There are a lot of emails going around about Xbox and how Microsoft was planning to do lots of things with lots of ideas. Phil Spencer was the focal point of many of these emails, given their importance and how they outlined his head position within the brand and company. All of these emails leaked because of the FTC case that tried to stop them from acquiring Activision Blizzard. While that didn’t happen, it hasn’t stopped this torrent of emails peeling back the layers of the company and highlighting some key things, such as how, in 2022, Spencer and others were scrambling to try and fill “a big hole” in their gaming lineup.
Microsoft has never been the most consistent regarding exclusives, but in 2022, it was really bad. Bethesda had a big title scheduled for that year, but it was delayed, as was the Arkane title that we now know would’ve been even worse had they released in 2022 instead of 2023. A third exclusive title would hit in 2022, but the war in Ukraine caused its developer to respectfully suspend the title due to its location and subject matter. As such, Phil Spencer was trying to “circle the wagons” in an attempt to fix things:
“I feel we are in a huge hole with our games lineup,” Spencer said in the email. “This is really a disaster situation for us given all we’ve invested in content across studios at our GP content fund. We need to learn from this and build a plan forward.”
While they did have a plan and were able to make it out of 2022 relatively unscathed, the emails that IGN released were ones that showcased how Microsoft thought about certain things and how they felt they could push certain kinds of titles or see if they could get other acquisitions for things like Xbox Games Pass. It also highlighted many financial elements to their plans, like getting numerous “Day One” titles on Xbox Game Pass. It’s a very expensive endeavor, as you can imagine.
Oh, one more thing: they also felt that Baldur’s Gate 3, which is on their console now, wasn’t exactly worth their time. No, really, they called it a “second run Stadia PC RPG.” To remind you, the title is a Game of the Year candidate and is the best-reviewed games of the year. So yeah, nice job “picking a winner” there, Xbox.
These emails will likely continue to pour out, so stay tuned.
