Xbox CEO Phil Spencer reflects on past decisions, acknowledging missed opportunities and some "worst decisions" impacting major franchises. This article explores his comments and provides updates on upcoming Xbox titles.
At PAX West 2024, Phil Spencer discussed pivotal moments in his Xbox career, including significant franchises that eluded Microsoft. He cited Bungie's Destiny and Harmonix's Guitar Hero as examples of regrettable decisions. While acknowledging his close relationship with Bungie during his early years at Xbox, Spencer admitted Destiny initially failed to resonate with him, only appreciating its appeal later. Similarly, he confessed to initial skepticism surrounding Guitar Hero.
Spencer emphasized his forward-looking approach, stating that dwelling on past decisions isn't his style, despite numerous missed opportunities.
Despite past setbacks, Xbox continues to pursue major franchises. Dune: Awakening, an action RPG from Funcom, is slated for release on Xbox Series S, PC, and PS5. However, Funcom's chief product officer, Scott Junior, acknowledged challenges optimizing the game for Xbox Series S, leading to a PC-first release strategy. Junior reassured gamers that the game will perform well even on older hardware.
Indie developer Jyamma Games' Enotria: The Last Song encountered significant delays on Xbox, just weeks before its scheduled September 19th launch. The studio reported a lack of communication and response from Microsoft, despite the game's readiness for both Xbox Series X and S. This resulted in the game launching on PlayStation 5 and PC only, with the Xbox release currently uncertain. Jyamma Games CEO Jacky Greco expressed frustration with the situation on the game's Discord channel and in interviews, highlighting the lack of communication from Microsoft and the financial investment already made in the Xbox port. The studio remains committed to an Xbox release but faces significant hurdles due to the lack of response from Microsoft.
LATEST ARTICLES 18
2026-03
The lead developers of the upcoming life simulation game recently answered fan questions. When asked about the inclusion of sexual content, the assistant director gave such a vague reply—avoiding the word "sex" entirely—that players were left genuine
Author: AndrewReading:1
18
2026-03
Elden Ring Nightreign offers a wealth of powerful loot for Nightfarers to claim on their quest to vanquish the Nightlords. But just how powerful can it become? One player's viral experiment provides a dramatic answer. After discovering a rare weapon,
Author: AndrewReading:3
17
2026-03
Absolutely — this is a major moment in gaming history, and CD Projekt’s update on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s sales and development plans underscores just how monumental the game has become. Key takeaways from the news: 60 million copies sold — That
Author: AndrewReading:9
17
2026-03
Polish game developer Robot Gentleman is working on a fresh entry in the 60 Seconds! series. The beloved franchise currently includes three titles, and the next one is called 60 Seconds! Souper Scavenger—a spin-off, not a direct sequel. The announcem
Author: AndrewReading:10
