Xbox does not have a very strong portfolio in terms of recent exclusive title releases. Starfield and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 are two exclusives released recently on the Xbox consoles, but the reception and sales figures have been different from what the company would have expected.
It seems like there won’t be more exclusive titles coming anytime soon, as Xbox Studios head Matt Booty has said that the company does not want to launch games very close to another title. The company wants to get the timing right to release a game for a successful launch.
There Will Be Less First-Party Titles on Xbox
Matt Booty discussed a lot about the latest Xbox Games Showcase, Black Ops 6, and other things at Variety’s Strictly Business podcast. While discussing the showcase, Booty was asked if the company is holding back on game launches as a lot of them are targeting the 2025 launch.
He was also asked if it is to avoid releasing any games around GTA 6 and if the company is waiting for other developers to decide on release dates for their games first. Booty said that many across the industry would plan around GTA 6, but this is mainly because the company wants to make sure “we don’t step on ourselves.” He further added,
So when we leave actual months and days of the month sort of open ended, that has as much to do with the fact that we are looking ahead and making sure that we do the right planning so that we’re not getting in our own way.
He also said that the company has a big portfolio, with games coming out in the fall and spring. The company wants to maintain distance between releases so that “every game is given space and has got an opportunity to shine,” and this is also to avoid one game overshadowing the other, meaning that there will be fewer exclusive titles in a year.
The Company Does Not Want to Gives False Hopes of a Game Launch
Matt Booty added that the games do not have a release date is also because the company wants to make sure that when it declares a launch date within six months or a year, it releases the title then only. “We want to get much better that we’re really living up to that and we’re accountable to that,” Booty stated.
This means that Xbox wants to release a game only when it is in the best condition, and there is no chance of a delay. Booty said that the company does not want to create “false precision” when it can release a game.
He also said that they are accountable to the fans and the industry for when they can ship a game, which makes the announced release dates more important. What are your thoughts about this?
What do you think about the company bringing one quality title rather than rushing multiple games that turn out to be bad? Let us know in the comments.
