Xbox boss Phil Spencer has admitted it’s been too long since a major first party exclusive game landed on the Xbox Series X and S.
Speaking to Same Brain on YouTube, Spencer said he understands why players are frustrated at the lack of major Xbox-only games – with last year’s Halo Infinite arguably being the most recent – but noted that 2023 is set to be a big year for the company.
“One thing we’ve definitely heard loud and clear is that it’s been too long since we’ve shipped what people would say is a big first party game,” Spencer said. “We could have our excuses on Covid and other things, but in the end I know people invest in our platform and they want to have great games.”
He continued: “We’re excited about 2023. We’ve talked about games that are coming, and those games are tracking well. Getting our first real Xbox first party games out of Bethesda, having them ship Redfall and Starfield, will be a lot of fun.”
Forza Motorsport 8 is also expected to be released in spring 2023, adding to Xbox’s line-up for the year and returning to the simulator-based series for the first time since 2017.
The current lack of first party games, however, was noted in particular after the delay of the aforementioned Starfield – the massive space RPG from the studio behind Skyrim and Fallout – which was pushed back alongside Arkane’s open world shooter Redfall.
While Xbox does have some console exclusives this holiday period, such as the foul-mouthed talking weapon shooter High on Life, it’s perhaps missing a blockbuster title to compete with the likes of PlayStation’s God of War: Ragnarok and Nintendo’s Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.