Microsoft has just released a new Xbox and to power up its console, the company is going to increase investment in developing in-house video games.
We need to grow, and I look forward to doing that. Our ability to go create content has to be one of our strengths. We haven’t always invested at the same level. We’ve gone through ups and downs in the investment.
Phil Spencer
Xbox has always been popular because of titles like Halo and Gears of War, the company’s own franchises, but something has changed over the years, leading to the closure of two studios, Lionhead in the U.K. and Press Play in Denmark, and the lack of new titles.
It appears that Microsoft is not looking at the Xbox unit as a sideline now. Spencer has always had to communicate with Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella and it appears that the Xbox guy has finally managed to change directors’ mindset about gaming after all. In July 2014, Nadella described gaming as an important market, but not a core to Microsoft’s mission.
Also, Microsoft has plans on debuting a streaming service that doesn’t require a console for different kinds of content in the next three years, Spencer added. There was such an idea around 2012, but it was too costly and never made it to the market, but the recent technologies change the economics and quality level.
You can find more details on the company’s plans here.