The head of Xbox thinks there won’t be problems with the production of the Xbox Series X hardware, as there will be enough of that… but the games in development could have problems.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused issues in the global supply chain, and thus, the analysts and industrial people believed that the console manufacturers wouldn’t keep their deadlines, meaning the PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X might not launch this Holiday season. Since then, both Sony and Microsoft reassured us that there will be no delays (although with Sony, we wrote that the PlayStation 5 might be launching with a limited supply this year…).
Spencer said in CNBC’s Squawk Alley that the Xbox Series X is „in line with where they thought they would be.” The console will launch this year, but he can’t do much with games getting delayed. This sounds similar to something we discussed: the next-gen consoles’ launch line-up will see an impact. If it’s not the number of games, then their game modes and features might get cut.
„I’d say the bigger unknown is probably the game production, just being honest. Game production is a large-scale entertainment activity now; you have hundreds of people coming together, building assets, working through creative. I still feel good about it, but I also need to make sure that the security and safety of the teams [Xbox Game Studios] is the more important thing and not unduly push when things just aren’t ready,” Spencer said. Then again, they did release an undercooked Crackdown 3 last year.
Shinobi, a reliable insider, said on the ResetEra forums that the special Inside Xbox next week (on May 7) will feature several unannounced third-party Xbox Series X titles. Ubisoft already confirmed that Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla will be part of this show, and Shinobi believes even Electronic Arts might show up, but it’s a speculation on his end.
As Microsoft will have another digital showcase (essentially their E3 conference replacement…), that will be the one that features the first-party (Xbox Game Studios) games. We’ll see: the next generation is upon us, but Microsoft keeps talking about it with Sony being mostly silent at the moment.
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