Phil Spencer On Why Microsoft Is Pushing Beyond Consoles

Microsoft has bold plans for its future in gaming. In addition to releasing the Xbox Series X this year, Microsoft is launching its game-streaming service, xCloud, to help reach a much bigger audience than the console market alone. In a new interview with GI.biz, Spencer spoke about this strategy and why it's essential to the company's plans to grow its gaming business in the future.

Spencer pointed out that Xbox Live is already in a good place with nearly 100 million monthly players across all platforms--including Xbox, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. People who play Minecraft on Nintendo Switch must create an Xbox Live account to play the game on Nintendo's console. PS4 Minecraft players don't need an Xbox Live account, but they must have one to use cross-play. Microsoft is one of the biggest publishers on PS4 thanks to Minecraft.

Looking further out, Spencer said xCloud is critical to helping Microsoft reach a wider audience. Simply put, the console market has a ceiling--only so many people can or want to buy a console. With xCloud, Microsoft is bringing Xbox to the billions of mobile devices around the world.

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