A fresh report into the inner workings of Microsoft and the influence of its boss Satya Nadella has shed light on the pressure Xbox is under to release more of its games on rival platforms in order to increase profits.
According to Windows Central , the plan to launch more Xbox games on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles, an operation called Latitude, has sparked “debate and concern” within the company regarding the feasibility of the move.
Publicly, Xbox has said that it is exploring this opportunity with four games, already announced games for other platforms such as Sea of Thieves and Grounded, as well as smaller projects that have already reached their core audience on Xbox, such as Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment.
Insiders have indicated that Microsoft is dedicated to ensuring there are no limitations regarding which Xbox games can run on PlayStation and Nintendo platforms, aiming to enhance profitability.
Other games, including some of the company’s largest franchises, seem to be under consideration. For the gaming industry in general and Xbox in particular, these are difficult times: console sales are falling, the next generation is far behind Sony, layoffs are occurring, and game launches are not bringing in the expected income.
Last year’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard was a significant investment that bolstered Xbox’s financial performance. However, it also seems to have led to the closure of smaller projects within Bethesda and four associated studios last week in an effort to maintain financial stability.
As head of Xbox studios Matt Booty said, this is necessary to reorganize projects and resources with a focus on priority games.
Launching games on multiple platforms is another step towards increasing profits and shouldn’t be surprising after Nadella said he has “no love” for console exclusives. In the short term, this has, as expected, brought some financial success. But at what cost?