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William D’Angelo
posted 1 hour ago / 1,372 views
In an interview with Xbox On, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer was asked about the Activision Blizzard deal and its future Duty calls.
The plan for Microsoft is to process Duty calls in the same way as it does with Minecraft keep the game multi-platform and available on as many platforms as possible.
“We want to increase the places where people can play Duty calls,” Spencer said. “I kind of think like Minecraft. I think when we bought Minecraft, our monthly active player base was 20-30 million. I’m doing this from memory, but I think it’s about the size Minecraft our. And I think it’s about maybe 120 million monthly players on Minecraft.
“And you do that, obviously, primarily by nurturing the creatives — making sure the game is evolving and the teams have the resources they need to build a great game, because at the end of the day, it’s all about great games.”
Spencer mentioned the deals Microsoft has with Nintendo and Nvidia. Microsoft signed a “binding 10-year legal agreement” to bring Duty calls games for Nintendo platforms if Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition is approved. Microsoft has also signed a 10-year partnership to bring Xbox games on PC to the Nvidia GeForce Now cloud gaming service.
“With Duty callsI think we’ve made some specific deals with Nintendo and with Nvidia to make sure the game can be in front of more places,” he added. “And you obviously don’t make the game bigger by taking it away from somebody.
“I saw the other day. We have 58 games in our portfolio that are available on the PlayStation Store today. Now we’ve bought many of those that Downfall games and Fall out games but even things we are up to date like ESO (The Elder Scrolls Online), Fallout 76.
“And so we expect to achieve a certain level of quality on all these games – the level of quality that PlayStation players expect. So that’s our goal. And the same on PC and the same on Nintendo.
“And so when we say available everywhere or not exclusive, we want to make the absolute best version of Duty calls for any player on any of these platforms.”
Spencer was asked if that includes anything about exclusivity with regards to content, and he said it doesn’t.
“I’m sitting here today with a great game that’s come out in the last couple of weeks, Hogwarts’ legacy. And yes, there is a mission available on PlayStation. It is not available on Xbox. And part of it—and I know this is part of the industry—that’s not the game we’re trying to play here either. It’s not about a skin on a gun. It’s not about a specific type of mode in the game.
“The same version of the game will be available on all platforms, and that’s basically what we’re doing today. Like if you’re a Minecraft playing on PlayStation I don’t think you feel like you have the smaller version of Minecraft or Minecraft Dungeons or (Minecraft) Legendswhich comes out when it is sent.”
Spencer added Minecraft Legends will support cross-play and the team at Xbox wants to “make sure these players feel like they have a great experience on the platform they choose to play on.”
A lifelong and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was hired in 2010 as a junior analyst, worked his way up to lead analyst in 2012, and took over hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on own hand YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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