Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox believes that Microsoft could set a foot within Japan, too.

Microsoft has increased its first-party studio line-up significantly in the past 1.5 years – since the summer of 2018, Xbox Game Studios have expanded by Compulsion Games (We Happy Few), Double Fine (az ex-LucasArts Tim Schafer’s studio; Psychonauts), inXile Entertainment (Wasteland), Ninja Theory (Hellblade – its sequel will continue Microsoft’s recent idea, will be discussed separately), Obsidian Entertainment (The Outer Worlds), Playground Games (Forza Horizon), or Undead Labs (State of Decay), to name a few.

„Sure, we could do publishing relationships there [in Japan and Asia], and we might do that; I think that’s fine… but I also think as we continue to evolve our platform, having a first-party studio voice at the table that is from Asia, whether it’s Japan or another market, would be a good add for us,” Phil Spencer told GameInformer in an interview.

The reason behind the expansion is simple: in Japan, Microsoft didn’t have much of a chance to get Xbox turned into a household name, as both Sony and Nintendo had far more success with their respective consoles (although PC gaming seems to gain ground over there as well). They already tried the publishing approach recently – do you remember Scalebound? This game was to be developed by PlatinumGames, directed by Hideki Kamiya (Resident Evil 2, Viewtiful Joe, Okami, Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101), but in early 2017, the project got cancelled, and Microsoft might be in a harder situation in Japan because of that.

Asia could be an easier ground for Phil Spencer, but we have also heard that Sony Interactive Entertainment also wants to acquire some studios in this region. Spencer has a point in involving the studios from there, though.

We’ll see eventually what Microsoft plans.

Source: Gamingbolt

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