The Big Phil Spencer gamescom Interview: Starfield, Baldur's Gate 3, Mid-Gen Upgrades, and More

23.08.2023 - 19:55 / ign.com / Phil Spencer

Over the last year, Xbox has been under one massive spotlight: a giant acquisition and court case, speculation about its upcoming AAA portfolio, Starfield on the horizon, questions around third-party game parity across both its consoles, Game Pass, and so much more. Naturally, we have tons of questions about all of this, and at gamescom 2023, we were finally able to get some answers from Xbox head Phil Spencer about almost everything.

Elsewhere we've zoomed in on Spencer's comments about more Final Fantasy games coming to Xbox and his opinions on Baldur's Gate 3. But here's absolutely everything we chatted about in our big gamescom interview with Phil Spencer, in full:

IGN: Starfield is a huge moment for Xbox, obviously. When is the last time Xbox has had a moment this big?

PS: Well, I think everything, every month, every time we're doing something that changes, hopefully enhances a customer's experience on Xbox is important. You think about big, new IP that has launched on the platform, I might go back to just doing Gears 1, I don't know, a game that is brand new, new IP. It's Todd's first game in the [Bethesda Game Studios] team as part of Xbox launching on the platform. It's a big moment and I'm proud that we were able to give him time and really, really happy with the results. You have a build, but you're not playing because you're working.

Baldur's Gate 3 is the talk of the town right now. This RPG comes along, takes the internet by storm. Do you think it's set expectations for Starfield or did it steal a little bit of thunder?

PS: I don't think it has anything to do with Starfield. Great games coming out is a good thing for the industry. First, congrats to Larian and the team. I think it's, what, a 97 rated game [on Metacritic] or something? As somebody who finished the original Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2 and what was the expansion for Baldur's Gate 1, Forgotten Shores or something? I'm a huge Baldur's Gate fan, and to see a team spend the time to make, I think, a true next iteration of a classic gaming franchise is always just great for the industry.

Speaking of next iterations, Skyrim came out, what, 12 years ago? Just did the anniversary edition and it's been supported by an amazing modding community. Has the same thought been put towards Starfield and supporting it into the future?

PS: Absolutely. And I don't want to disclose what the team has been thinking about, but obviously, when you're BGS and you've seen the legs and the support that Skyrim gets, even today when you look at what the modders have done, it went into the thinking about what Starfield should be and proof will be out in terms of how people receive the game, but our hope is that it is another game that's around a