Today, Microsoft uploaded a new official Xbox Podcast show detailing the near and long-term future of the Xbox platform. Microsoft is undergoing something of a transformation with gaming.
First-party content has overtaken third-party for revenue, and Xbox Game Pass is reshaping how users engage with the platform. Microsoft has opened up its software to third-party stores more than ever, including PlayStation, and Sony has even reciprocated with Helldivers 2 heading to Xbox in the coming weeks.
VP of next-gen Jason Ronald and VP of Xbox Platform Jason Beaumont caught up with the dashing Mixer alumnus Ethan Rothamel of Xbox's social team to discuss the future of Xbox as we know it.
"It's the hardest I've ever seen the team working, there's just so much going on," says Beaumont. "On the console, a lot of what we're working on is under the hood. When we release something that's for PC or for cloud gaming, or for mobile, we want that feature to go everywhere. So that's a lot of the investments we're making. Jason mentioned the Xbox Ally and the Xbox Ally X. We've been working gangbusters to get that released in time for this holiday."
VP of next-gen Jason Ronald chimed in, "When we think about the future of the Xbox, we think about how we put the player at the center of the experience. The vast majority of players play across multiple devices."
"There's a bunch of games I would start playing on the Xbox Ally, and now I want the full fidelity on my console on my big-screen TV. We're focusing on how we evolve the Xbox ecosystem to allow players to play the games wherever they want to play them."
When we think about the future of the Xbox, we think about how we put the player at the center of the experience. The vast majority of players play across multiple devices.
Jason Ronald, VP of next-gen
Ronald emphasizes that Microsoft wants to continue building devices that are dedicated to gaming, including the upcoming first-party Xbox next-gen console.
Beamont and Ronald recapped many of the recent additions made to Xbox PC, including a unified library, storefront aggregation, handheld scaling, and more, while hinting vaguely that even more features will be coming soon for Xbox Insider Program members on PC.
On Xbox Cloud Gaming: More regions, and a cloud-only subscription?
Throughout the podcast, the team at Microsoft discussed a variety of topics, from Xbox Cloud Gaming to next-gen and beyond.
Jason Beaumont hinted that Microsoft is working to expand the availability of Xbox Cloud Gaming to new countries, while spinning up even more servers to "meet demand."
"You're going to see us continue to invest in this area. This includes adding new [cloud] servers to meet the growing demand. We're also exploring innovative ways to reach more players wherever they are. Our goal is really simple; we want to bring more games to more people. Cloud is great at that. We want to expand Xbox Cloud Gaming to more countries around the world, so people can play games they love no matter where they are."
There's a bunch of games I would start playing on the Xbox Ally, and now I want the full fidelity on my console on my big-screen TV. We're focusing on how we evolve the Xbox ecosystem to allow players to play the games wherever they want to play them.
Jason Ronald, VP of next gen
Jason Ronald hinted that Microsoft is exploring "new ways" to access Xbox Cloud Gaming, following our previous report that Microsoft is working on cloud-only subscription tiers for Xbox Cloud Gaming. Perhaps Microsoft is also exploring bringing Xbox Cloud Gaming to Xbox Game Pass Standard with a smaller library, or just the ability to play 'stream-your-own' cloud games.
"One of the things that we see is that there's a lot of players who use Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to access the cloud. Whether it's the primary way, or additional way to play when you're on the go. I think for us, it opens up the opportunity to make it more affordable, and make it more accessible to more players. Whether that's new regions, or new ways to access [Xbox] cloud."
"We want to add more value for our most dedicated players. Whether that's things like adding new first or third-party day-and-date titles, the ability to stream your own games, or even things like adding new free-to-play game benefits. We want to add as much value as we can."
On next-gen, Xbox Game Pass growth, and new hardware experiences
Jason Beaumont emphasized the growth of Xbox Play Anywhere, noting that Xbox transactions even outside of Game Pass are growing by "double digits." "We're seeing a strong alignment with developers, for titles that support Xbox Play Anywhere, they're seeing more play, because the game is available on many more screens. When I think about Xbox Game Pass, we had record Game Pass revenue, and we had our all-time high in Xbox Game Pass payouts to developers."
"In addition, we're also seeing double digit growth in both first and third-party transactions as well. So whether your game is in Game Pass or not, there are many more opportunities for developers to reach players within our community."
The podcast team shifted to discuss Xbox's next-gen, known to be in development in partnership with AMD. Jason Ronald hinted at new AI-powered rendering techniques, while also unifying storefronts from Steam to Xbox to GOG, all on one box. "Xbox and AMD have had a decades-long partnership, innovating in driving the next-generation in gaming. We're excited to continue that relationship as we look forward to the future of Xbox."
In addition, we're also seeing double digit growth in both first and third-party transactions as well. So, whether your game is in Game Pass or not, there are many more opportunities for developers to reach players within our community.
Jason Beaumont, VP of Xbox Platform
Jason Ronald noted that the "silicon innovation" coming out of AMD will revolve around unifying storefronts across multiple platforms on a single device. It's widely believed the next Xbox will be able to incorporate Steam, GOG, and indeed any Windows app potentially — while also supporting your existing Xbox console library.
"We're deeply focused on hardware and silicon innovation and how we can push the boundaries beyond the current generation of devices. This is grounded in the work we're doing to build a unified platform across devices in new ways. It's about ensuring gameplay is not locked to an individual device or storefront. We built our libraries across a whole set of different services, we want to put that experience front-and-centre."
This reminds me a lot of the early days of the original Xbox. We had a vision of where the Xbox console could go.
Jason Ronald, VP of next gen
"Together with AMD we're developing dedicated silicon to power the next-generation of gaming experiences. We're developing next-generation rendering technologies, including neural rendering. It's about deepening the immersion. We're investing in dedicated silicon to develop the next-generation of AI experiences, which will be transformative in how you experience gameplay."
"It also provides a new surface that developers can take advantage of, delivering new kinds of experiences that they weren't able to deliver before. All of this starts this year with the Xbox Ally X, because it has a dedicated NPU that allows us to experiment with some AI-powered experiences before we get to our next-generation console."
Ronald emphasized how, going all the way back to the original Xbox, Microsoft innovated with a long-term vision about where gaming was going. Despite 56K modems being standard, Microsoft would still bet on a future where internet speeds would accommodate a full Xbox Live platform, for example.
"This reminds me a lot of the early days of the original Xbox. We had a vision of where the Xbox console could go. We had this notion of connecting gamers across the world, and ultimately that became Xbox Live. From a hardware perspective, we knew early on we had to invest in things like, a hard drive, an ethernet port."
"At the time, people were gaming on 56K modems. It was out of left field for us to invest in this hardware. We believed in our vision. So for us, it's about betting on the future, rather than against the future. We want to go where players are going, and build the right platform to allow developers to build on their creative vision."
A glimpse into the future of Xbox
Throughout the rest of the podcast, Jason Ronald and Beaumont offered some insights into the design of the Xbox Ally, the development of Xbox's PC offering, including offline play, while emphasizing Xbox Play Anywhere, too.
Of course, developers have to opt-in to Xbox Play Anywhere, and many seem sceptical about the idea of "giving away" multiple licenses for free. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, for example, was revealed as Xbox Play Anywhere, but then it was taken away. Resident Evil 7 was Xbox Play Anywhere, but Resident Evil Village was not.
It's the hardest I've ever seen the team working, there's just so much going on.
Jason Beaumont, VP of Xbox Platform
It's not all bad news, though: Ready or Not didn't have Xbox Play Anywhere at launch, but it was added later, and some publishers have supported Xbox Play Anywhere incredibly strongly, including Square Enix — although even then, the upcoming Final Fantasy Tactics remaster is not Xbox Play Anywhere.
I think well and truly, the only way Microsoft can deliver on its vision is via silicon compatibility. There's far too much content on the Xbox legacy library that won't run on a Windows PC, including games from Microsoft itself.
Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 are notoriously not included in Xbox Play Anywhere, and it's hard to envision how PC-first games like Heroes of the Storm or World of Warcraft would function on console without significant gameplay reworks. It'll be interesting to see how Xbox delivers here.
Be sure to watch the full Xbox Podcast episode here, and let us know what you think.
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