Xbox boss Phil Spencer has reiterated the importance of Xbox hardware and says that the team wants that hardware to “win based on the hardware capabilities that we have.” He also emphasizes that Microsoft is keen to “embrace allowing someone to be a member of Xbox on whatever screen they want to play on.” We’ve heard plenty already about Microsoft’s future plans for the brand, and how an Xbox handheld is on the way (even if it is still a few years out), but Spencer’s comments help to elucidate the current mindset at Xbox HQ.

“It’s not lost on me; I’ve said over and over that ‘box’ is in the name of our brand,” Spencer says

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has commented on the importance of innovative Xbox hardware Xbox doesn’t aim to “gatekeep” games away from other platforms The team wants to allow players “to be a member of Xbox on whatever screen they want to play on”

“I want people to pick hardware based on the capabilities of that hardware, and how that fits into the choices they want to make about where they want to play. And we want our hardware to win based on the hardware capabilities that we have,” Spencer says in a recent Gamertag Radio interview.

“I think the difference that we’ve seen in the last 20 years, and I think this is good because I come from building games, is it’s really game first, not platform first.” Spencer says that the most successful games are often those that can be found “across so many different platforms,” adding, "I want to build a platform that services those creators — those creators that are trying to meet people on every screen.

“But let’s say, like our own hardware, I think it’s fundamental to what Xbox is. It’s not lost on me; I’ve said over and over that ‘box’ is in the name of our brand. The position I’m in, I look at hardware as a critical part of what we do, but not trying to gatekeep the games off of other places for the benefit of — let’s go build innovative hardware that people want to use to play, whether that’s in their hands, whether it’s on their television, or even other places.”

Spencer often reiterates the wish for “people to be able to experience the games that we build, the services that we offer, on as many devices as we can,” and elaborates on this. "Obviously some of the devices out there, some of the platforms are closed, they don’t allow everything that we do to show up on those platforms. The thing that I’ve learned, and continue to learn when I’m listening to creators, not only our own studios but other teams building games, is every creator out there wants to build a game that can find as many players as they want.

“And frankly there aren’t many platforms out there that try to build connections to people on so many different screens. It’s almost like single platform, single device, single game, and that’s kind of the history of our business, and we’re really taking an approach of, we want people to be able to play Xbox on many, on many different screens. Now, not every experience will be the same. We obviously love the native experience we have on our own platform and our own hardware, and that’s something that will continue for us.”

Xbox exclusives have been a major topic in recent years — specifically, Microsoft’s decision to take certain Xbox exclusives to other platforms. Spencer touches on this, too, saying, "We’re not going to put walls up around where people can engage with the great games our studios are building, or where they can experience Xbox through different forms, whether it’s Cloud, whether it’s on PC, whether it’s on handheld PCS, whether it’s on phones. I want everybody to be able to play on Xbox. And it does mean more of our games shipping on more platforms, not just PlayStation.

“We love the work that we do with Nintendo, we love what we do with valve on Steam, and that’s going to continue. We’ll just continue to do more of it. Because what we learned is put the games first. Make sure the games can be as great as they can — we love the experience on our own hardware, our own platform, but our games will show up in more and more places, no doubt.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Spencer touches on Xbox’s line-up of games, saying, “I’ve never been more excited about our portfolio.” We do have some major upcoming Xbox exclusives on the way, with the Xbox Developer Direct confirming a fantastic Game Pass line-up for early 2025. What do you think of Xbox’s gaming horizon, and Phil Spencer’s discussion about Xbox hardware? Let us know in the comments!