so that they can benefit from higher or more stable frame rates and potentially higher resolutions,” Nishino added.
