Third-party storefronts might probably be coming to Xbox
![Xbox could potentially feature other storefronts like Epic Games in the future](https://www.trueachievements.com/imgs/147676/xbox-could-potentially-feature-other-storefronts-like-epic-games-in-the-future.jpg)
Throughout a latest interview, Polygon requested Phil Spencer if he might “actually see a future the place shops like Itch.io and Epic Video games existed on Xbox” — and whether or not it was “only a matter of determining mountains of paperwork to get there” — to which the Xbox boss replied, “Sure.”
“[Consider] our historical past because the Home windows firm. No one would blink twice if I stated, ‘Hey, whenever you’re utilizing a PC, you get to resolve the kind of expertise you could have [by picking where to buy games],” Spencer stated. “There’s actual worth in that.”
We have already seen Microsoft take steps to increase its attain by launching some Xbox exclusives on rival platforms, however it appears Spencer additionally goals to decrease obstacles on Xbox as effectively. In line with Spencer, exclusivity with video games, and subsidizing consoles, is not as possible now.
“[Subsidizing hardware] turns into more difficult in as we speak’s world,” Spencer stated. “And I’ll say, and this will appear too altruistic, I don’t know that it’s rising the trade. So I feel, what are the obstacles? What are the issues that create friction in as we speak’s world for creators and gamers? And the way can we be a part of opening up that mannequin?”
“If I wish to play on a gaming PC, then I really feel like I’m extra a steady a part of a gaming ecosystem as an entire,” Spencer later provides. “Versus [on console], my gaming is form of sharded — to make use of a gaming time period — based mostly on these completely different closed ecosystems that I’ve to play throughout.”
Spencer has additionally lately commented on the rising recognition of handhelds, and whereas he hasn’t confirmed that an official Xbox handheld is on the best way, he has stated the Xbox {hardware} crew has been exploring “completely different {hardware} type elements.”