‘We Want to Be Everywhere, on Every Platform’: Microsoft CEO Once Again Commits to PS5

“The optimal method to innovate is to maintain healthy margins”

Microsoft has, for the umpteenth occasion, committed to a multi-format future.

During a discussion with TBPN, as noted by Game File, CEO Satya Nadella elaborated for several minutes about his company’s gaming sector without mentioning the term ‘Xbox’ even once.

He highlighted that, following the firm’s nearly $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it has become the largest publisher globally. Its current aim is to extend its software to everyone.

He stated:

“We aim to be a remarkable publisher, akin to what we accomplished with Office. We’re going to be ubiquitous, on every platform. We want to ensure, whether it’s consoles, PCs, mobiles, cloud gaming, or television, that gamers everywhere can enjoy the games.”

Nadella did mention briefly about Microsoft’s upcoming generation plans, reiterating that the organization aims to merge the advantages of PCs and consoles, which reinforces much of what the organization has been asserting recently. Nevertheless, he refrained from providing specifics.

The executive then concluded that the “optimal method to innovate is to maintain healthy margins,” potentially validating recent reports concerning the aggressive profit targets attributed to the Xbox division.

He summarized:

“The competition in gaming is not with other gaming entities. The competition in gaming is short-form videos. Thus, if we as an industry do not keep innovating in terms of production, what we create, how we approach distribution, and the economic model, the optimal method to innovate is to maintain healthy margins.”

This echoes remarks made by Xbox first-party executive Matt Booty recently, who noted that the company is not in rivalry with PlayStation, but rather with social media platforms like TikTok.

Clearly, there’s much to unpack here, yet it’s nothing especially novel.

It seems evident at this point that Microsoft is entirely finished with exclusives, and we should anticipate nearly all of its titles on PS5 moving forward.

Regarding its new hardware, we have uncertainties about how it will successfully merge PC and console without entirely undermining its own business model. Furthermore, one must consider the cost implications of all this.

We’re not persuaded that Xbox will prevail in the competition against TikTok with a device priced over $1,000, but Nadella’s comments indicate that the company will no longer support the division’s whims financially.

Therefore, it will be intriguing to observe how Microsoft positions its next-gen device against the PS6 – if it chooses to pursue that direction at all.