The hotly-anticipated Xbox Series X from Microsoft is planned to launch this holiday season, and Microsoft’s executive vice president of gaming Phil Spencer says the company is on-schedule so far.
Spencer told CNBC Thursday that coronavirus hasn’t upended Microsoft’s launch plans. “Overall, I think we’re in line with where we thought we would be,” Spencer said. “I’d say the bigger unknown is probably the game production,” he noted.
While game developers and publishers across the globe are forced to work remotely, the production schedule can be drastically impacted, Spencer told CBNC. “Game production is a large scale entertainment activity now, you have hundreds of people coming together, building assets, working through creative,” Spencer said.
Spencer also said he and Microsoft are consistently monitoring the health and progress of their game teams and said Xbox Series X games could be delayed if necessary. “We won’t push when things just aren’t ready,” Spencer said.
“Halo Infinite,” the latest game from Xbox Game Studios’ hit “Halo” franchise, will release exclusively on the Xbox Series X — and so far its developers have not said they anticipate delays. Activision Blizzard is also reportedly working on upgrades to make its popular battle-royale shooter title “Call of Duty: Warzone” compatible with the next-generation Xbox as well.
As of now none of the Xbox Series X exclusive games have been delayed. Microsoft rival and Playstation manufacturer Sony will release its own console, the PlayStaion 5, this holiday season as well. PlayStation has already delayed one of its flagship titles, “The Last of Us II,” several weeks and that title will now launch at an undetermined date later this year. “Faced with the reality that due to logistics beyond our control, we couldn’t launch ‘The Last of Us Part II’ to our satisfaction,” Sony stated at the time of its announcement.