Sarah Bond, the president of Xbox, has announced the formation of a new team dedicated entirely to backwards compatibility and game preservation.
The team has been established to “ensure the future-proofing of the current Xbox game library against future hardware paradigm shifts,” according to an internal memo.
“We have formed a new team dedicated to game preservation, important to all of us at Xbox and the industry itself. We are building on our strong history of delivering backwards compatibility to our players, and we remain committed to bringing forward the amazing library of Xbox games for future generations of players to enjoy,” Bond wrote.
According to a recent leak, Xbox is planning on releasing an all-digital version of the Xbox Series X towards the end of 2024. The price is set at $499.
“It’s been nearly six months since we came together as an organization. Our collective achievements in that timeframe are tremendous. Everyone should feel incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved and excited about the opportunities ahead,” Bond continued.
“We are moving full speed ahead on our next-generation hardware, focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation.”
In addition, Bond addressed the role of AI in the gaming industry and how it may impact Microsoft going forward. “We are innovating in Gaming AI, focused on delivering player-first, developer-first value for discovery, engagement, and creator velocity,” she said.
Late last month, Phil Spencer spoke to Polygon about the most recent round of layoffs at Microsoft. About eight percent of staff lost their jobs following the merger with Activision Blizzard.
“I’ll say the thing that has me most concerned for the industry is the lack of growth. And when you have an industry that is projected to be smaller next year in terms of players and dollars, and you get a lot of publicly traded companies that are in the industry that have to show their investors growth — because why else does somebody own a share of someone’s stock if it’s not going to grow?”
