According to Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, first-party titles for Xbox Series X will not be console-exclusive to Series X for the the first year or two. In recent interview with MCV UK, Matt Booty explained that upcoming Microsoft games will be cross-compatible with Xbox One as well as crafted to take advantage of the current generation Xbox One and Xbox One S. This decision is a change from how next-generation hardware from Microsoft has traditionally hit the market.
“As our content comes out over the next year, two years, all of our games, sort of like PC, will play up and down our family of devices,” Booty shared with MCV UK. “We want to make sure that if someone invests in Xbox between now and [Series X] that they feel that they made a good investment and that we’re committed to them with content.”
Historically, next-generation consoles are introduced to the market with exclusive, exciting titles that help speed adoption of the new hardware and encourage migration. Microsoft released their first-party titles Forza Motorsport V and Ryse: Son of Rome exclusively for Xbox One when it released in 2013, and did not offer versions that were compatible with Xbox 360 for users late to make the move over to the latest console. With the new Xbox offerings from Microsoft, Matt Booty explains that the platforms are more of an ecosystem, and Microsoft and Xbox users on multiple platforms will be supported with content going forward.
Microsoft will still be launching Xbox Series X with major first-party titles. Microsoft previously announced the parallel debut of the highly anticipated Halo Infinite, which is set to release alongside Xbox Series X in the Holiday 2020 season. In the interview, Booty also shared that Microsoft and Xbox would be making the most of Series X’s enhanced features and upgraded power with their first-party titles. “Our approach is to pick one or two IP that we’re going to focus on and make sure that they’re at the launch of the console, taking advantage of all the features,” with definite focus on optimizing Halo Infinite for Series X.
Booty also emphasized that Xbox Game Studios is aiming for a steady schedule of new releases and will make use of the creative power of its recent wave of studio acquisitions. Booty shared that Xbox Game Studios is shooting for games to release approximately “every three or four months.” Booty also emphasized Xbox Game Studio’s desire to deliver on their promises. “If we say a game is going to ship at a certain time, we’ve got to get that done, we just need to get better at executing.”
Xbox One gaming accessories and peripherals will also be cross-compatible with Xbox Series X. Users will also see their save data be cross-compatible across both systems, as well as earned achievements, a sizable catalog of backwards compatible Xbox titles “across four generations of gaming,” and Xbox Game Pass titles.