Phil Spencer has emphasised that Xbox isn’t moving away from physical media.
Phil Spencer has emphasised that Xbox isn’t moving away from physical media.
The company has found huge success with its Game Pass, a subscription service in which users can play a vast number of titles from a digital library, though the Xbox Gaming CEO has clarified that Microsoft will continue to support physical media.
Speaking to Game File, he said: "We are supportive of physical media, but we don't have a need to drive that disproportionate to customer demand. We ship games physically and digitally, and we're really just following what the customers are doing.
"I think our job in running Xbox is to deliver on the things that a majority of customers want. Right now, a majority of customers are buying games digitally."
However, Phil admitted that consoles with a disc drive have proven to be an issue when it comes to production lines.
He said: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. This is a real issue in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those.
"When you think about the cogs that we're going to put in a console – and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers – the cost of the drive does have an impact.”
"But I will say our strategy does not hinge on people moving all-digital. And getting rid of physical, that's not a strategic thing for us.”
As well as supporting physical media, the Xbox boss also revealed the company was going to bring all of the ‘Call of Duty’ titles over to Game Pass following their Activision Blizzard purchase in October 2023.
He told Stephen Totilo: “Our intent is the full portfolio of games from ZeniMax, Activision Blizzard and XGS—Xbox Game Studios—will be on Game Pass, day one.”
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