Phil Spencer says Xbox is ‘focused’ on bringing more third-parties to Game Pass

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer says the platform holder is “focused” on bringing more third-party games to the service.

Spencer made the comments in a Twitter post on Thursday, following an earlier indication that Xbox would soon make “strong” announcements related to its popular subscription service.

Currently, all first-party Xbox titles are released on Game Pass alongside their general releases, but third-party games typically arrive later, aside from a few exceptions.

Earlier this month Microsoft confirmed that Xbox Series X will launch in November and that key launch title Halo Infinite has been delayed to 2021.

In an interview, Spencer suggested that Game Pass could play a key role in Series X’s launch, in the absence of Halo.

He told Gary Whitta’s Animal Talking Twitch show: “What you’ll see from us around the launch of the console, frankly, isn’t going to change too much because you were going to hear a lot about the console and a lot about Game Pass and how we think those two things together are a real great value proposition for gamers going into the next generation.”

He added: “I’d say the positive for us, both through the May showcase and the Summer [showcase] and the July showcase has been the rise of importance for us in Game Pass.

“As we go out and we talk to our customers, it’s becoming a real decision-maker for people that are on our platform and people evaluation Xbox Series X as a console for them.

“Our investment in Game Pass and that portfolio continues to be strong,” the exec continued. “We’ve got some more… really great, strong, announcements to come about things… coming to Game Pass.”

further reading

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Game Pass is adding Resident Evil 7, Crusader Kings 3 and more

Plus Red Dead Redemption 2 to leave service

Microsoft recently announced the next wave of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC, including Capcom‘s Resident Evil 7 and Crusader Kings 3.

Xbox’s cloud gaming service Project xCloud will also be bundled with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate when it launches in 22 markets on September 15.