Satya Nadella says future Xbox games may also launch on rival consoles. (Image: Xbox)
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has hinted that Xbox could become a “good publisher” for all platforms, including rivals like PlayStation and Nintendo.
Console wars are still a thing on the internet, and many gamers still try to defend their console of choice. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to the games a system has. Both PlayStation and Nintendo have huge followings thanks to their attractive lineups of first-party games. Xbox, on the other hand, has been touted to be playing catch-up, but recently completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard to beef up its own lineup—which could potentially mean a bunch of new “Xbox exclusives.”
However, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has hinted that this might not be the strategy Xbox takes, as it could be a “good publisher” for all platforms, including rivals like PlayStation and Nintendo.
This comes after Satya Nadella spoke to Bloomberg, where he said,”We love gaming. In fact, Flight Simulator was created before even Windows. But we were number three, number four. And now with Activision, I think we have a chance of being a good publisher—quite frankly—on Sony and Nintendo and PCs and Xbox. We’re excited about that acquisition closing, and I’m glad we’ve got it through.”
This also corroborates with what he said in December at the company’s shareholder meeting, stating that Microsoft intends to release games across platforms. “We think that now we have the ability to do what we always set out to do, which is build great games and deliver them to folks across all platforms, which is Xbox and consoles, PCs, and now even including mobile gaming and cloud gaming,” said Nadella.
These statements, along with recent reports suggesting that Microsoft may be considering bringing games like Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves to rival consoles from PlayStation and Nintendo, do indicate that this may become a definite possibility going forward.
Keep in mind, Microsoft has already promised to keep releasing Call of Duty games (which it now owns thanks to the Activision acquisition) on both PlayStation and Nintendo consoles for a decade. But it’s still unclear if other games from its first-party studios will make it to PS5 and Nintendo Switch consoles as well.
