Xbox is going into the current generation with a multi-pronged strategy. Acquiring new studios to not just bolster, but multiply Xbox Games Studios’ output of exclusives is just one facet of that strategy. Picking up big Xbox Game Pass additions, like the recently announced Outriders, is also an important aspect of the plan. Now Xbox fans can get excited about another prong of attack, as Xbox is reportedly now pursuing partnerships with third-party studios for long-term exclusive franchises.
The report comes from Windows Central editor Jez Corden via the Xbox Two Podcast. During the podcast, Corden says that he’s heard from an unnamed source that Xbox is pursuing partnerships with “some big third-party studios.” Those partnerships are said to be not just in pursuit of exclusives, but for bigger Xbox projects that could potentially last a decade.
For a frame of reference, Corden compares the effort to what was originally done to get Bungie to develop Halo for the original Xbox. That seems like an odd comparison, however, given that Microsoft acquired Bungie in order to make Halo into an Xbox exclusive franchise. Perhaps Corden is trying to convey the scope of the effort both in terms of the size of the projects and the goal of long-term viability.
His Bungie example becomes somewhat more cloudy with his second example, as he mentions Microsoft is pursuing a “kind of 10-year plan” akin to Asobo’s current work on Microsoft Flight Simulator. Microsoft Flight Simulator is a very cool idea, but hardly what many would compare to a Halo-sized project. But given that Microsoft has said about keeping Asobo working on future projects for the company, it does make some sense as a longer-term partnership.
Suffice to say, there’s a lot of room to make assumptions based on what Corden’s said. The message seems clear, that Microsoft is pursuing partnerships with big game developers to create exclusives that could develop over a decade. The specific example they use to provide context confuses the matter somewhat, implying that this could just be more of Microsoft’s acquisition effort or the project could be comparatively small, too.
One thing that Corden does make clear is that the fruits of these efforts are “really far out.” As such, it’s going to be difficult to tie whatever the eventual product of this effort is to this initial rumor. It does have value on its own, however. It’s exciting to consider that Microsoft isn’t just relying on acquisitions for upcoming Xbox exclusives. Xbox is still working with third-party partners on big ideas, too.
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