Variety Interview with Matt Booty

My key takeaways

* Post ABK they Xbox/Microsoft Gaming is a 17,000 employee organization
* Integration has a lot behind the scenes (like he talks about just getting security setup so they can share files, which, yeah knowing Microsoft and the number of leaks Xbox has)
* The devs want to get together and pick each other brains and be able to share technologies (that’s still ongoing to setup)
* Xbox wants to do better with cloud saves across their games so its easier to play across devices
* Sea of Thieves saw an uptick in engagement on PC and Xbox after it went to PS5
* He talked about how this is what they want to see. Increased engagement overall and not just on new platforms.
* Similarly talked about how Diablo IV on Gamepass did the same; brining in new gamers and showing increased engagement for current gamers
* Categorized their portfolio into 3 major groups of games. The one that give me promise was “brand prestige” to showcase what studios were capable of. He specifically said Art showcase which I really like if that is the sentiment behind them. Noted Pentiment and Hellblade as these types of games.
* Alluded to the clearest answer yet on studio closures (still vague, but he highlighted how Hi-Fi Rush did great and suggested the closure was more on the studio’s health as a whole)

He also talked about Xbox Play Anywhere and I just have to say, why does Xbox only talk about that feature on podcasts/interviews most people won’t watch? Yeah the Xbox PC App isn’t steam, but still they’re the only ones in the industry that can flaunt a feature like that where you can buy once and own on PC and Console with cloud saves. And there’s a lot of talk late in the interview about how gamers will want their libraries and saves to follow them as gaming grows.

Overall thoughts? I know feelings on Booty are mixed at best, but personally this is the kind of podcast/interview I’d like to see more of. It actually talks about the inner workings and isn’t nearly as vague as say the business update. Also, the majority of it is about things happening now and in the near future, not far off.

Out of the 4 released, Sea of Thieves seems to be the only game that has sold well. It looks life Hi Fi and Pentiment didn’t do well and Grounded did ok. 

This is so terrible, wtf is launch exclusives??