Matt Booty, chief of Xbox Game Studios, has explained why the company doesn’t have as many first-party releases as people would like. Much of this has to do with development time, according to the businessman.
Why are there so few Xbox first-party games?
According to a report from Axios, Booty explains that big-budget titles take longer to develop, especially for Xbox. There was a time when studios were able to “put out a few games a decade.” However, it’s likely that many will be lucky to be able to push out more than one release during this time period going forward.
Booty goes on to say this has caught many people in the industry by surprise. He adds that teams working on big-budget titles for Xbox can easily take up to six years to develop a product.
This could explain why the Microsoft console appears to lack first-party games. The days of being able to create something in two or three years are over, Booty says. This all falls in line with how advanced gaming has become over the years.
With much bigger budgets, 4K, and other technology to consider, it means that studios are having to take longer to get something out the door. Not to mention the “higher expectations,” the Axiom report goes on to say.
Conversely, Booty does believe that smaller, more independent studios can get games out quicker, maybe in under a year. But for AAA releases, especially for ones on Xbox, developers are having to spend a lot longer on a single title.
It’s not all bad news, though, as Xbox Game Studios does have some exciting first-party releases coming out. Specifically, a lot of people are anticipating Starfield, which will be hitting stores and digital shelves on September 6.
