Xbox boss Phil Spencer issues thinly-veiled dig at Sony's PC strategy Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Xbox boss Phil Spencer issues thinly-veiled dig at Sony's PC strategy "Others bring console games to PC years later…" News by Wesley Yin-Poole Deputy Editorial Director Updated on 10 Jun 2021 311 comments Xbox boss Phil Spencer has issued a thinly-veiled dig at Sony over its PC strategy. Speaking at part of a pre-E3, "What's Next for Gaming" virtual briefing shown to press this week, Spencer took aim at Sony's strategy of releasing its PlayStation-exclusives on PC years after they come out on console. Watch on YouTube Eurogamer News Cast: will Sony's cross-gen U-turn hold PS5 games back? Here's the quote from Spencer in full: "Across the Xbox ecosystem, we're now reaching hundreds of millions of people every month, and our total addressable market is going to grow while others are relatively static. "As the Xbox ecosystem grows in both content and total size, it becomes more valuable to both players and our partners. So right now, we're the only platform shipping games on console, PC, and cloud simultaneously. Others bring console games to PC years later, not only making people buy their hardware up front, but then charging them a second time to play on PC. "And of course, all of our games are in our subscription service day one, full cross-platform included." Xbox boss Phil Spencer. Spencer doesn't name Sony in his comments, but it's clear which company he is talking about here. Microsoft and Sony's PC strategy is significantly different. Microsoft releases all its first-party games on PC at the same time as console. It also releases all its first-party games into subscription services Xbox Game Pass day-and-date. The upcoming Halo Infinite, for example, launches on Xbox consoles, PC and Xbox Game Pass simultaneously. Sony, on the other hand, has so far released just a handful of its PlayStation games on PC - and only some time after they launched on console first. The latest example is Sony Bend's Days Gone, which launched on PC in May two years after it came out on PlayStation 4. Also, Sony does not launch its first-party PlayStation games on its rival subscription service PlayStation Now, instead preferring to add them at some point after launch. Head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst addressed Sony's vision for PC releases in a recent Q&A on the PlayStation Blog. In it he reiterated Sony's stance that it will not publish new PlayStation games on PC at launch. "We're still early on in our planning for PC," Hulst said. "And Horizon Zero Dawn has been very successful. I think it shows there's an appetite from gamers outside the PlayStation ecosystem to experience the amazing portfolio of games that PlayStation fans have enjoyed for years. "But I want to emphasise that PlayStation will remain the best place to play our PlayStation Studios titles at launch. But we do value PC gamers, and we'll continue to look at the right times to launch each game. Bend Studio just released the PC version of Days Gone on May 18. So that's about two years after the PS4 release. "And I hope that a new set of fans can and will enjoy that title. And that's the goal - we want to reach new gamers who haven't yet experienced the great stories, characters, and worlds that we've built. Releasing games on PC will not come ever at the expense of building an exciting lineup of great console games." Phil Spencer says PC is 'a huge growth opportunity' for Microsoft. As part of the virtual briefing, Xbox chief financial officer Tim Stuart stressed Microsoft's commitment to PC, saying: "we'll do a lot more in PC for sure." "We have a huge growth opportunity on PC," Spencer added. "We expanded to simultaneously shipping our first-party games on both console and PC. And last year, we more than doubled our first-party retail game sales on PC, and we were also one of the biggest third-party publishers on Steam. "Looking forward, we see continued growth on PC next year, through another amazing slate of Xbox Games Studios games, and Bethesda games coming to PC, while at the same time, Game Pass on PC will be a critical part of our Windows gaming strategy. "And with cloud gaming, we now have the ability to bring these great AAA-quality games to the hundreds of millions of below-spec Windows PCs that, to date, haven't been able to play the hit games that everybody sees." As part of this PC push, Microsoft will in the next few weeks add cloud gaming on browsers (Edge, Chrome, and Safari) to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members. And, later this year, Microsoft will add cloud gaming directly into the Xbox app on PC, and integrate it into the Xbox console experience to enable try before you download. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store