Xbox Games continues pivot away from hardware reliance with Indiana Jones and other releases

Xbox Studios is reportedly preparing to bring some of its new releases to competitor platforms, including PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. During Gamescom, Bethesda confirmed that one such title, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, would indeed be coming to PlayStation 5 within a few months after its Xbox and PC release – slated for this December.

This development continues Xbox’s strategy of pivoting away from hardware and exclusives to focus more on multi-platform content – with titles including Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves already available on PS5. Although Xbox head Phil Spencer has not confirmed plans to discontinue the Xbox console (as we know it today), it is clear Xbox’s strategy is evolving to focus more on games instead of console hardware.

Shifting Xbox priorities

During a brief interview, Spencer addressed the potential of expanding Xbox titles to other platforms. He hinted that Xbox is exploring ways to maximize revenue by broadening the reach of its games, rather than relying solely on hardware exclusivity. “We run a business,” Spencer said. “We have to anticipate there’s going to be more change in some of the traditional ways that games are built and distributed.”

This strategy is yet another signal that Xbox is considering significant changes to how it approaches its business. Upptic CGO Warren Woodward noted, “It seems that Xbox and Microsoft are maturing as businesses and learning from their broader operations. They’re beginning to recognize that hardware is a tough business, often with razor-thin margins. The future of Xbox might lie more in software and services than in physical consoles.”

Going where the money is

Upptic Marketing Director Xander Agosta echoed this sentiment, suggesting that Xbox’s move to other platforms is a response to the dominance of PlayStation in the current console generation. “If they want to increase revenue, they need to target where the installs are, and right now, that’s on PlayStation,” he said.

The discussion also touched on the future of Xbox hardware. While Warren and Xander agree that we might not be witnessing the final cycle of Xbox consoles, they speculated that Microsoft could be moving towards a future with less emphasis on traditional hardware. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a decade from now, we stop seeing new Xbox hardware in the form we know it today,” Warren remarked, hinting at a potential shift towards software-centric strategies.