Xbox boss Phil Spencer explains why he wants to release Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5

Perhaps the biggest announcement during Opening Night Live was Microsoft's decision to release MachineGames' highly anticipated Xbox game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PlayStation 5, a few months after it released on Xbox and PC.It's the latest first-party Xbox game to make the jump to a competing console, following the release of Obsidian's Avowed and Grounded, Tango Gameworks' Hi-Fi Rush and Rare's Sea of Thieves earlier in 2024.During a Microsoft gamescom 2024 livestream, Xbox chief Phil Spencer responded to a question specifically about the decision to bring Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to PS5 and what it means for other upcoming new Xbox releases. Spencer's response noted the four Xbox games' seemingly successful releases on non-Xbox platforms and the boost they've gotten from going multiplatform.Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - Gamescom 2024 Screenshots"Our franchises are getting stronger. Our Xbox console players are as strong as they've ever been this year," Spencer said. "So I look at it and say, OK, our player numbers are going up on the console platform. Our franchises are as strong as they've ever been."Spencer added that Xbox's multiplatform push is partly intended to bring in more money for Microsoft's gaming division, which is under pressure to perform after acquiring Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard for $69 billion last year."And we run a business," Spencer said. "It's certainly true that within Microsoft, the bar is set high for us in terms of the delivery that we have to provide to the business. Because we get a level of support from the business that is just amazing and what we can do."So I look at this, how can we make our games as strong as possible? Our platform continues to grow, on console, on PC, and in the cloud. It's just a strategy that works for us."Xbox boss Phil Spencer speaks at gamescom 2024. Photo: Microsoft.Spencer's comments come amid a tumultuous time for Xbox, which has seen it lay off 1,900 employees from its gaming business this year and close multiple studios. Meanwhile, Xbox Series X and S sales have plummeted, Xbox Game Pass growth has stalled, and Microsoft is facing a backlash from hardcore Xbox players over its potentially wavering commitment to exclusive games and the console business.Perhaps to address those concerns, Spencer said fans will have to get used to Microsoft's new way of thinking about the games it makes. Xbox, Spencer said, is trying to grow, and it seems like making Xbox exclusives isn't the way the company wants to do that going forward."The last thing I want to say, as an industry right now, is there's a lot of pressure on the industry," Spencer said. "It's been growing for a long time and now people are looking for ways to grow. We as fans, as players of games, we just have to anticipate more change in the way that some of the traditional ways that games have been built and distributed, that's going to change. That's going to change for all of us. But the end result has to be better games that more people can play. If we're not focused on that, I think we're focused on the wrong things.“For us at Xbox, the health of Xbox, the health of our platform, and our growing games are the most important things.”Stay up to date with everything announced during Opening Night Live.Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer explains why he wants to release Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Gamescom 2024 Screenshots

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Gamescom 2024 Screenshots

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