Xbox boss Phil Spencer says multiplatform ‘brand pivot’ partly driven by Gen Z habits

Xbox’s new exclusivity strategy has partly been shaped by research into Gen Z consumer behaviour, according to Microsoft’s head of gaming.

Through its acquisition of multiplatform blockbusters like Minecraft and Call of Duty over the years, Xbox is already a major publisher on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.

But in February, Microsoft delivered an Xbox business update which confirmed plans to bring more first-party games to rival platforms, initially in the form of Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves and Grounded.

Discussing this strategy shift in an interview with Polygon, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said ballooning development budgets were making exclusives harder to justify.

He said it can cost “$300 million to build a video game” these days and “[the case for] exclusivity gets pressured as the cost of the game goes up.”

Spencer also said a bid to stay relevant with younger consumers was contributing to the decision to make more Xbox games available on as many platforms as possible.

“This notion that Xbox can only be this one device that plugs into a television isn’t something we see in the Gen Z research. Because nothing else is like that for them,” he said.

“Some of them will have an iPhone, some will have an Android, but all the games and everything is the same. I can still get to TikTok on both of them, at least for now.

“All of their stuff is available wherever they want. So for Xbox, our brand pivot — as we attract and maintain relevance with a younger audience — is ‘Xbox is a place where I can find the great games I want to.’”

Xbox has also reportedly weighed up the idea of releasing Gears of War, Microsoft Flight Simulator, the next Doom game, Starfield and Indiana Jones for rival consoles, and Spencer recently said he wouldn’t ever want to rule out any game going to another platform.

“I know sometimes things get weaponized, that there’s some evil in the background that’s making us do things–‘Phil hates exclusives and that’s why we’re like PlayStation and Switch now,’ Spencer told Polygon.

“Every decision we make is to make Xbox stronger in the long run. It doesn’t mean everyone’s going to agree with every decision we make. But it is fundamental for how we make decisions.”