Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty is impressed with PlayStation's stable of first-party exclusives and teases Xbox games of a similar caliber could be in the works. Sony has dominated the console race between itself and Microsoft for the past two generations, with pundits usually pointing to PlayStation's lineup of exclusive games like Uncharted, God Of War, and Ratchet And Clank as a primary factor. Newer IPs like Ghost Of Tsushima and Horizon Zero Dawn have laid laid the foundation for future success, and Xbox has taken note.
While Xbox has its own blockbuster franchises under its belt, including Halo, Gears Of War, and Forza, Microsoft still lags behind Sony in terms of exclusive game release frequency and critical acclaim. The 20-year-old console manufacturer is looking to turn the tide, with Xbox's acquisition of Bethesda Softworks bringing noteworthy franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls under the Xbox umbrella and upcoming exclusives like Starfield and Scorn showing potential promise. PlayStation's strong slate of first-party games hasn't gone unnoticed by Xbox leadership, and it's evidently looking to replicate Sony's success on the exclusive front in the future.
Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty recently sat down with Kinda Funny Games on YouTube (via VGC) to discuss the publisher's renewed focus on building a diverse portfolio of first-party exclusive games. During the interview, he praised PlayStation's catalog of first-party exclusives, noting a desire to see "one of those type of games” on Xbox consoles. "You can’t argue with the quality and the craft and the games that [Sony’s] delivered, that they’re working on now and the stuff that we’ve seen so far, so just kudos and hats off to them," he stated, later admitting, "It’s been a place where we have not been out in front, we haven’t really had the sort of one to one with Sony there." Booty went onto clarify that although Xbox Games Studios isn't aiming to copy Sony's formula exactly or develop responses to specifics games, it is looking to go after the "universal themes, well-realized characters, and high production values" present in PlayStation exclusives, with Booty mentioning Uncharted and Horizon Zero Dawn as particular examples.
This coincides with Microsoft VP of Gaming Phil Spencer recently reaffirming that Xbox isn’t done acquiring new developers to add to Xbox Games Studios' growing roster. While also building out its first-party studios through acquisitions of its own, PlayStation has meanwhile begun branching out into the world of PC gaming with ports of blockbuster titles like God Of War (2018) and Days Gone - something Xbox already has a considerable head-start on thanks to Microsoft's ownership of Windows and the apparent popularity Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Given the acclaim PlayStation Studios's games have received over the past several years, it only makes sense for Xbox to try to follow suit by bolstering its own lineup of exclusive first-party games. It remains to be seen what kind of immersive experiences Matt Booty could be referring to, but with Xbox Game Studios continuing to grow its in-house development talent and list of IPs, anything seems possible.
While Xbox has its own blockbuster franchises under its belt, including Halo, Gears Of War, and Forza, Microsoft still lags behind Sony in terms of exclusive game release frequency and critical acclaim. The 20-year-old console manufacturer is looking to turn the tide, with Xbox's acquisition of Bethesda Softworks bringing noteworthy franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls under the Xbox umbrella and upcoming exclusives like Starfield and Scorn showing potential promise. PlayStation's strong slate of first-party games hasn't gone unnoticed by Xbox leadership, and it's evidently looking to replicate Sony's success on the exclusive front in the future.
Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty recently sat down with Kinda Funny Games on YouTube (via VGC) to discuss the publisher's renewed focus on building a diverse portfolio of first-party exclusive games. During the interview, he praised PlayStation's catalog of first-party exclusives, noting a desire to see "one of those type of games” on Xbox consoles. "You can’t argue with the quality and the craft and the games that [Sony’s] delivered, that they’re working on now and the stuff that we’ve seen so far, so just kudos and hats off to them," he stated, later admitting, "It’s been a place where we have not been out in front, we haven’t really had the sort of one to one with Sony there." Booty went onto clarify that although Xbox Games Studios isn't aiming to copy Sony's formula exactly or develop responses to specifics games, it is looking to go after the "universal themes, well-realized characters, and high production values" present in PlayStation exclusives, with Booty mentioning Uncharted and Horizon Zero Dawn as particular examples.
This coincides with Microsoft VP of Gaming Phil Spencer recently reaffirming that Xbox isn’t done acquiring new developers to add to Xbox Games Studios' growing roster. While also building out its first-party studios through acquisitions of its own, PlayStation has meanwhile begun branching out into the world of PC gaming with ports of blockbuster titles like God Of War (2018) and Days Gone - something Xbox already has a considerable head-start on thanks to Microsoft's ownership of Windows and the apparent popularity Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Given the acclaim PlayStation Studios's games have received over the past several years, it only makes sense for Xbox to try to follow suit by bolstering its own lineup of exclusive first-party games. It remains to be seen what kind of immersive experiences Matt Booty could be referring to, but with Xbox Game Studios continuing to grow its in-house development talent and list of IPs, anything seems possible.