- Microsoft gaming CEO confirms the company wants to make more Xbox consoles
- Phil Spencer also hinted at “other devices”
- Spencer shuts down the possibility of a mid-generation Xbox console
Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer has confirmed there will “definitely” be more Xbox consoles in the future but has seemingly shut down the idea of a mid-generation Xbox Series X.
That’s according to a recent interview with Rolling Stone, following the launch of Microsoft’s new Xbox advertisement campaign titled ‘This is an Xbox’, where Spencer discussed the company’s ongoing multi-platform push.
“Our biggest growth in Xbox players is on PC and cloud,” Spencer said. “The console space all up isn’t growing, across all of them. We love those customers, but in terms of continuing to expand and grow Xbox, it’s about PC, it’s about cloud, and it’s about making our games more available in more places.”
However, this doesn’t mean Microsoft is ready to leave Xbox consoles behind in favor of PC gaming and the Cloud.
“We’ll definitely do more consoles in the future, and other devices,” Spencer confirmed.
The “other devices” seem to hint at a handheld console, which has been rumored to be in development for quite some time.
Later, when asked about the possibility of a mid-generation upgrade for the current Xbox consoles similar to the PS5 Pro, Spencer suggested it wasn’t worth it as there doesn’t seem to be a major difference in performance.
“We think about hardware that can create unique value for our players or creators on our platform,” he told Rolling Stone. “We don’t need to do incremental hardware for our own benefit.
“Does a new device really give you a unique experience on screen in some way? [It’s] less like the old days, going from the original Xbox to 360 – that was standard definition to high definition. Now [it’s] harder to show the benefits.”
Earlier this week, Spencer shared some insight on what Xbox is planning behind the scenes and was able to verify that Microsoft is currently working on handheld prototypes.
The Xbox boss has asked his team to look at the current market to develop its vision of a handheld based on what it learns and also set player expectations by saying an actual device is a few years away.