Microsoft is Investing a Billion Dollars in Xbox One Games

When Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One earlier this month, the company emphasized the fact that it was focusing heavily on exclusive games for the console. In fact, the company said there would be 15 exclusive Xbox One titles in the console's first year of availability. This week, it emerged just how much the company is spending to ensure there's no shortage of exciting content for its new baby.

OXM reports that Microsoft will invest one billion dollars in next generation titles. That price them those 15 exclusive titles Microsoft talked about its Xbox Reveal event, including eight new IPs. OXM spoke to Don Mattrick (President of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft) and Phil Spencer (Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Studios) and cites the former as saying people are "way, way under-indexing how hard [Microsoft is] punching" when it comes to exclusives.

"We're going to come out with detail on things and people are going to go, 'oh my god,'" said Mattrick. "Like, 'they were focused, they made this a core goal, core activity'. There are great hits, there's innovation, and there are world class creators plugged in."

Microsoft didn't talk too much about games during its Xbox One reveal, but is expected to reveal all during E3 the week after next. We'll be on hand to bring you the latest, so stay tuned!

Ask a Category Expert

Create a new thread in the US News comments forum about this subject

Title
Title
Subject

This thread is closed for comments

43 comments

Comment from the forums

Your comment

Top Comments

Mike Honcho 4 years ago

How many of those "exclusives" will end being kinect garbage and kids games?
soldier44 4 years ago

I just invested in next gen gaming myself, its called a GTX 780. Money well spent.
kanoobie 4 years ago

How much of that billion will be spent on advertisement as opposed to game development?

Other Comments

shikamaru31789 4 years ago

I really do feel like some people are not giving Microsoft enough credit. Yes, the used game DRM and once per 24 hour internet connection requirement suck, and hopefully MS will realize that and get rid of those features before launch. But one of the biggest complaints about the 360 was the lack of exclusives. MS seems to be hitting back hard on that front, 15 exclusives in the first year, 8 of which are new IP's, that's as many exclusives in one year as several years on the 360, and more than any single year on the PS3 (possibly more than any 2 years combined). Some people are saying that MS is concentrating more on the media features, on taking over the tv, but they're clearly still placing gaming higher on the priority list. I can't wait to see some of these new exclusives at E3, and not just Microsoft's, but the exclusives Sony is sure to have saved for E3 as well. This is one good year for gaming, reagardless of what platform you prefer. And multiplatform gamers like myself are extra lucky.
Mike Honcho 4 years ago

How many of those "exclusives" will end being kinect garbage and kids games?
esrever 4 years ago

thats only first party exclusives too.
bigshootr8 4 years ago

You know they spent around this on investing on what people wanted from windows 8 and saw where that got us.
festerovic 4 years ago

^ all first party MS games are exclusives (not like they make them for wii or ps...)
AndreT 4 years ago

Why don't they help fund exclusive PC games that take advantage of the current PC Gen hardware instead of lame ports from 6 year old console hardware that the PC crowd has been having to deal with. No wonder there is no excitement or reason for anybody to go and buy a new PC.
chumly 4 years ago

Well here's the list of games we know about already:
http://www.ign.com/wikis/xbox-one/List_of_Xbox_One_Games
So far the tech specs on the PS4 and the Xbox both are looking very similar, with the exception of the Xbox having both Kinect and Voice control (which are pretty nice features). The lineup of games on both systems is looking pretty good as well, most of the A-list franchises are now being developed for both platforms.
I think it's time consumers can throw in the towel on the fight to see which one is better, and decide which features they like better. Price will be a big deal too.
bigshootr8 4 years ago

I think I'll side with Sony this time around even though I won't purchase either. M$ is on the wrong side of net neutrality here.
Willy McBurgle 4 years ago

Halo 7, 8, 9, 10.......Kinect Labs 2....
bigshootr8 4 years ago

^Can you say Cash Grab?
smokeybravo 4 years ago

The xbox one is a marketing and surveillance tool. I'm not saying M$ is going to use your information against you. The most they'll probably use it for is targeting ads towards you. But what happens the Department of Homeland Security subpoenas them into giving up information? They'll have pretty much everything on you right down to how fast your heart was beating on June 12, 2015 12:34:45. Sitting this one out.
spike238 4 years ago

Billions for a proprietary gaming console… with hopes of a quick turnaround on the investment…?
Leaving the PC gamer out in the cold, as part of the marketing strategy…?
The same PC gamer that spends thousands on high end rigs, controllers, and gaming libraries that consume half the household budget…?
Hmm...
Makes perfect sense to me…
soldier44 4 years ago

I just invested in next gen gaming myself, its called a GTX 780. Money well spent.
chumly 4 years ago

"The xbox one is a marketing and surveillance tool. I'm not saying M$ is going to use your information against you. The most they'll probably use it for is targeting ads towards you. But what happens the Department of Homeland Security subpoenas them into giving up information? They'll have pretty much everything on you right down to how fast your heart was beating on June 12, 2015 12:34:45. Sitting this one out."
Seriously, man, go buy some foil and wrap up your head before they get you.
spartanmk2 4 years ago

All the games I play are PC exclusive, so there.
ismaeljrp 4 years ago

Anonymous said:

I really do feel like some people are not giving Microsoft enough credit. Yes, the used game DRM and once per 24 hour internet connection suck, and hopefully MS will realize that and get rid of those features before launch. But one of the biggest complaints about the 360 was the lack of exclusives. MS seems to be hitting back hard on that front, 15 exclusives in the first year, 8 of which are new IP's, that's as many exclusives in one year as several years on the 360, and more than any single year on the PS3 (possibly more than any 2 years combined). Some people are saying that MS is concentrating more on the media features, on taking over the tv, but they're clearly still placing gaming higher on the priority list. I can't wait to see some of these new exclusives at E3, and not just Microsoft's, but the exclusives Sony is sure to have saved for E3 as well. This is one good year for gaming, reagardless of what platform you prefer. And multiplatform gamers like myself are extra lucky.

Finally someone with some sense in them...

It's obviously a gaming console...why would they go on the reveal just to talk about games only ?

I liked how they focused on the details aside from gaming, as these are the things people need to be briefed about. The games will come. They always do, but games aren't revolutionary in a console anymore. It's the added features and capabilities, I finally feel like we'll be able to experience some really high tech ideas in the living room, I'll probably nickname my Xbox One " Jarvis ".
kanoobie 4 years ago

How much of that billion will be spent on advertisement as opposed to game development?
shikamaru31789 4 years ago

Anonymous said:

^ all first party MS games are exclusives (not like they make them for wii or ps...)

I think what he meant is that those 15 exclusives may not include 2nd/3rd party exclusives. For instance Ryse is being made by Crytek, a 3rd party developer, so it may not be included among those 15. Also, multiple leaks and rumors point to an exclusive game from EA (likely the upcoming sci-fi shooter from Respawn Entertainment, the studio founded by former Infinity Ward leads Jason West and Vince Zampella after Activision fired them), that game may not be included among those 15 exclusives either.

1st party studios that may be working on one of those 15 first year exclusives are 343 Industries (Halo 2 Anniversary?), Lionhead Studios (Fable 4 or possibly a Fable MMO), Black Tusk Studios (said to be Microsoft's "next big AAA franchise" designed to rival Halo's success), Twisted Pixel Games (working on something "wierd"), Connected Experiences (large scale multiplayer game), Good Science Studios (likely a new Kinect game), Press Play, Kids and Lifestyle Entertainment (a new fitness title for Kinect), Microsoft Studios- Los Angeles (a core cinematic title), Microsoft Studios-Osaka (a game MS claims will show how "committed" they are to Japan), and Rare Ltd (said to have concurrent development on 3 different games, one of which is said to be a new game from one of their older series).
smokeybravo 4 years ago

@chumly
Our government already does this. It's not a conspiracy, it's a pure and simple fact.
shikamaru31789 4 years ago

Anonymous said:

I just invested in next gen gaming myself, its called a GTX 780. Money well spent.

That's nice for you. But the 780 costs far more than either the PS4 or Xbox One are expected to cost, and that's just for a graphics card, not a whole system. I think you'd be very hard pressed to build a PC that matched the specs of the PS4 or Xbox One for the price leaks have suggested they'll launch at. And you'd probably spend at least $800 on a prebuilt PC that matched the PS4's specs. And then there is the fact that you can't get console exclusives on PC. There is a reason why consoles sell. I'm not saying that console gaming is better than PC gaming, nor the opposite, I'm just saying that both have their advantages and disadvantages. Me, I game on both console and PC. I get all the exclusives that way.

Display All 43 comments

Display more comments