In an interview with Stevivor, Microsoft EVP at gaming Phil Spencer has revealed that Halo has never been released on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles because such edition would not carry “the full Xbox experience” the franchise is known for.
In an interview with Stevivor, Microsoft EVP at gaming Phil Spencer has revealed that Halo has never been released on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles because such an edition would not carry “the full Xbox experience” known for the Halo franchise.
Spencer has addressed previous Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty’s statements about releasing Halo on PlayStation consoles. At E3 2019, Spencer shared that Microsoft would have not an issue with its most iconic brand to even release on competitors’ consoles if there was enough demand.
“We have done some work on the Switch with Ori [and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition] and Cuphead… and Minecraft’s obviously there,” Spencer said. “But I’d say our strategy is really to think about the full Xbox experience; we want that full Xbox experience to be amazing.”
“When you think about other hardware platforms, I’d want to think, holistically, is there an opportunity to bring all of Xbox there? And in most cases, the other partners probably aren’t that interested in the whole Xbox ecosystem coming onto their hardware,” he added.
Spencer went on saying that Halo is so much connected to the Xbox brand and technology such as Xbox Live that it wouldn’t feel right on other platforms and that those platforms could also not be interested in the full package.
“Halo is such a great example — such an intrinsic part of Xbox. I don’t want to get into this world where we… pick apart [an IP] because then we lose the ability to build a cohesive experience,” he mentioned. “We lose the ability for those services to provide value… if we don’t have the full Xbox experience to bring to our customers.”
Halo Reach is releasing today on PC as part of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection, further filling the gap between Xbox and that platform, but that makes more sense if you think of Microsoft’s efforts to have a good position on it finally.
