Vampire Survivors' developer has been so preoccupied with its hit roguelike that it's not given much thought to what its next project will be.
26.08.2023 - 17:33 / thegamer.com / Phil Spencer / Xbox Will / Series S / Will
Despite recent hiccups, Xbox is sticking with its less powerful next-gen model, the Xbox Series S. This is despite the console reportedly getting in the way of Baldur's Gate 3's Xbox launch, with the port now coming much later than the PC and PS5 versions of the game.
However, Xbox boss Phil Spencer also makes it clear that Microsoft is willing to make concessions, citing the fact that Series S ports will often already release with poorer graphics and a reduced framerate. In the case of Baldur's Gate 3, this was a bit more dramatic, seeing couch co-op removed but kept for Series X players. This is the biggest change between an Xbox Series game so far, showing that Microsoft is willing to cut entire features to get more games on its consoles.
Related: Baldur's Gate 3's Xbox Release Is Well Worth Cutting Corners For
"I don't see a world where we drop S," says Spencer, speaking with Eurogamer at Gamescom.
He also denies that Baldur's Gate was held back by Microsoft demanding parity between Series X and S. "There are features that ship on X today that do not ship on S, even from our own games," says Spencer. "Ray-tracing [...] works on X, it's not on S in certain games.
"I want to make sure games are available on both, that's our job as a platform holder and we're committed to that with our partners."
Spencer adds that the team isn't "overly worried" about getting games working on both consoles, but admits that the saga with Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has helped to educate them on the matter. In practical terms, that likely means we won't see Xbox Series ports launch after PS5 - something Microsoft would be incredibly eager to avoid again.
Even ignoring the obvious concern around Xbox missing out on Baldur's Gate sales compared to PlayStation, the Baldur's Gate saga caused other issues. The fact that it wasn't certain if the game would launch on Xbox at all sparked an industry-wide debate around the Series S's value. Some argued that the fact that any game that's set to launch on Series X has to also run decently on Series S is holding the more powerful console back. Both Microsoft and Larian have denied this.
Xbox certainly seems serious about sticking with the Series S too. On Septmeber 1, it will launch a black model of the Series S with more memory, with a $50 price increase on the original release. This still puts it $150 below the Series X, so still aimed at those looking to game on more of a budget. With this in mind, the Series S will probably be around for a while yet.
Next: I Still Suck At Mortal Kombat
Vampire Survivors' developer has been so preoccupied with its hit roguelike that it's not given much thought to what its next project will be.
Xbox’s head of gaming says The Elder Scrolls 6’s exclusivity still hasn’t been decided.
Microsoft’s head of gaming has addressed the subject of whether The Elder Scrolls 6 will be an Xbox exclusive.
If you've been exploring planets in the future, as told by Starfield, you might have noticed a distinct lack of land vehicles. It seems cars, trucks and SUVs are a thing of the past in Starfield's vision for the stars, but game director Todd Howard says adding vehicles would «change the gameplay.»
Of the big three gaming publishers, Microsoft has always had a problem with exclusives. Sony had many 1st-party exclusives they could rely on and numerous 3rd-party ones, too, as this year has shown. As for Nintendo, they make the bulk of their success off of their massive 1st-party library cultivated over the generations of their consoles. The Xbox has 1st-party franchises, but they aren’t all ones you can keep cranking out titles for. However, in 2023, the Xbox Series X finally seems to be turning a corner, and Xbox head Phil Spencer is very happy with what has been done so far.
The Xbox Series S is in the headlines again after Larian announced it would be shipping Baldur’s Gate 3 without split-screen co-op on the Xbox Series S.
Microsoft's head of gaming Phil Spencer has said there are no plans for an Xbox Series X|S mid-gen refresh, confirming the company is still focused on current hardware.
Rumours have strongly suggested that Sony is gearing up to launch a PS5 Pro in late 2024, complete with support for 8K resolution, accelerated ray-tracing, and more. But with the current console generation barely having kicked off in terms of developers taking full advantage of the hardware they’re working with, there are some who have questioned the need for a mid-gen refresh. After all, unlike with the PS4 and Xbox One, it’s not like their successors were underpowered by any means when they launched nearly three years ago.
The handheld space has seen massive growth in recent years. Driven primarily by the success of the Nintendo Switch, it has seen other major players enter the space as well, with the likes of the Steam Deck and the Asus ROG Ally providing well-rounded portable PC gaming experiences. Soon, Sony will be throwing its hat in the ring with the Remote Play device PlayStation Portal– so can we expect Microsoft to eventually join the fray as well?
Whether or not the Xbox Series S is going to hold back this generation of consoles has been a topic of conversation for about three years now, and that conversation has only grown louder in recent weeks in the wake of the news that Baldur’s Gate 3 probably won’t be launching for Xbox Series X/S until next year due to Larian Studios facing difficulties with getting splitscreen co-op properly optimized on the weaker machine, with the studio also being unwilling to release the game without the feature.
«I'm gonna wonder: 'How is that helping creators or players?'»
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said that he «would love to find solutions» to avoid losing Xbox 360 games when the digital store closes next year.