Following yesterday’s reveal of impressive numbers for Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass, division head Phil Spencer talked to CNBC about the current situation for the business.
Spencer talks about how gaming is helping to bring people together during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding to the picture a small but interesting piece of data: recently 23 million new friendships have been created on Xbox Live. The use of multiplayer games among Game Pass members has grown by 130% since March.
He also explains the effect of the pandemic on the pipeline of the release of the Xbox One X, reiterating that the console is scheduled for this year, but mentioning that there may be some issues on the game development side. The plan is to prioritize the safety of the teams without “unduly pushing” things that aren’t ready.
We also hear some insight into competition both with other sources of gaming and different media like live sports. Incidentally, the lack of live sports broadcasts has brought an uptick of interest in eSports.
You can watch the video below.
Incidentally, we just learned that Microsoft will reveal gameplay of third-party Xbox Series X games next week, while first party studios are working on “big plans” for the summer.
