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Xbox Game Content and Studios President Matt Booty on ‘Beginning to Hit Our Stride,’ Game Pass Strategy, ‘Fallout’ Update, Studio Closures and More

Fresh off the Xbox Games Showcase, Matt Booty talks subscription strategy, ‘Call of Duty,’ ‘Fallout,’ shuttering Tango Gameworks and more.

variety.com

“We are beginning to hit the rhythm that we’ve always aspired for, and that really is our commitment to our players, of being able to deliver a much more steady cadence of games on a more predictable rhythm,” Booty said. “We started really in earnest with acquiring and building out our studios portfolio in 2018, and then we had the wonderful ZeniMax/Bethesda acquisition in 2021… and then [in the fall of 2023], bringing on board Activision, Blizzard and King. But it has taken a while to sort of get all of that up to speed. And in the midst of that, all of us went through COVID, which certainly had some ups and downs in the industry, across not just games but all of entertainment.”

“I read an article where someone pointed out that this was a year that we didn’t have some of the traditional heavy hitters from Xbox, like ‘Halo,’ like ‘Forza’ — and of course, we’ve got teams working on those projects, and we’ve got a lot of cool stuff to share when the time is right,” Booty said. “But the fact that we delivered, hopefully, a critical mass of excitement, and it didn’t depend on those things that we historically go to, I think it’s just a good indicator and a good sign that we’ve hit that stride and that we’re going to be able to continue to deliver at that cadence moving forward.”

Additional topics Booty addressed on the “Strictly Business” podcast:

• What the “Fallout” franchise has in store after a new update to its “Fallout 76” live service and Amazon’s hit TV adaptation
• The heavy emphasis on day-and-date availability of new games, including the next “Call of Duty” title, via the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which saw its biggest launch ever in October when “Diablo IV” made its Game Pass debut
• The closure of Bethesda studios like Tango Gameworks and the complex decision-making that goes into figuring out the fates of developer teams
• The increased popularity of “Sea of Thieves” on both Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation since Microsoft began releasing select titles to its primary console competitor and Nintendo Switch
• The prospect of bundling entertainment offerings in the gaming industry

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

I still find it hilarious that people believe that studios were closed on a whim

 

[Topher]

Hit their stride with an upcoming lineup, but now they need to deliver top notch quality games. Still have not consistently done that.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Xbox is full of incompetent executives.

 

[adamsapple]

Booty is hitting his stride

 

[LordCBH]

Booty stinks.

 

[Skifi28]

Sounds like a disguised "just wait for next year."

 

[DeepEnigma]

Booty is hitting his stride

Literally every bullet point up there was a "hitting our stride" acquisition.

Time to deliver. Consistently from your legacy in-house titles.

3rd party is still 3rd party.

 

[StereoVsn]

I still find it hilarious that people believe that studios were closed on a whim

Nobody thought that. But what people were questioning is the line of thinking that led to Tango’s closure.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Sigh, Let your content do the talking. That’s been the problem, this lot have had to do it instead. One whiff of positivity from a showcase reaction and here we are again.

I still don’t have any confidence in these people and fuck you to those who do their narrative pushing online too. So friggin sly.

They wouldn’t be in this position if they had done a better job and you know it. You used to give the Sony zealots shit for that in engine cinematic shit.

 

[Punished Miku]

They definitely have one of the deepest benches there is at this point. Crushed E3 with no Halo, Forza, Elder Scrolls, Fallout shown.

 

[Hudo]

They should let Obsidian and inXile work on a new Fallout game together. Who cares if Bethesda like that idea or not.
They also should force Blizzard to reinstate WarCraft III Classic and delete WarCraft 3: Reforged.
They also should free Raven Software from the Call of Duty mines and let them make a new Hexen/Heretic game. They can get help from id Software.
And they should ask the industry (and their internal studios) for pitches for a new Halo game and demote 343 Industries to a support studio.

 

[Jaybe]

Booty auditioning for Phil’s job. It’s probably his since Sarah is saddled with hardware.

 

[diffusionx]

Year of Xbox in 2025, 12th time is the charm

 

[Varteras]

Remember when they were hitting their stride in 2023? Good times

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Damn, getting The Dark Night Rises vibes. Epic comeback by XBOX.

 

[semiconscious]

whenever someone mentions 'hitting our stride', i always think of this:

 

[SportsFan581]

Seems like the inevitable end result of being such a large publisher of games now. Gears, Halo, and Forza are now a much smaller piece of the overall picture. Though the Gears trailer certainly did its thing and created some discussion in Xbox circles.

 

[Aguero9320]

Does the statement that not all Xbox games will be going to other platforms, and ‘Xbox players can absolutely continue to expect many games to launch as exclusives’ mean every thread no longer needs to include that cope trope from PS warriors now?

Personally I hope they push ahead with the death of exclusives, but this doesn’t sound like they will do…

 

[Jesb]

They actually need to deliver. Lots of potential for greatness ahead. But if all or most these games end up sucking it will be back to the same old Xbox that couldn’t deliver.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

‘Xbox players can absolutely continue to expect many games to launch as exclusives

Yeah, lauch. it's post-lauch that matters.

 

[Loomy]

They need 2 solid years in a row. A good showcase is not a stride, unreleased games is not a stride.

 

[AyraSutoraifu]

St..s... str...stri...
Stride he says

 

[Aguero9320]

Yeah, lauch. it's post-lauch that matters.

So no then

Going to be exhausting waiting for is it/isn’t it on every single game in that case… I don’t think anything but the most hardcore PS fans will find that a good thing… Exclusive launch, on Game Pass is going to be hard for the mass market to ignore. And why would they?

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

So no then

Going to be exhausting waiting for is it/isn’t it on every single game in that case… I don’t think anything but the most hardcore PS fans will find that a good thing… Exclusive launch, on Game Pass is going to be hard for the mass market to ignore. And why would they?

I mean, cope as much as you like, I guess. No way MS will stop after SoT results and Dark Ages day-one release.

Or you can believe a bunch of serial liars.

 

[yazenov]

Starfield is the "starting gun" for first-party Xbox games

Speaking at Gamescom, where the company has been showcasing the sci-fi RPG extensively, Xbox chief marketing officer Jerret West said the Bethesda game marks the start of a prolonged period of regular new Xbox exclusives. "This is, in my mind, the doorway, almost like a starting gun, to what I...

www.neogaf.com

All signs point to them starting with a headshot so far.

 

[Toons]

Hehe.

Booty.

 

[Wandering Leopard]

With however many billions they've spent, they're long over due.

 

[JaksGhost]

Hit their stride with an upcoming lineup, but now they need to deliver top notch quality games. Still have not consistently done that.

They've been talking about hitting a stride for years now. When you look back at the 2021-2023 Xbox showcases you will see they've been talking up their games for years. The new showcase just reintroduced those same titles for the most part with some STILL not having release dates. And like you said quality is an entire different issue. The Redfall, Starfield, Forza combo was supposed to be the kick starter for 2024 and well...

 

[adamsapple]

Yeah, lauch. it's post-lauch that matters.

If someone's ok with an ambiguous window, PC is probably the best place for them since it gets both Xbox and PS games post-launch.

 

[Humdinger]

Did he say anything new or significant about Xbox games going to other consoles?

 

[Punished Miku]

They've been talking about hitting a stride for years now. When you look back at the 2021-2023 Xbox showcases you will see they've been talking up their games for years. The new showcase just reintroduced those same titles for the most part with some STILL not having release dates. And like you said quality is an entire different issue. The Redfall, Starfield, Forza combo was supposed to be the kick starter for 2024 and well...

Well anyone that just looks at the amount of studios they have and tries to map it out on a calendar knows that the stride is basically inevitable. It's just a question of how long it takes to get everyone functioning and lined up in a regular cadence. This is what Xbox fans were saying for years. It's not exaggeration to speculate that they will hit a stride of regular releases at some point, and that point seems to be starting.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

If someone's ok with an ambiguous window, PC is probably the best place for them since it gets both Xbox and PS games post-launch.

As S SneakersSO has said, we'll be back at this topic in a year.

 

[NickFire]

I'll believe they have actually begun to hit their stride once I have seen a couple of years worth of good releases that were primarily developed when MS owned the studios.

Until then I have no choice but to assume the fruit of their acquisitions will be short lived. Opinion might change before if I see evidence to suggest these new acquisitions will be lead by people based on merit.

 

[Ozriel]

What rhythm? one first party game all year, and the rest scheduled for much later in the year.

I’m yet to see any evidence of competence from this guy.

 

[DeepEnigma]

As S SneakersSO has said, we'll be back at this topic in a year.

Once again,

I don't know how many times they will literally tell you in their cleverly worded PR and lay the seeds of what they're going to do, for the same people to still carry the same Stockholm water and play stupid.

 

[Little Chicken]

 

[Ozriel]

Booty auditioning for Phil’s job. It’s probably his since Sarah is saddled with hardware.

It’s obvious to that Sarah’s the successor, not Booty.
Her role is so much bigger than ‘hardware’. From Wikipedia:

Sarah Bond is an American business executive and the current president of Xbox at Microsoft overseeing the entire brand's operations as a platform and ecosystem, including hardware and devices, player and creator experiences, platform engineering, strategy, business planning, data and analytics, and business development and partnerships

Booty has a less significant role as head of XGS.

As S SneakersSO has said, we'll be back at this topic in a year.

Good strategy to get used to waiting a year.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Good strategy to get used to waiting a year.

Well, it works for Xbox fans for over a decade by now.

 

[Ozriel]

Once again,

I don't know how many times they will literally tell you in their cleverly worded PR and lay the seeds of what they're going to do, for the same people to still carry the same Stockholm water and play stupid.

They’ve told you in poetry and seeds that all their games will be multi-platform day 1?

 

[DeepEnigma]

They’ve told you in poetry and seeds that all their games will be multi-platform day 1?

Strawman.

 

[adamsapple]

Good strategy to get used to waiting a year.

Even still, some of the key franchises are off the table anyway.

Tom Warren: Gears 6, Fable and South of Midnight are “not” under consideration for Proj. Latitude and will be exclusive. Fable & SoM expected in 2025.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/6/24172684/microsoft-xbox-showcase-2024 The second game will be a new installment of Gears of War, which hasn't been earmarked as a Project Latitude game, so it should be exclusive to Xbox and PC. I'm also expecting we'll see more of Fable and South of...

www.neogaf.com

Strawman.

Nah, he's right.

Nowhere in any PR has anyone hinted that games all games will be multi-platform, let alone launching at the same time.

 

[midnightAI]

You had a good showcase, don't get carried away

 

[DeepEnigma]

Nah, he's right.

Nowhere in any PR has anyone hinted that games all games will be multi-platform, let alone launching at the same time.

Where the fuck did I ever say that? You are creating an argument in me that doesn't exist.

Shit, this time 6 months ago y'all Phil slobbers were laughing at any games coming to the PS5.

You don't buy the largest 3rd party publisher and narrow the field to your base that doesn't buy games. That's investor suicide. They have pretty much said this, and will continue to ween you narrative carriers into that reality.

S SneakersSO has been on the money. More so than this forums Xbox influencers.

 

[adamsapple]

Where the fuck did I ever say that? You are creating an argument in me that doesn't exist.

No, i meant O Ozriel 's point was right. Especially going by what anyone has said in an official capacity. Unofficially the names of games that will get ported to other platforms changes every week. Starfield was definitely in development for PS5 a few months ago but last month one of the guys said it was not in development at that time.

Shit, this time 6 months ago y'all Phil slobbers were laughing at any games coming to the PS5.

You don't buy the largest 3rd party publisher and narrow the field to your base that doesn't buy games. That's investor suicide. They have pretty much said this, and will continue to ween you narrative carriers into that reality.

At this point I think we've all seen that some or more games will be ported.

But it looks like they're going to follow the approach Sony is taking with PC releases. Launch on PC/Xbox at day 1 and 6 to 12 months later for PS. Doom was an existing franchise like CoD with multiple entries on other platforms already so that is a different case than something like Indiana, which will not be coming to PS for either a while or not at all. Fable and Gears E-Day are reportedly not even a part of project latitude so not under consideration as of last month.

 

[Ozriel]

Where the fuck did I ever say that? You are creating an argument in me that doesn't exist.

Shit, this time 6 months ago y'all Phil slobbers were laughing at any games coming to the PS5.

You don't buy the largest 3rd party publisher and narrow the field to your base that doesn't buy games. That's investor suicide. They have pretty much said this, and will continue to ween you narrative carriers into that reality.

S SneakersSO has been on the money. More so than this forums Xbox influencers.

You hopped into a conversation that was veering into ‘all xbox games are going multiplatform day 1’, backing up the person pushing that narrative.

Nobody is carrying a narrative about xbox games being lifetime exclusive. It’s been made clear multiple times by xbox execs.

Maybe read?

 

[DeepEnigma]

You hopped into a conversation that was veering into ‘all xbox games are going multiplatform day 1’, backing up the person pushing that narrative.

Nobody is carrying a narrative about xbox games being lifetime exclusive. It’s been made clear multiple times by xbox execs.

Maybe read?

The conversation literally says "post launch." Literally what's in the PR.

Again, words have meaning and they're carefully selected in PR as such.

I can't believe after all the PR ebb and flow and shifting of the narrative, we still have these conversations

It literally comes down to,

 

[digital_ghost]

Booty stinks.

They need to hire Chris Bidet to clean that booty.

 

[reinking]

If someone's ok with an ambiguous window, PC is probably the best place for them since it gets both Xbox and *some PS games post-launch.