The year of 2022 did not go well for Microsoft’s gaming business. The company released no major development and its sales dropped as well. However, Phil Spencer, CEO of Xbox, has promised a great year to fans this time.
In an interview with IGN, Spencer expressed that the previous year was too light on the gaming industry where the platform did not produce enough first-party titles or exclusives. “Our commitment to our fans is that we need to have a steady release of great games that people can play on our platform, and we didn’t do enough of that in 2022, there’s no doubt,” said Spencer in the interview.
Spencer assured that the projects in the Xobox’s current pipeline meaning that 2023 is going to be an exciting year. For the ongoing year, Spencer shared that he felt the company had momentum following its hit Hi-Fi Rush which was launched recently during the Developer Direct showcase.
Speaking on Microsoft layoffs, he said, “Obviously, we are going through some adjustments right now that are painful, but I think necessary, but it’s really to set us up and the teams for long-term success.”
The company will release its most anticipated exclusive, Starfield. He stated, “I look at 2023, I love the games that we have coming out. Redfall and Starfield, as commented, will be exciting, just given the timing with Bethesda now that they are fully integrated into the organisation.”
FIFA 23 might be the last game in the decades-spanning franchise and will be called EA Sports FC from next year as it debuts women’s leagues in the franchise for the first time. The game brings several new features like the upgraded HyperMotion2 technology, women’s leagues, and more.
Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp. is making a $10 billion investment over several years in OpenAI, the pioneering artificial intelligence research lab behind ChatGPT and DALL-E.
The news comes less than a week after the company said it’s laying off 10,000 workers as a weakening economy crimps software demand. Microsoft noted in that announcement that it will still invest and hire in key priority areas. The software maker reports fiscal second-quarter earnings on Tuesday. While Microsoft didn’t disclose the value of its investment on Monday, a person familiar with the discussions said it totals $10 billion over multiple years.
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