For a very long time, the common refrain about Microsoft’s exclusive offerings for the Xbox used to be that they were all centered around a few central brands- Halo, Forza, Gears of War, and Fable. But credit to Microsoft, they’ve made an honest, concerted effort to diversify their offering of games this generation, with multiple new IPs- they’ve already delivered games like Ryse, Sunset Overdrive, and Quantum Break, and they’ve got ReCore, Sea of Thieves, and Scalebound all coming within the next one year.
Speaking to WindowsCentral, Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg discussed Microsoft’s reason for pushing out new IP. “You’re right, though, creating new is harder, but there’s also something really fun about that. We did that with Quantum Break, with ReCore, with Platinum Games on Scalebound, we’re creating all new franchises. All of today’s big game franchises started at that point. It’s fun, and it’s fun to be able to get to do both, and that’s what our fans want. It’s good to have a diverse library,”
It’s good to see Microsoft try new IP- it also makes business sense for them, because their older franchises like Gears of War and Halo are going to wear thin eventually if Microsoft can’t space them out with other games. Let’s hope that they stick with the effort to push out more brands, too- a Microsoft with a healthy and diverse first party will be good for their business, and it will be good for us as gamers, too.