Xbox: Phil Spencer says it’s open for AI use – 6/16/2023 – Tech

Last Sunday (11), fans of the Xbox video game brand had a cathartic moment as they watched dozens of advertisements for nearly two hours.

As strange as it may seem, it is something common and expected in this market that already moves almost US$ 200 billion a year, according to the consultancy Newzoo. June is the month when gamers traditionally flock to see their favorite companies announce their favorite upcoming games.

This period was marked for 25 years by the existence of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The market changed, the event disappeared and now each company broadcasts its own conference — in the case of Microsoft’s games division, the Xbox Games Showcase.

Some of the fan enthusiasm was directed at the work of Xbox head Phil Spencer, who took over the division in 2014 after the turbulent launch of the Xbox One console. Today, he is loved wherever he goes.

In an interview with Sheet after the Showcase, the executive says that there are no company games being developed with the help of generative AI, but that he is open to the possibilities brought by technology. Microsoft invests in OpenAI, owner of ChatGPT and other similar tools.

“I think games should be fun first and foremost, and we should use technology to allow teams to create better games,” he said.

One of the biggest highlights of the Xbox Games Showcase was “Starfield”, a game developed by Bethesda, from “Skyrim” and “Fallout”. The developer was acquired by Microsoft in 2020.

The event opened with a trailer for “Fable”, an RPG franchise that hasn’t seen a release since 2010, but only “Starfield” won a separate program, shown right after and ending one of the most anticipated conferences by gamers this year. In the title, the player is a space explorer who can visit more than a thousand planets, customize his spaceship and decide how, when and why to explore.

It is not by chance that it is one of Xbox’s main bets for this generation of consoles, and whose expectation on the part of fans does not scare Phil Spencer, who has been testing the game since last November.

“Starfield” is a huge game and could become one of the main games of the current generation of consoles. At the same time, it will be available at no additional cost on Xbox Game Pass. [serviço de assinatura da empresa] right on launch day. How will the game pay for itself, since it won’t retail for $70? We’ve built our strategy and plans around the idea of ​​giving our players choice on how to play and how to build their game library. We’re very confident in the business fundamentals of Game Pass and our Xbox Store, and I think “Starfield” is going to do very well, both in Game Pass and in sales. And it is important that we run a positive and profitable business. “Starfield” will be an important part of that.

But isn’t it risky to bet so much on one game? What if the audience doesn’t like it? This goes for any game that develops. But we want teams to feel comfortable taking that risk. And I think that’s something that Microsoft and Xbox can provide for teams working independently.

As we are a larger company with many different components, every game should strive to be as special as possible. And not all games are going to reach the level of quality or success that we want.

But we want each team to achieve the best they can with their ambition. And yes, some games will succeed and some will not. I loved the reaction “Starfield” received today. I think it was fantastic.

I’ve been playing “Starfield” at home since November, not wanting to brag. But I think it’s important to play, to reflect on its quality, which areas are good, which areas we think we can improve. And this is a process that we have applied for a long time.

The reactions were indeed very effusive. But Mr. Aren’t you afraid that the anticipation around the game will run out, as it did with “Cyberpunk 2077”? We do the best we can to show the game. We’re here at this event, but we don’t know how anything shown will be received. [no lançamento].

We have our own ratings, points that we think will be great and things that will be surprising. So we’ve done our best work to showcase “Starfield”, and it’s been amazing to see the response from the public. I don’t think we’re worried about anticipation, but it was great to see that.

And the team has more to talk about leading up to launch. You know, Bethesda Game Studios has a long history of building games like “Skyrim”, “Fallout” that have great anticipation and reception. I think the team knows how to manage that.

In addition to ‘Starfield’, the Xbox Games Showcase showcased several new games, many of which will be released in the coming months. Is it possible to say that the effect of the pandemic on the sector is over? I can talk about our studios. We understand that 2022 was a weaker year for us in terms of releases, but now our teams are stepping on the gas, and you can see that in terms of releases like “Starfield’ and “Forza”, “Hellblade”, “Avowed” , “Fable,” and then some new announcements like “Clockwork Revolution” and “South of Midnight.” As an industry, I think we’re also coming out of this downturn in production.

During this period, video games became even more popular. Because of social isolation measures, people played more. Now that the situation is better, what are the prospects for the market in the coming years? Will that peak be reached again? I think it’s a great thing that when everyone was at home, we were able to see an increase in console sales and play time since we were in isolation. And then, when everyone left again, which is great, it was possible to see stability or an annual drop in our market.

But this happens not because the market is not doing well in the long term, but because of the peak during Covid-19, and because the following months and years would return to a normal level.

If you go back in time, the growth rate over the last ten years has been strong. There are over 3 billion people who play games. It’s a $200 billion business that continues to grow. And, although we may have a weaker year, we strongly believe in the long-term success of this sector.

What is the opinion of Mr. about using generative AI in video games? Will Xbox apply generative AI, such as OpenAI products, in game development? The areas we’re probably most focused on using AI today are security, policy and network enforcement, because that’s important to us.

In terms of your role in game development, I like to give creators the tools and let them find the right, find the fun, find the special. I’m not a big believer in technology-first games [com foco em novas tecnologias]. I think games should be fun first and foremost, and we should use technology to allow teams to create better games.

We don’t have games with generative AI in development, but if we find a way to use it, if teams find ways that new technology can help them build projects that players will enjoy, I’m definitely open to that.

But I’m certainly not a leader who tries to dictate a technology-first model. I start with the creative process and then work backwards.

Meanwhile, the new generation of consoles has not yet established itself in the market, with many games being released for both the current and the previous one. When will we reach a tipping point? From when will Xbox One no longer be supported? It will take a long time. I think it’s amazing when I look at the Xbox stats and there are over a million players playing on Xbox 360 [console lançado em 2005]. And they really play. Of course, we don’t support everything we used to, but I think of those people who have that console next to their TV. They have the games they love to play. Be it a Minecraft or whatever. And I think we’ll be supporting Xbox One for many, many years to come.

Now, I think the root of the question is when are the big games going to stop releasing in the previous generation. For us, we kind of made that turn with our first-party games. [desenvolvidos internamente]. But for third-party developers who have a game with broad appeal, there are still millions of players on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. So for those companies that are just thinking about business, I can understand why they might want to support multiple platforms a little longer.

The cloud gaming market is still young, but it has made significant advances in recent years and has become more popular. Perhaps the biggest problem with the technology is the response time, which makes it difficult to play action titles, for example. How does Xbox handle this problem? We always try to position cloud gaming as a choice for our players. We never said that people should get rid of their consoles or their PCs. We see this more as an option for when someone wants to play and doesn’t have the physical devices.

Input latency is a thing. The speed of light exists. The command has to go to a data center and back. And that takes time. We never said that the cloud experience would be better than the local gaming experience. We try to make it as good as possible given the technology.

But we’re not trying to position it as better than playing on a Series X or better than playing on a gaming PC. Certain games run really, really well in the cloud. And I think you’re right that certain competitive games aren’t really optimized for that.

So aren’t we getting to a future where consoles are going to be obsolete? I don’t think so. We just announced a new console. Yes, just with a larger storage capacity, but we have a hardware team that is actively looking at where the future of consoles goes.

In Brazil, the number of video game studios has more than doubled in the last four years. How does Xbox view the Brazilian market, in terms of publishing and game development? The fact that there are so many studios in Brazil doesn’t surprise me. It’s a natural part of the cycle because Brazil has always been a big player in the market. We made Xboxes in the country because of that.

In terms of support, we approach through the ID@Xbox program [programa de publicação de jogos indie para Xbox e PC] to ensure that we provide dedicated support to developers in the region. And also when we’re offering Game Pass or support at events like this. We didn’t have any Brazilian titles at this event, but we’re very active in the community to make sure we’re giving players the tools and support they need.

Since mr. took over as head of Xbox nearly ten years ago, what was the biggest transformation the industry has gone through? One change I like is the diversity of creators we have now. This means that the stories that are told, the characters in the games, come from a lot more perspectives than just someone who looks like me or talks like me. And I think that’s great for the industry.

We have about 5,000 games being developed on Xbox, as developers on the platform, and they’re from all over the place. I remember traveling to São Paulo and the first ID@Xbox game I saw was “Aritana”. It was the first in Brazil. Now I see where our developers are from and who they are, and I see many different backgrounds, many countries, languages. Because I believe in community and the interactive capacity of video games. The more people we reach, the more impact we will have.

Got another ten years to come? I hope so. I love doing what I do. As some people know, I’ve played video games my whole life. It’s kind of who I am. And I’m privileged to work with amazing creators.

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Phil Spencer, 55

Graduated in technical and social communication from the University of Washington, he joined Microsoft in 1988, where he held various positions. In 2014, he took over as head of the Xbox division. In 2022, he was promoted to CEO of Microsoft Gaming, the company’s gaming arm that includes Xbox Game Studios. During his tenure, Xbox expanded its game catalog, acquired studios, and launched the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

The journalist traveled at the invitation of Xbox