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[alphachino]

We already know Game Pass subscriber numbers have stagnated in the past couple of years and they no longer care about their consoles sales. We might see GP get a massive influx of subs if they throw all AB games on the service, but that is a massive gamble which I doubt there is any appetite for when GP is only 15% of Xbox's overall service revenue and I personally think it's not going to move the needle enough to justify the $69B investment. In essence, MS tried to play nice with the industry and be a team-player, but due to their failure in cultivating a strong game lineup, their grand "Netflix-ification" of gaming gamble has failed and they're now switching game plan to the scorched-earth strategy.

It has been cited that the recent turmoil within ABK is what gave MS the opening to be able to make an acquisition, but money talks and I think whether it $68.9B or $100B+, MS could have purchased them at any time in the past if that's what they wanted to do. It's my theory that the ABK acquisition signals a pivot away from subscriptions, consoles and exclusivity into a 3rd-party publisher role within the industry. Their actions suggests this to be the case. Their ultimate goal is to be dominant player within gaming by any means necessary. So while I suggest that they are becoming a "3rd-party publisher", this is only an interim transitional position for them and eventually it is still their goal to become grand baron overlords of all of gaming.

 

[Badlucktroll]

no

 

[TxKnight7]

Both MS and sony are 3rd-party publishers now releasing games on multiple platfrorms PC/Consoles.

 

[alphachino]

Both MS and sony are 3rd-party publishers now releasing games on multiple platfrorms PC/Consoles.

I suppose you're right, and mobile too. The lines between the major players are becoming increasingly blurred.

 

[RoboFu]

Can you really be called a third party publisher if you own all the games??

 

[Lunarorbit]

It's kinda muddy but didn't ms say Bethesda games were going to be xbox/pc exclusives?

Technically releasing games on pc makes them a 3rd party publisher. In the traditional sense though MS probably wants gamepass on ps/Nintendo eventually which would entail a 3rd party relationship.

Check back in 10 years. Segas a 3rd party partner now and growing up I never thought they'd be in that position.

 

[StueyDuck]

We already know Game Pass subscriber numbers have stagnated in the past couple of years and they no longer care about their consoles sales. We might see GP get a massive influx of subs if they throw all AB games on the service, but that is a massive gamble which I doubt there is any appetite for when GP is only 15% of Xbox's overall service revenue and I personally think it's not going to move the needle enough to justify the $69B investment. In essence, MS tried to play nice with the industry and be a team-player, but due to their failure in cultivating a strong game lineup, their grand "Netflix-ification" of gaming gamble has failed and they're now switching game plan to the scorched-earth strategy.

It has been cited that the recent turmoil within ABK is what gave MS the opening to be able to make an acquisition, but money talks and I think whether it $68.9B or $100B+, MS could have purchased them at any time in the past if that's what they wanted to do. It's my theory that the ABK acquisition signals a pivot away from subscriptions, consoles and exclusivity into a 3rd-party publisher role within the industry. Their actions suggests this to be the case. Their ultimate goal is to be dominant player within gaming by any means necessary. So while I suggest that they are becoming a "3rd-party publisher", this is only an interim transitional position for them and eventually it is still their goal to become grand baron overlords of all of gaming.

Lol...

Really thinking they gonna be releasing these games multiplat?

After those 10 years deals (and I bet they are mad as fuck because they definitely wouldn't exist if Sony and the FTC and so on didn't push back) are gonna fall by the way side so fast.

You know as well as i do that MS lawyers working 24/7 to find some fine print that allows them to make COD exclusive ASAP.

Something like "well warzone is call of duty, we are now selling stand alone games called pacific war a call of duty story and that will only be on Xbox consoles"

 

[Gudji]

2027 is coming.

 

[StueyDuck]

Can you really be called a third party publisher if you own all the games??

their plan is to be an Only party

 

[Mowcno]

Only time will tell. I think a future when MS is publishing more games on PlayStation is a possibility. I don't think they are that committed to their console business anymore and software and services are more important to them. So I can see them stopping trying to push their boxes by limiting the sales of their software.

But this transition isn't going to happen immediately. We'll see how many games they are keeping as exclusive in another 5 years. This might be the last generation of Microsoft Console exclusives.

 

[RoboFu]

Lol...

Really thinking they gonna be releasing these games multiplat?

After those 10 years deals (and I bet they are mad as fuck because they definitely wouldn't exist if Sony and the FTC and so on didn't push back) are gonna fall by the way side so fast.

You know well as well as i do that MS lawyers working 24/7 to find some fine print that allows then to make COD exclusive ASAP.

Something like "well warzone is call of duty, we are not selling stand alone games called pacific war a call of duty story and that will only be on Xbox consoles"

Nah…

MS wants big games for when there are no more consoles and you get games via app services. That’s not going to be 10 years from now. But again by then COD might not even be a thing anymore.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

 

[StueyDuck]

Nah…

MS wants big games for when there are no more consoles and you get games via app services. That’s not going to be 10 years from now. But again by then COD might not even be a thing anymore.

We heard all of this with Bethesda games.

People surely aren't falling for this again?

They spent 70bil to take out the competition, they have admitted so in emails, there is no chance in hell MS are making games multiplat and they will try weasel out of their 10year deals they made just to appease legal proceedings.

Plus this is just the beginning, this time 3 years from now I'm expecting ubisoft and either 2K or Warnerbros (games) to be bought by MS.

Then again we'll go through the "but they just wanna make multiplatform games" when talking about gta MS exclusivity

 

[Ozriel]

Reams of internal Microsoft documents: "This Activision acquisition is our best opportunity to get into Mobile gaming like we've been dreaming about for ages!!"

OP: "The entire $69 bn was all for GamePass. Including King with Candy Crush and Blizzard with World of Warcraft"

Why?

 

[UltimaKilo]

Nah, it signals that Microsoft are going into the cupcake baking business. Maybe that can be the next dumb thread?

 

[Ozriel]

We heard all of this with Bethesda games.

People surely aren't falling for this again?

They spent 70bil to take out the competition, they have admitted so in emails, there is no chance in hell MS are making games multiplat and they will try weasel out of their 10year deals they made just to appease legal proceedings.

There's no laid out strategy in internal emails to 'take out the competition' with the ABK deal, and there's also no way to bypass the 10 year deals for Multiplatform COD access without staggering, record breaking fines.

I have no idea why you're pushing clearly illogical theories that don't even work under the most cursory of reviews. They literally cannot take COD off other platforms without paying a massive price.

They were perfectly happy to sign those deals because they've never considered taking COD exclusive...even in internal documents and discussions.

 

[Skifi28]

It mostly signals tons of new threads with very weird takes.

 

[lh032]

2027 is coming.

 

[RickMasters]

No. A console manufacturer bought a publisher. Just because they are the only ones that can do it, doesn’t mean they are getting out of the console race…… you clearly don’t realise what kind of money MS has on hand, or the slightest idea what their goals here are.


When MS typically say play anywhere they mean anywhere that is gamepass or Xcloud capable. That’s everything from the console to thebPC to the Xbox app on your smart TV or phoneme/tablet.

That is what they mean. It’s not hard to understand

 

[ckaneo]

Microsoft Expectations: Nintendo will become 3rd Party cause they are only good at exclusives

Microsoft Reality: Microsoft will become 3rd Party because they suck at exclusives

 

[jm89]

The scene has been set just 4 years for it to play out.

Might aswell start working on starfield for playstation now todd.

 

[mystech]

I think Microsoft’s plans were made very clear in their leaks (despite how much they claim things have changed). They want to move the Xbox platform beyond just a console. Gamepass will get more of a push and a much more powerful library with games like call of duty and diablo. COD alone will attract more casual players to gamepass.

The more platforms they get GP on, the closer they get to their goal. I wouldn’t be surprised if they haven’t been spamming Nintendo to try to get Gamepass on the next switch.

Despite what the subscription numbers are now, this is a long game and from a competitive perspective they can sell the next gen Xbox “experience” to people for the price of a controller and $16 a month, right on a smart TV with no console needed. The PS6 on the other hand will probably be $500 up front plus games. Now they just need to hope cloud streaming is actually halfway decent by 2027.

 

[alphachino]

I think Microsoft’s plans were made very clear in their leaks (despite how much they claim things have changed). They want to move the Xbox platform beyond just a console. Gamepass will get more of a push and a much more powerful library with games like call of duty and diablo. COD alone will attract more casual players to gamepass.

The more platforms they get GP on, the closer they get to their goal. I wouldn’t be surprised if they haven’t been spamming Nintendo to try to get Gamepass on the next switch.

Despite what the subscription numbers are now, this is a long game and from a competitive perspective they can sell the next gen Xbox “experience” to people for the price of a controller and $16 a month, right on a smart TV with no console needed. The PS6 on the other hand will probably be $500 up front plus games. Now they just need to hope cloud streaming is actually halfway decent by 2027.

what's happening in 2027?

 

[Vasto]

They already are. They just choose what games go where.

 

[ManaByte]

what's happening in 2027?

That's the day they believe MS is exiting the console business.

 

[BlackTron]

It's kinda muddy but didn't ms say Bethesda games were going to be xbox/pc exclusives?

Technically releasing games on pc makes them a 3rd party publisher. In the traditional sense though MS probably wants gamepass on ps/Nintendo eventually which would entail a 3rd party relationship.

Check back in 10 years. Segas a 3rd party partner now and growing up I never thought they'd be in that position.

Can't see Sony or Nintendo ever allowing Gamepass. Things would need to change where MS is already dominant and the competition is shattered already.

I'm not talking about a pride thing. It just makes absolutely no business sense for them to have GP. What is MS going to do, give them a portion of the sub fee? Why would they want to split a sub fee with Microsoft so you get a whole collection of games to play on your Nintendo? Every time you'd play using GP on Switch, N sees it as a lost opportunity to sell you a game, often times the same one.

They would NEVER allow gamepass, perhaps as a normal third party and bring Halo as its own game with its own royalty fee (going SEGA)

Edit: This has already happened, see Minecraft

 

[Sanepar]

Lol the answer is no? Bethesda games are on Xbox and PC. Besides cod for 10 years it will be the same with abk games. They are locking content from ps platform. They only aim that.

 

[ManaByte]

Edit: This has already happened, see Minecraft

Not sure your point on Minecraft. It's on every platform and does need a MS account (which people freaked out over). Only reason there's not a native PS5 port is because Sony refused to give Mojang dev kits.

 

[X-Wing]

The answer is yes. If they can they will just push their games to every platform and make sure people need to be inside Microsoft ecosystem to play them.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Can you really be called a third party publisher if you own all the games??

Nintendo and Sony are now 3rd party hardware manufacturers.

 

[mystech]

what's happening in 2027?

The year Microsoft plans on starting their next gen rollout (according to their leaks).

 

[adamsapple]

no

 

[BlackTron]

Not sure your point on Minecraft. It's on every platform and does need a MS account (which people freaked out over). Only reason there's not a native PS5 port is because Sony refused to give Mojang dev kits.

When I said "this already happened" I was referring to the preceding sentence, that is, about MS releasing games as a third party publisher. Don't really think more platforms correlates with less point here

 

[Flutta]

No it signals a second monopoly soon realized by MS.

 

[poppabk]

The subscription model is not going away. The only way they go 3rd party is as a subscription service.

 

[Clear]

Can you really be called a third party publisher if you own all the games??

Huh? EA owns all its games, Rockstar owns all its games. Its what you can sell, not what platforms they own.

The problem is that although trying to use one to leverage the other, as in sticking their games only on their platform, should be synergistic, the platform's popularity is ultimately the limiting factor on success.

The reality is that for the majority of global markets, Xbox isn't that popular. So the more they push in that direction the bigger the risk becomes because everything relies on that platform growing sufficiently to cover costs.

The same logic applies to GamePass if you unhook that from proprietary hardware, its all about subscriber count/retention on the service underwriting the expenses of development.

The more I think about it, the more doomed to failure I think this whole push is, because the bigger the first party presence becomes the less appealing it gets for third parties to want to compete against them within this self-owned service. Meaning that they'll need to find "the next big thing" from within their own studio umbrella, leaving them exposed to competitors who will go other platforms because they'll have a better opportunity for success.

In simple terms unless platform (both hardware and service option) expansion outpaces the cost of maintaining this uber-expensive first party operation, they'll find themselves increasingly forced to offer their wares to third parties.

 

[deriks]

They've been since ever. There's Microsoft games all over other systems

 

[LordBlodgett]

3rd party means that they are not in control of the platform. They would rather make 100% on their games, and 30% on everyone else's games on their platform than 70% on just their games only across all platforms. I cannot figure out why there are so many people that think Microsoft is going to make massive changes to their strategy. If they were not 100% sold on current strategy moving forward they would not have invested nearly $80 billion in the last 5 years.

 

[Gavon West]

We already know Game Pass subscriber numbers have stagnated in the past couple of years and they no longer care about their consoles sales. We might see GP get a massive influx of subs if they throw all AB games on the service, but that is a massive gamble which I doubt there is any appetite for when GP is only 15% of Xbox's overall service revenue and I personally think it's not going to move the needle enough to justify the $69B investment. In essence, MS tried to play nice with the industry and be a team-player, but due to their failure in cultivating a strong game lineup, their grand "Netflix-ification" of gaming gamble has failed and they're now switching game plan to the scorched-earth strategy.

It has been cited that the recent turmoil within ABK is what gave MS the opening to be able to make an acquisition, but money talks and I think whether it $68.9B or $100B+, MS could have purchased them at any time in the past if that's what they wanted to do. It's my theory that the ABK acquisition signals a pivot away from subscriptions, consoles and exclusivity into a 3rd-party publisher role within the industry. Their actions suggests this to be the case. Their ultimate goal is to be dominant player within gaming by any means necessary. So while I suggest that they are becoming a "3rd-party publisher", this is only an interim transitional position for them and eventually it is still their goal to become grand baron overlords of all of gaming.

Umm....no? Maybe another player in the Big 3 may transition to 3rd party tho!

Kidding mate...

 

[Chukhopops]

Insane how almost every line of the OP is factually incorrect.

I guess MS is going third party… for Call of Duty and only for the next few years.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Xbox hardware is conterproductive MS's true videogame vision. At the same time, one Xbox console consumer is as valuable as 10 PC users or 100 mobile users (just to exemplify the importance of having your own storefront).

 Xbox's brand reputation is in the gutter. Xbox lost his identity which was multilayer experience. (now is normalized and is not unique anymore; random games on smartphones offer multiplayer)

Now that Daddy MS has spent like 100B on Xbox since their acquisition spree...Numbers need to be delivered. The pressure is on for xbox hardware. if those numbers don't increase substantially, that thing is doomed.

 

[StealthGoblin]

No. If they were then they wouldn't deliberately be ignoring the biggest platform for their games.

That crap about bringing more games to more gamers doesn't hold water when you buy up publishers and make all games bar one, that you were dragged kicking and screaming into doing, exclusive and leave the largest addressable userbase without the games.

It's foreclosure on PlayStation and everyone knows it.

My personal view is that if any of the platform holders buys a publisher than the games that a userbase would come to expect from that publisher should keep being released for that platform. So if Sony buys SE or BN then that should hold true too.

The really interesting thing about all this is whether the gamepass subscriber numbers will be enough to offset the development costs of the games and also make up for the money left on the table by leaving out the PlayStation ecosystem. Xbox physical sales are through the floor and PlayStation still sells more digital copies than Xbox.

Switch will make up for some of that, maybe all of that. But it's interesting nonetheless.

 

[Syphon Filter]

I think eventually they will go the subscription route, so yes i see them leaving the console business.

 

[SHA]

Xbox is Halo, Halo is Xbox, therefore it's difficult, at least they deserve a prase for bringing games that made specifically for PCs for years to Xbox console, this is something special and unusual and no one could deny it.

 

[Gambit2483]

If GP doesn't take off like they want in the next 3-4 years, yes, they just might go the way of SEGA

 

[Ozriel]

Now that Daddy MS has spent like 100B on Xbox since their acquisition spree...Numbers need to be delivered. The pressure is on for xbox hardware. if those numbers don't increase substantially, that thing is doomed.

• Approximating $80bn (ABK + Bethesda) to $100bn is rather wild
• None of the released emails talked about substantial hardware growth as the rationale for the investment from the MS board. Most of the focus is on mobile growth and increased revenue. None of which require a massive increase in hardware sales.

 

[jroc74]

They became a 3rd party publisher when they bought Minecraft and kept it multi platform.

Not sure your point on Minecraft. It's on every platform and does need a MS account (which people freaked out over). Only reason there's not a native PS5 port is because Sony refused to give Mojang dev kits.

I mean...it cant get any clearer than that.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

• Approximating $80bn (ABK + Bethesda) to $100bn is rather wild

you are forgetting the other studios:

Playground
Inexile
Obsidian
ninja theory
double fine
undead lab
compulsion

and i am not counting for the xcloud infrastructure or subsidies MS does for Xbox.

• None of the released emails talked about substantial hardware growth as the rationale for the investment from the MS board.

• Most of the focus is on mobile growth and increased revenue. None of which require a massive increase in hardware sales.

console is the backbone, their pillar.

IF the console doesn't grow

• mobile growth and increased revenue. None of which require a massive increase in hardware sales

AKA going full Third Party.

 

[BlackTron]

The subscription model is not going away. The only way they go 3rd party is as a subscription service.

There will be access to MS sub on your TV before you can get it on PS/Nintendo.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure MS would love Gamepass to be on Switch yesterday. It's not about MS wanting to, it's about them ever allowing it. It will never happen.

People will probably think I don't want it to happen or something. I mean streaming GP games on Switch would be fucking insane. I just have realistic expectations. That is, I don't expect N to ever allow something apostate to their money-printing business on their platform.

Imagine subsidizing the design, marketing, production and distribution of hardware so someone else can sell a massive software package for it that competes with your own game library. At Nintendo that's practically get laughed out of the office tier stuff.

 

[Ozriel]

you are forgetting the other studios:

Playground
Inexile
Obsidian
ninja theory
double fine
undead lab
compulsion

All of those combined are probably $1.5bn max.

and i am not counting for the xcloud infrastructure

Are you seriously saying MS expect console hardware sales growth from Cloud infrastructure investment?
An investment designed to get people to play away from consoles?

or subsidies MS does for Xbox.

These are amply covered by software sales, though.