Xbox’s Phil Spencer Admits 2022 Wasn’t Good Enough

Xbox Phil Spencer
Image via Xbox Wiki

Xbox CEO Phil Spencer knows that 2022 wasn’t the best year for Xbox fans. In a new interview with IGN, Spencer admitted that last year wasn’t full enough for gamers to get the most out of their Xbox consoles.

“[O]ur commitment to our fans is that we need to have a steady release of great games that people can play on our platform, and we didn’t do enough of that in 2022, there’s no doubt,” he told IGN’s Kat Bailey.  

Spencer added that the entire Xbox team has the commitment to change that for the better. This year, he says, is one with a number of games the company feels “really good about”.

Phil Spencer’s 2023 Outlook for Xbox

“[W]e’re excited about getting to roll into 2023, have the Developer Direct,” he said. “I felt really good about the games that we were showing. And then also knowing that Starfield is a game that we’d be able to highlight in its own show and then just start off 2023 with good momentum.”

With games like Starfield, Redfall, Minecraft Legends, Forza Motorsport, and more, Spencer says that he understands fans being tired of hearing about games without release dates. That’s why, he says, it was important for the Xbox Developer_Direct event to mention dates for every game shown, including the shadow drop of Hi-Fi Rush.

“[W]hen I look at Minecraft Legends, when I look at Redfall, I look at the work that we’re doing at Forza Motorsport, one of my favorite franchises, Elder Scrolls Online, the things that we showed, I think it was important for us to show games, to show dates,” he said. “[S]howing great games, showing gameplay for those games, and giving solid dates I thought was important this early in the year.”

What do you think about Phil Spencer’s thoughts on Xbox in 2023? For more Insider Gaming, check out our story on the next installment of The Crew.