Microsoft has given up trying to attract PS5 owners to Xbox consoles says CEOAdam StarkeyPublished February 17, 2025 11:57amUpdated February 17, 2025 11:57am Is Xboxs multiformat strategy a winning one? (Microsoft)Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has discussed the challenges of attracting PlayStation and Switch owners to Xbox consoles.With PlayStation 5 sales more than double those of the Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft has pivoted Xbox into a broader multiplatform publisher, untethered from its own hardware.Weve seen this in action through Xbox marketing which downplays the console, along with the increasing amount of Xbox games heading to other platforms. This strategy seems to be working from a financial standpoint, mostly thanks to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but the big question is whether this could lead to a gradual exit from the console race.In a new interview, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer acknowledged the difficulty in getting PlayStation owners to switch to Xbox and reaffirmed how the company isnt trying to move them all over to Xbox anymore.Speaking on the XboxEra podcast, Spencer explained that while selling games on rival devices means they lose 30% of the sale to the competitors storefront, the remaining 70% helps Xbox build great portfolios of games. By which he means it earns them money.There are people whether its their libraries on a PlayStation or Nintendo, whether its that they like the controller better, they just like the games that are there and I dont want to then look at that say, well, theres no way that we should be able to build a business there, find fans of our franchises there, Spencer said. Im not trying to move them all over to Xbox anymore. Were all so invested in where our games are, lets just allow more people to play. And yes, the 70% that we make on games on other platforms is helpful to us being able to build great portfolios, like we showed at Developer Direct, and I hope this will continue to show through the rest of the year.Spencer went onto echo concerns around Xboxs future, before directly addressing worries around its Xbox Game Pass subscription service being detrimental to game ownership.I just want to show respect to people who voice their concerns to me, Spencer added. Like, I get it. I would never disrespect anybody who comes to me with concern [like], Ive got a library of games on Xbox console, I want to make sure Ill continue to be able to play those games, are we going to still do hardware? Are we still going to be able to play the games weve always played? Am I going to have to rent all my games, can I still buy games? I get it. I get the questions.I think weve shown respect for peoples libraries over the generations with backwards compatibility and play anywhere, and I want to continue to do that. You can buy every game thats in Game Pass, were not trying to funnel everybody into one business model. Play the games the way you want to play them. Xbox classic Forza Horizon 5 is heading to PlayStation 5 this year (Playground Games)We obviously have to run a good business, so well have our pricing and everything that we do, but I want to make as many options as possible for the games that we have so they find more and more players.With declining Xbox hardware sales and stagnant Game Pass subscriber numbers though, it seems Microsoft is pinning its hopes on Xbox Cloud Gaming to expand its audience.Its why us embracing Windows and embracing cloud has allowed us to grow, Spencer claimed. One of our fastest growing regions for us right now is Asia and its not because were selling more consoles in Asia, but through cloud and PC, were finding more users year over year than any other place.More TrendingThe fastest kind of platform is cloud. Thats the thing thats growing the fastest year over year and those are players like you were talking about, that presenter in the UK. We were never going to catch that person with our console. So lets find them in a way that works, and its better for Indiana Jones. Its better for Xbox.According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Xbox Cloud Gaming recently broke records for the platform with 140 million hours streamed in the last financial quarter. The company also touted a 30% increase in Game Pass subscribers on PC, but the absence of a new overall figure across all platforms suggests it hasnt grown much (if at all) since the 34 million figure from February last year.Xbox Cloud Gaming is only available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, so while the appeal of cloud gaming might be on rise, it isnt translating to a significant boost in Xbox Game Pass subscribers. As such, its unclear how much cloud gaming will actually benefit Xbox in the long term.The big question is whether this matters considering Microsoft is now one of the biggest game publishers in the world, thanks to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Bethesda. With all the money its earning on the publishing side, the company may now see its planned future consoles as merely a minor side business to its main role as a third party publisher. What does a next gen Xbox mean? (Microsoft)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy