Microsoft Is Investing More In First Party Content

The team behind the Xbox One console know that they had a pretty bumpy year with 2017, between the cancellation of Fable Legends and Scalebound and the delay of its big winter project Crackdown 3. But it's trying to make up for lost time for this year, with a promise of better things to come with first-party development.

Phil Spencer, who serves as the head of the Xbox division alongside the newly appointed Matt Booty, recently had a chance to speak with VentureBeat about what the company has planned for this year. And, based upon his words, it's a lot.

Spencer noted, in a nutshell, that the company is looking to invest more in first-party games, presenting experiences that are unique to the Xbox brand. "I'm not deaf to the meme out there regarding our content and our need to invest more," he explained. "Definitely, we are at a point where we're investing more and we'll continue to do that. When I look at Matt and his responsibility with his team, it's about charting our future in first-party content. I feel like with each one of the leaders we have, there's an existing plan, and I feel good about that plan, but we know that the plan all-up for studios is expanding. Having Matt's leadership there in navigating the expansion, what bets we make, the teams we bet on, the teams we create, is going to be critical.

"Some of it is with the existing leaders we have there, and there are always opportunities to do more with the teams we have. But also, as we expand, having a leader in place so new investments can be driven and land in the strategy we have is going to be critical for me. That's really where I look at Matt's focus: both the existing franchises, and equally, if not a little more, thinking about our future content and how that growth happens in a thoughtful way, a way that delivers for our fans."

There are already rumors swirling about Microsoft's next big projects, including a Fable reboot, the return of the Perfect Dark franchise, and another Forza Horizon racing game. But we probably won't find out about these until summer, when Microsoft will host its big showcase at E3 2018.