Almost three months ago, Head of Xbox Division Phil Spencer shared that Microsoft was upping investment in first-party content production, after having done the same with service (Xbox Live) and hardware (Xbox One S, Xbox One X).
This didn't quite show in the Xbox E3 2017 Media Briefing, but then again Spencer quickly explained that he didn't feel like announcing titles that wouldn't be released for two or three years anyway was a good idea.
However, the industry insider known as Matt on the Neogaf board noted that to his knowledge, Microsoft isn't actually increasing their investments in that sector in a meaningful way. He then added that this is also because their software underperformed so far with the Xbox One and the Xbox division doesn't really have a blank check to spend on game development.
MS is not meaningfully increasing their investments in or focus on first party. That could change, I would love for that to change, but it hasn't.
Never said I know every penny. I said no meaningful change in investments. There could be things I don't know about, or I'm wrong about something, I never claimed to be infallible. But I know enough to have a pretty good view of the situation, hence the not speculation part.
It's really not that complicated, even if we disagree. Their software efforts have underperformed this gen, and the Xbox division doesn't have a blank check to do whatever they want. They have a focus on cost controls and profitability. Spending a lot on game dev doesn't fit into that in their view.
Matt also touched upon the topic of the next console generation, stating that publishers aren't ready for this one to be over yet and he also predicted that whenever the next generation arrives, the shift will be slower than in the past.
With Xbox One X, PlayStation 4 Pro and the Nintendo Switch all fresh on the market or not even out yet, he might well be right - the next generation probably isn't starting before 2020.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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