Phil Spencer provided further comments regarding exclusivity during today’s “Bethesda Joins Xbox” roundtable. Here’s what he had to say.
First, in case you missed it, be sure to catch up on how player numbers for Elder Scrolls Online increased by 3 million in 2020. Regarding exclusivity, Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, stated the following,
“Obviously I can't sit here and say every Bethesda game is exclusive. Because we know that's not true. There's contractual obligations that we're going to see through, as we always do in every one of these instances. We have games that exist on other platforms, and we're going to go support those games on the platforms they're on. There's communities of players, we love those communities and we'll continue to invest in them. And even in the future, there may be things that have contractual things or legacy on different platforms that we'll go do.”
Phil is roughly restating what he’s said previously about honoring contracts on other platforms like PlayStation. However, what’s less clear is the status of major franchises like Elder Scrolls and the upcoming Starfield. We still don’t know if those games will be exclusive. Additionaly, it's not clear what is intended when Phil Spencer says, "we'll continue to invest," in communities on other platforms.
Phil continued, remarking on Xbox Game Pass and its benefits,
“But, if you're an Xbox customer the thing I want you to know is that this is about delivering great exclusive games for you that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists. That's our goal, that's why we're doing this, that's the root of this partnership that we're building and the creative capability we'll be able to bring to market for Xbox customers is going to be the best it's ever been for Xbox after we're done here."
