The Xbox Series S is in the headlines again after Larian announced it would be shipping Baldur's Gate 3 without split-screen co-op on the Xbox Series S.

In an interview with Eurogamer, Phil Spencer addressed the perceived issues with Series S and why owners understand the changes.

"I don't see a world where we drop S," Spencer said, "In terms of parity, I don't think you've heard from us or Larian, that this was about parity. I think that's more that the community is talking about it. There are features that ship on X today that do not ship on S, even from our own games, like ray-tracing that works on X, it's not on S in certain games. So, for an S customer, they spent roughly half what the X customer bought, they understand that it's not going to run the same way."

[caption id="attachment_397599" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Destructoid[/caption]

The Series S was a bold decision at launch, dropping alongside the more powerful Xbox Series X at a much more affordable $299 price point, though it omitted key features like a disc drive and only included a 500 GB solid-state drive. The lower price point was made possible with an overall lower spec, turning the Series S into a development bottleneck, which many developers have groused about over the years.

Despite Baldur's Gate 3 changes, the Xbox Series S is important

The Baldur's Gate 3 news was disappointing, but it's still hard to deny the importance of the Xbox Series S. While many tried-and-true Xbox gamers went for the Series X, the Series S received a lot of attention. The console's lower profile and relative power compared to it's lower price made it a great fit for many living rooms. It built a reputation as the solution for a more casual gamer looking to dip their toes into Game Pass on a next-gen console without breaking the bank. And for Spencer, that's precisely why he loves the Series S.

"Having an entry-level price point for console, sub-$300 is a good thing for the industry," Spencer explained. "I think it's important. The Switch has been able to do that, in terms of kind of the traditional plug-into-my-television consoles. I think it's important, so we're committed."

The post Xbox’s Phil Spencer says Series S changes to Baldur’s Gate 3 aren’t about parity appeared first on Destructoid.

Larian founder and CEO Swen Vincke has shared an update on its massive RPG Baldur's Gate 3 coming to Xbox. While Baldur's Gate 3 is now looking set to debut on Xbox Series consoles this year, it won't have split-screen co-op for the Series S version.

Vincke announced that, after meeting with Xbox head Phil Spencer, the team found a "solution" to bring Baldur's Gate 3 to Xbox players.

"All improvements will be there, with split-screen coop on Series X," said Vincke. "Series S will not feature split-screen coop, but will also include cross-save progression between Steam and Xbox Series."

Split vision

While no split-screen co-op will disappoint Series S owners, Vincke stated back in June that split-screen would be one of the potential hangups for the Xbox version. He mentioned compromises might need to be made for an Xbox version, and it looks like lack of split-screen on Series S is going to be among them. Microsoft typically requires feature parity between Xbox Series games, but for now this is one bullet point that will stay on Series X. 

In an interview with IGN earlier this week, Spencer had commented on the Baldur's Gate 3 situation. "The decision to do split-screen or not is a creative decision, a dev decision," Spencer said. "So if we think about Forza, it has nothing to do with any kind of hardware thing on S and X, just where they wanted to focus their time." Vincke had previously confirmed to IGN that Xbox had committed some help to Larian in getting BG3 up to scratch on its consoles.

Next up for Baldur's Gate 3 is the PlayStation 5 version. Larian will bring the game to Sony's console on September 6, following an earlier delay.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming to Xbox this year, but no split-screen co-op for Series S appeared first on Destructoid.

Expand your Mind (or at least your memory)

To close out its Xbox Games Showcase, Phil Spencer took to the stage to celebrate the range of first and third-party games headed to Xbox, PC, and the Xbox Game Pass platform in the coming year — Additionally, the Xbox Gaming Head revealed a new model of the Xbox Series S, launching this fall.

The Carbon Black Xbox Series S does not contain a power upgrade, but features a 1TB SSD, allowing for more software space, something that Series S owners have been complaining about for a very long time. The new hardware will launch on September 1, 2023, and will retail for $349.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dinozRSn7Hg&ab_channel=Xbox

The post Carbon Black 1TB Xbox Series S launches September 1 appeared first on Destructoid.

'I'm gonna take full responsibility'

Xbox Head of Gaming Phil Spencer has expressed his disappointment at the player reception to Arkane's much-maligned vampire hunter Redfall, which launched just two days ago to overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and players.

"I'm disappointed, I'm upset with myself," said Spencer this morning, speaking on the kinda Funny Games show. "There's nothing more difficult for me than disappointing the Xbox community."

"The critical response was not what we wanted," Spencer continued, adding "We're gonna continue to work on the game. We've shown a commitment to games like Sea of Thieves, and Grounded, to continue to go and build games. But I also know these games are $70, and I'm gonna take full responsibility for launching a game that needs to be great."

"We do mock reviews for every game that we launch, and this is double digits lower than where we thought we would be with this game. That’s one of the disappointing things: We would never strive to launch a game that we thought was going to review in the low 60s – it’s not part of our goals."

https://twitter.com/KindaFunnyVids/status/1654108618990530561?s=20

Redfall, which is one of the few Xbox/PC exclusive titles launching this year, initially turned some heads with its interesting worldbuilding and vibrant, uniquely skilled heroes and villains, but many critics lambasted the title as feeling rushed and massively underwhelming, while some players have noted all manner of technical issues and bugs. While some reviewers have been disappointed with the release, others have been downright brutal of Redfall's overall release state.

The game was not only delayed from its initial release date for further polishing, but alarms were raised when Arkane announced that the co-op shooter would launch with "Quality Mode" only, locking the title to 30 FPS, which is an oddity in the ninth generation of video gaming, (A Performance Mode will arrive at a later date). Hopefully, future patches and updates can improve Redfall's standing with the community, but this is a very difficult age for video games — one where first impressions and the all-important launch month define a title's future, and Arkane's latest already has one foot in the grave.

Redfall is available now on Xbox, PC, and Xbox Game Pass.

The post Phil Spencer ‘disappointed’ in negative reaction to Redfall appeared first on Destructoid.

Cutting words as Activision merger continues to mire

Xbox Head of Gaming Phil Spencer raised eyebrows this weekend with sharp remarks aimed at rivals Sony PlayStation — In an interview with the Second Request podcast, Spencer opined that the way PlayStation grows its brand is by shrinking the perceived size of the Xbox zeitgeist.

"Sony is trying to protect its dominance on the console. The way they grow is by making Xbox smaller," said Spencer (as noted by VGC). "[Sony] has a very different view of the industry than we do. They don't ship their games day and date on PC, they do not put their games into their subscription [service] when they launch their games."

Spencer's candid comments come at a particularly stressful time for the Xbox brand, which continues to hit wall after wall in parent company Microsoft's ongoing efforts to purchase studio giant Activision Blizzard. While the deal was initially announced one year ago, Microsoft is still yet to close, having found opposition from global antitrust regulators as well as loud and undying opposition from Sony itself.

"Sony is leading the dialogue around why the deal shouldn't go through," continues Spencer. "The largest console maker in the world raising an objection about the one franchise [Call of Duty] that we've said will continue to ship on the platform. It's a deal that benefits customers through choice and access."

As noted by Spencer, at the center of the merger stalemate lies Activision billion-dollar franchise Call of Duty, essentially The Golden Goose of gaming. Xbox had previously offered PlayStation a guaranteed three years of continued licensing for future CoD titles, but the offer was rejected, with PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan openly calling it “inadequate on many levels”. Spencer also announced that, should the merger complete, Call of Duty will return to Nintendo platforms, seemingly wishing to curry favor from that particular demograph.

The strangest thing about this whole endeavor is, for many years now, PlayStation and Xbox have offered up the image that they are pretty buddy-buddy — friendly rivals that are totes proud of each other's accomplishments. But, with the money on the table and the fate of Call of Duty in the balance, clearly the familiar commentary of the '90s console wars is starting to rear its ugly head once again.

Phil Spencer claims PlayStation wants to grow ‘by making Xbox smaller’ VGC

The post Phil Spencer: Sony PlayStation grows ‘by making Xbox smaller’ appeared first on Destructoid.

And I agree with him

Some version of a real life, widespread virtual reality world has been an aspiration of sci-fi enthusiasts for decades, and as technology has improved in recent years, that dream has become closer than ever before. Meta (formerly Facebook) and Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse project have been the closest mainstream attempt we've seen, but if that's the best we have, it'll be a while until we see a VR world akin to something out of Ready Player One. The internet has taken the opportunity to roast pretty much everything the Metaverse has shown because, well, it looks ridiculous. Take their most recent announcement about adding legs, for example, which apparently don't even work how they said they do.

One of gaming's most influential voices, head of Xbox Phil Spencer, recently shared his opinion during WSJ Live, as reported by Tom Warren of The Verge. When asked about his thoughts on the Metaverse as we know it right now, Spencer said that "today it's a poorly built video game. Building a metaverse that's like a living room is not how I want to spend my time." He did add, however, that the concept is still in its infancy and that it will "evolve."

https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1585333956194729986

An evolution is inevitable considering how unpopular the Metaverse has been with both users and actual Meta employees who are paid to use it. The reality is that it looks terrible, and so far, pretty much all we've seen it used for is companies trying to either shill whatever they're selling or make their employees work virtually. Workers are already fed up as it is -- no one wants to make their job even harder by wearing a hot, uncomfortable headset to be in a crappy-looking digital office. The whole idea isn't even novel in the first place. Platforms like VRChat have been around for years, and players actually have fun in that game, so we at least know it's possible.

In my opinion, a few things will have to happen before any form of metaverse will really take off: the hardware will need to be compressed down into light, easy-to-wear glasses, the look and infrastructure of the metaverse itself will have to improve tenfold, and those developing it need to focus more on making it feel good rather than how much more money they can squeeze out of consumers. I'm completely with Phil Spencer on this -- if they want to make something that lasts, Meta needs to get some people who actually know how to make great games on the team, because at the end of the day, all a metaverse really is is a glorified MMO.

The post Xbox’s Phil Spencer says the Metaverse is a “poorly built video game” appeared first on Destructoid.

Cross "Guitar Hero revival speculation" off your 2022 bingo card

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is, and will likely continue to be, the domineering story of the year so far. Both are giants in terms of industry scale and impact, with headlines both good and not-so-good. A new interview from the Washington Post touches on another aspect, however: the potential hidden in the Activision Blizzard vault.

Speaking to The Washington Post, Xbox head Phil Spencer references the laundry list of well-known but dormant franchises in the Activision Blizzard catalog. He name-checks King's Quest, Guitar Hero, and even HeXen. That's right, HeXen showed up in an interview in 2022.

That's not even counting series like Crash Bandicoot or Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, which saw its studio get shuffled into support after the stellar remakes. While some damage has already been done, there does seem to be a hope to revive some older franchises. Spencer tells the Post that the Xbox team will talk with developers about working on "a variety of franchises" from the vaults of Activision Blizzard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUOXQdofU5Y

"We're hoping that we'll be able to work with them when the deal closes to make sure we have resources to work on franchises that I love from my childhood and that the teams really want to get," said Spencer. "I'm looking forward to these conversations. I really think it's about adding resources and increasing capability."

While a potential HeXen revival is tantalizing, there's also the matter of Activision Blizzard's ongoing internal issues. Spencer said he believes the leaders there, at Activision Blizzard, believe in the opportunity they have in their plan. He says he has confidence the issues will be resolved.

All that is swirling around what stands as a massive acquisition once the ink dries. Though there may be some changes in the company once affairs are settled, it sounds like there's at least an interest in mining the depths of the Activision Blizzard vault sometime in the future.

The post Phil Spencer says Xbox will talk with developers about working with Activision Blizzard’s older franchises appeared first on Destructoid.

So, we all gotta buy an Xbox now or..?

In the wake of yesterday's industry-shaking news concerning the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, many video games were left wondering what this meant for the Xbox exclusivity of Activision's games going forward. After all, the studio owns some of the biggest brands in gaming, such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Crash Bandicoot, not to mention the crown jewel, Call of Duty.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Xbox Head of Gaming, Phil Spencer, has taken a typical executive stance of being somewhat vague in the company's plans, but did state — more or less — that strict, across-the-board Xbox exclusivity for all of these valuable IPs is not really part of the equation.

"I’ll just say to players out there who are playing Activision Blizzard games on Sony’s platform: It’s not our intent to pull communities away from that platform and we remained committed to that."

A Bloomberg source "close to the situation" has similar expectations, stating that they believe Microsoft will be allowing certain Activision titles to continue to thrive on platforms such as PlayStation 5.

It's a familiar story, as similar murmurs were made back in 2020, when Microsoft opened its mighty wallet to the tune of $7.5 billion USD to purchase publisher ZeniMax/Bethesda. Since then, Bethesda releases such as The Elder Scrolls Online have remained on PlayStation platforms, while the studio has honored exclusivity deals on titles such as Arkane shooter Deathloop. Well, the deal was already in ink, and MS was hardly likely to be dragged through the courts over a game or two.

Tellingly though, some of Bethesda's upcoming releases such as The Elder Scrolls 6, vampire hunter Redfall, and space opera epic Starfield are Xbox and PC exclusive, suggesting that while Xbox is happy to let PlayStation share in today's titles, tomorrow's might be another matter entirely. I can't imagine already announced titles such as Overwatch 2 or Diablo IV being Xbox/PC exclusive... But what happens in another five to ten years, or when a new generation rolls around?

Microsoft holds a lot of cards right now, and it could be gearing up to play its ace.

The post Phil Spencer comments on Xbox exclusivity following Activision purchase appeared first on Destructoid.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer says it isn't about "virtue-shaming other companies"

In a new interview, Xbox boss Phil Spencer discusses a wide variety of topics, including comments he made last year about the situation at Activision Blizzard. Following those, Spencer says Xbox has "changed" how it does certain things with Activision Blizzard.

A lengthy New York Times interview with the Xbox head goes into a number of subjects, like cross-platform bans and the anonymity of the internet. When it comes to Activision Blizzard, the Times' Kara Swisher asks Spencer about his statement that they were "deeply troubled" by the allegations that have come to light and that they were "evaluating all aspects" of Xbox's relationship with the publisher. He's asked what steps Xbox has taken, and what he meant by evaluating all aspects.

"The work we do specifically with a partner like Activision is something that, obviously, I’m not going to talk publicly about," said Spencer. "We have changed how we do certain things with [Activision Blizzard], and they’re aware of that. But I also—this isn’t about, for us as Xbox, virtue-shaming other companies. Xbox’s history is not spotless."

Spencer cites the infamous GDC dance party as a "painful moment" in the history of Xbox. And when asked about steps taken within Xbox, Spencer cites safety and making sure employees know they can report wrongdoing within the company. As for other companies, Spencer says he would "rather help other companies than try to get into punishing."

There's still fallout in the wake of reports about Activision Blizzard's internal culture and allegations of harassment and discrimination at the company. News has been going around this morning about Lego delaying its Overwatch 2 set over the allegations.

The post Xbox head says they’ve ‘changed how we do certain things’ with Activision Blizzard appeared first on Destructoid.

Xbox's Phil Spencer is making 'ongoing proactive adjustments'

Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox at Microsoft, has responded to this week's report on Activision Blizzard and its CEO, Bobby Kotick. A new Bloomberg report says that Spencer is "evaluating all aspects" of their relationship with Activision Blizzard and "making ongoing proactive adjustments."

An email sent to staff and seen by Bloomberg said Spencer and his gaming leadership team are "disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and actions" at the video game publisher. It's similar to another statement obtained by Bloomberg from PlayStation chief Jim Ryan, although it sounds like Spencer is also discussing possible actions Xbox could take in its relationship with Activision Blizzard.

"This type of behavior has no place in our industry," said Spencer.

An Activision Blizzard spokesperson provided a response to Bloomberg, saying the company "respects all feedback from our valued partners " and that it is "committed to the work of ensuring our culture and workplace are safe, diverse, and inclusive."

IGN reached out to Spencer to verify the report, and received an additional comment from the Xbox head:

"I personally have strong values for a welcoming and inclusive environment for all of our employees at Xbox. This is not a destination but a journey that we will always be on. The leadership at Xbox and Microsoft stand by our teams and support them in building a safer environment for all."

Spencer reportedly referred to the Wall Street Journal report filed earlier this week, alleging that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of sexual misconduct at the company for years. While the Board of Directors has issued a statement saying they remain confident in Kotick's leadership, others have called for the removal of Kotick as CEO, including a shareholder group and a number of Activision Blizzard employees.

Today, hundreds of Activision Blizzard employees signed an open petition calling for the removal of Kotick. Activision Blizzard workers also staged a walkout earlier this week over the report. And all of this arrives after a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, alleging harassment, discrimination, and a toxic workplace culture at the company.

The post Xbox head ‘evaluating’ relationship with Activision Blizzard in light of report appeared first on Destructoid.

More opinions from the Xbox head honcho

Phil Spencer has been making his thoughts known on many aspects of the video game industry and its future. Among talk of legal emulation, console shortages, and studio acquisitions, the Xbox Head of Gaming has also suggested that is viewing the controversial culture of NFTs with far more trepidation than some of his major league colleagues.

"I think there's a lot of speculation and experimentation that's happening, and that some of the creative that I see today feels more exploitive than about entertainment," said Spencer in an interview with Axios. "I don't think it necessitates that every NFT game is exploitive. I just think we're kind of in that journey of people figuring it out. And I can understand that early on you see a lot of things that probably are not things you want to have in your store."

"I think anything that we looked at in our storefront that we said is exploitive would be something that we would, you know, take action on... We don't want that kind of content."

From these comments, it's clear that Spencer is not ruling out the concept of utilizing NFTs in Xbox's future, but it seems that the black-and-green brand might be a little more cautious about showing its hand on the subject — no doubt fully aware of the raised eyebrows and dismay that has met other companies quick to leap on the crypto-culture bandwagon.

It seems that Xbox is adopting a "wait and see" approach, not quite committing to giving the rightfully controversial topic the double thumbs up. Other companies — including Sega Sammy, Ubisoft, Konami, and Discord — have not been nearly as coy, though this brazenness has not been rewarded with applause from the fans, rightly concerned over the crypto currency's environmental impact and bizarre, non-existent nature. One thing's for certain, the see-saw on NFTs in big business is still swinging, and I can imagine we'll be writing a helluva lot more on this subject in the coming new year.

Xbox chief wary of 'exploitive' NFT gaming projects [Axios]

The post Xbox’s Phil Spencer is trepidatious of ‘exploitive’ NFT games appeared first on Destructoid.

Spencer highlights 'legal emulation' as a solution

As games get older, some get harder and harder to find. That's meant some rising prices as retro games become rarer and more valuable. Keeping older games playable and available has been an ongoing concern, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently discussed his hopes of improving the situation through options like emulation.

Speaking to Axios, Phil Spencer advocated software emulation as a way of allowing current hardware to keep playing older games. It's a solution Microsoft already uses, and one he hopes more of the industry looks into as well.

"My hope (and I think I have to present it that way as of now) is as an industry we'd work on legal emulation that allowed modern hardware to run any (within reason) older executable allowing someone to play any game," Spencer told Axios.

He compares games to being able to view old pieces of art, listen to music, or watch movies and TV shows. He says there are "positive reasons for gaming to want to follow."

"I think in the end, if we said, 'Hey, anybody should be able to buy any game, or own any game and continue to play,' that seems like a great North Star for us as an industry," Spencer said to Axios.

There are some obstacles, as highlighted by Spencer in the interview. Microsoft has made big strides in making older games available on modern Xbox hardware through backward compatibility, but its recent batch of games looks like it will be its last.

"While we continue to stay focused on preserving and enhancing the art form of games, we have reached the limit of our ability to bring new games to the catalog from the past due to licensing, legal and technical constraints," said compatibility program lead Peggy Lo in an Xbox Wire post. "Thank you for being part of this journey with us."

So while there's still obstacles like rights holders to overcome, a future where emulation and backward compatibility is embraced would, in my opinion, also be great. Whether that's better support for getting old games working on modern systems or even just making hard-to-find games easy to access, it behooves us as an industry to maintain access to games. If for no other reason than to see the joy of Otogi fans finding out the 2002 FromSoftware game and its sequel are now playable on Xbox Series X.

The post Xbox’s Phil Spencer wants industry to work toward keeping older games playable on modern hardware appeared first on Destructoid.

Burnin' Rubber

Microsoft is celebrating the launch of its excellent racing sequel Forza Horizon 5, calling its November 9 release date the biggest launch day in Xbox Game Studios' history. Xbox's VP of Gaming, Phil Spencer, took to Twitter to relay his joy.

"We've invested for years in Xbox so more people can play," wrote Spencer. "With 4.5+ million players so far across PC, cloud & console, Forza Horizon 5 shows that promise coming to life. Largest launch day for XGS game, peak concurrent 3x [Forza Horizon 4] high. Thank you players & congrats to [Playground Games].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv7xLt5yNsM

Spencer's reference to "4.5+ million players" will refer to those who purchased a launch day copy of the racing sequel, those who picked up $100 Premium Edition for November 5 early access, and those playing via the online subscription service Xbox Game Pass. Given Spencer's comments that Forza Horizon 5 has peaked at three times the high of its predecessor, it can be assumed that staggering revenue has already been earned by the title mere days into its launch.

Forza Horizon 5 is inarguably one of 2021's most visually stunning releases, featuring dazzling environments and near photo-realistic vehicles. Praise has also been directed at the title by critics and fans for its huge array of customization features, as well as its strong implementation of inclusivity and accessibility options — such as deep driver bio choices, and smart initiatives including an on-screen sign language interpreter. Scoring high across the board, Forza Horizon 5 is considered a nigh-on essential purchase for racing fans.

Forza Horizon 5 is widely available now on PC and Xbox platforms.

The post Forza Horizon 5 saw Xbox Games’ ‘biggest launch day ever’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Microsoft's shopping spree is not quite finished

Microsoft's Xbox Studios may have already rolled out billions in its pursuit of third-party studios, but it seems the black 'n' green brand is not done just yet. Speaking in a recent interview Xbox head Phil Spencer suggested that more studios acquisitions are on the way — further bolstering Xbox's roster of talented, well-established developers.

Spencer made the comments in an interview with The Wall Street Journal's Sarah Needleman, noting that there was no ceiling for the amount of studios Xbox is considering adding to its already impressive portfolio, which already includes Bungie, Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Obsidian Entertainment and, of course, the mighty ZeniMax Media, which Xbox purchased for an industry-shaking seven billion dollars in the fall of 2020.

"We're always looking for people who we think would be a good match and teams that would be a good match with our strategy," Spencer told Needleman earlier this week "We're definitely not done [...] There's no quota. There's no kind of timeline where I have to go acquire studios, but if we find a studio where we have a good fit, we share what we're trying to go do and what they're trying to go do, and if we feel we can both get better together, absolutely."

Microsoft's acquisition drive comes at a fairly turbulent time for the industry. The launch of the ninth generation has been successful from a financial standpoint, but global distribution woes continue to plague hardware such as Xbox Series X/S and Sony's PlayStation 5. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has added severe fragility and unpredictability to the market, while other major publishers and conglomerates — such as Electronic Arts and Tencent — continue to snap up promising young studios at an increasing rate.

Ultimately, this is Microsoft/Xbox — a company graced with a perpetual safety net of bottomless capital — but that doesn't mean that the company will not be eager to be known as the industry giant for the ninth generation of gaming and beyond.

The post You can expect more studio acquisitions in Xbox’s future appeared first on Destructoid.

Chip production strife still plaguing industry

As we approach the first full year of gaming's ninth generation, antsy players are still struggling to obtain their shiny new next-gen consoles of choice. Unfortunately, according to Phil Spencer, the industry is not out of the woods yet in regards to these frustrating hardware availability woes.

Speaking in an interview on The Wrap's podcast, (transcribed by VGC), Microsoft's VP of Gaming noted that the industry is yet to recover from its shortage of key components required to build powerful consoles such as Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. The production shortage is a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has slowed down general manufacture across the globe in almost all industries. Hardware developers are making efforts to increase their output of the much-needed chipsets, but with the world still gripped by the coronavirus, this is easier said than done.

"When I think about, what does it mean to get the parts necessary to build a console today, and then get it to the markets where the demand is?" said Spencer. "There are multiple kind of pinch points in that process. And I think regretfully it’s going to be with us for months and months, definitely through the end of this calendar year and into the next calendar year."

"The thing that’s most disappointing is just the fan disappointment. People really want this new generation of consoles — they’re good consoles, both from us and the other platform holders—and they want the new functionality. We’re working hard to bring them to market but it’s going to be a challenge that we’ll work through for quite a while."

The COVID-19 pandemic has incurred a psychological effect in regards to the passage of time. And it feels incredible enough that Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 are already approaching their respective anniversaries. Hopefully, as 2022 rolls around, the industry will improve its production output at a smoother — and more importantly, healthier — rate. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused nigh-on irreparable damage in facets of life, further elongated by selfish attitudes and poor advice. While gaming is the least of society's concerns right now, here's to hoping that some sense of normalcy will return soon.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer says console supply shortages will continue in 2022 [VGC]

The post Xbox Phil Spencer expects console shortage to continue in 2022 appeared first on Destructoid.

It isn't a "months" thing

The next game in the Halo franchise has seen a number of delays, and is currently set for a launch window this coming holiday season. While that's not a firm date, Xbox boss Phil Spencer says the team is "very committed" to the range they have in mind.

Appearing on Dropped Frames, Spencer clarified some of the reasoning around Halo Infinite still having a window rather than a date.

"For us, we know kind of our range in the 3-4 week range," said Spencer. "We don't have yet the exact day, there's some other things with some other game timing that we're trying to look at. We'll have better clarity over the summer. But this isn't a months thing, this is just down to a few weeks."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i86Ckj8xKk

That's likely reassuring for anyone worried about what a holiday window meant for Halo Infinite's prospects for still making 2021. Spencer goes on to talk about why they're content to wait a little longer to set the exact target.

"Instead of picking this date and having to move it by a week, which at this point would feel like a fail, like we don't want to do that, let's wait until we're really solid on what the date is," said Spencer. "But the team is very committed to holiday. We feel good about that."

Spencer also praised Joseph Staten and Pierre Hintze, two Halo veteran devs who were brought on to help close out Halo Infinite.

Holiday isn't too far off, and we got plenty of looks at Halo Infinite—especially its multiplayer—during E3 2021. Right now, it's still aiming for this holiday for Xbox and PC.

The post Halo Infinite team is committed to a holiday release, according to Phil Spencer appeared first on Destructoid.