Microsoft has shifted its stance: for Xbox, PlayStation is no longer the primary competitor. The battleground now spans the entire entertainment industry — TikTok and film included. Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, argues that Xbox’s fight is really for attention across platforms and media, not just against a rival console.
The console war is effectively winding down — or so an Xbox executive strongly implied. In practice, Microsoft hasn’t been chasing Sony’s console market share for years. Xbox is deep into a transition that culminated yesterday with the announcement that a Halo CE remake is coming to PlayStation 5 and other platforms. Following that reveal, Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty laid out where the true competition sits.
Xbox’s real competition
The studio chief confirmed that Microsoft doesn’t view PlayStation as its only rival; the real contest is against the rest of the entertainment. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Booty put it plainly: “Our biggest competition isn’t another console. We’re increasingly competing with everything from TikTok to movies.” The idea is to “meet people where they are,” rather than remain tethered to Microsoft’s own hardware.
That view aligns with Xbox’s long-running roadmap, putting Game Pass at the center of the ecosystem, tying it more closely to PC and expanding cloud gaming onto a wider range of devices. Phil Spencer recently said he’s fine with people buying Xbox games on PS5 or a future Switch 2, so it’s reasonable to expect first-party Xbox releases to arrive day-and-date on other platforms — especially given that Forza Horizon 5 on PS5 has outsold Astro Bot, the 2024 GOTY.
Financially, the new approach seems to be working despite Microsoft’s steep targets. Between April and July, six of the top ten best-selling games on the PS Store were owned by Microsoft, underscoring how the company increasingly sees Sony as a key ally in reaching its goals. Booty’s mention of TikTok and film surprised many, and if Microsoft is right, both the entertainment landscape and player mindsets are shifting.
Source: 3DJuegos
