Xbox boss talks down live service games and teases Psychonauts 2 follow-up

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has very different views on live service games in comparison to Sony, as he confirms Everwild still exists.

Ever since Fortnite became a dominating force in the games industry, many publishers and developers have chased the same live service trend, in the hopes of landing a goldmine.

While some have seen success, with game like Apex Legends and Genshin Impact, the majority have been taken offline just months after they began. Sony, which has been particularly bullish in trying to land a live service hit, saw how risky the gamble is last year, with the success of Helldivers 2 and the dramatic failure of Concord.

In comparison, Microsoft has all but ignored the live service trend, outside of long-running games like Sea Of Thieves or titles it has since acquired as part of Activision Blizzard, like Call Of Duty and Overwatch 2.

Speaking in an interview with XboxEra, Spencer emphasised how all the games in Xbox’s Developer Direct last month – including Doom: The Dark Ages and Ninja Gaiden 4 – are purposefully single-player titles.

‘They were all games that have a beginning, middle, and end,’ Spencer said.
‘I didn’t want to see every game turn into some big service based game because they [the developers] felt like that’s where the business model was. It’s not easy to do that. Not every story is told in that way. Not every creative idea supports that business model.’

Spencer went on to cite South Of Midnight developer Compulsion Games and the next unannounced project from Psychonauts 2 developer Double Fine as reasons why small teams need space to thrive and do their own thing.

‘When I look at what Double Fine is working on next, when I think about a team like Compulsion, these aren’t the biggest teams and they don’t want to be massive 1,000 person teams and we want them to be able to do great work,’ Spencer added. ‘So I want to create a platform that can support that.’

Spencer also mentioned the next project from Double Fine alongside State Of Decay 3 and Rare’s Everwild – which was first announced way back in 2019 – when asked about the unreleased first party Xbox games he’s most looking forward to.

‘State Of Decay is just one of the franchises I love back from the original one,’ Spencer said. ‘I do think the work that Double Fine’s doing and how Tim [Schafer] kind of solicits feedback from the team. And the other one, I’ll say because I was recently out at Rare. It’s nice to see the team with Everwild and the progress that they’re making.’

Everwild was reportedly rebooted in 2021, but nothing has been shown from the game since then, with some suggestions that no substantial work had yet begun on it, when it was first revealed.

Spencer acknowledged the lengthy development time for Everwild, adding: ‘It has been [a while]. And we’ve been able to give those teams time in what they’re doing, which is good, and still have a portfolio like we have. It’s like a dream that Matt [Booty] and I have had for a long time, so it’s finally good to be there. We can give those teams time.’

This is the first time that anyone from Microsoft has ever alluded to Double Fine’s new game but there’s currently no clue as to what it is, and whether it’s intended as a follow-up to 2021’s Psychonauts 2.

It’s still unclear when Everwild, Double Fine’s next game, or State Of Decay 3 will be released, but it’s unlikely to be anytime soon. Xbox has a stacked line-up for the months ahead, between South Of Midnight, Doom: The Dark Ages, and the rumoured remake of Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion.

Email [email protected], leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

ArrowMORE: Microsoft has given up trying to attract PS5 owners to Xbox consoles says CEO

ArrowMORE: PSN outage means even Xbox fans benefit from extended Call Of Duty event

ArrowMORE: Resident Evil 5 has a new Xbox rating – but don’t expect a remake