‘Xbox Series X’: Microsoft Boss Confirms Next-Gen Games Could Be Delayed

Good news: Xbox Series X is still on track to be released this Holiday 2020. Bad news: next-gen games could be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Xbox head and Microsoft exec Phil Spencer confirmed this news to CNBC, citing that the “bigger unknown” is the game production during these challenging times. Most game studios have executed work-from-home setups to follow stay-at-home orders, but such a decision has also posed various issues in development – especially since producing one is a massive undertaking.

“Overall, I think we’re in line with where we thought we would be,” Spencer told CNBC, referring to their progress in Xbox Series X.

“I’d say the bigger unknown is probably the game production. Game production is a large scale entertainment activity now, you have hundreds of people coming together, building assets, working through creative.”

Spencer noted that he still feels “good” about game production, but he emphasized that he won’t push unnecessarily if things aren’t ready. He pointed out that the “security and safety of the teams is the most important thing” to him.

Microsoft is yet to announce its full lineup of titles for its next-gen console, with “Halo Infinite” and “Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2” only two of the few confirmed titles for Xbox Series X.

Moreover, the status of other third-party publishers and developers producing games for next-gen consoles is still unknown.

This news, however, hardly comes as a surprise after Sony revealed last April that games for their PlayStation 5 could be limited due to the coronavirus crisis. According to the report by Bloomberg, Sony has “publicly warned that the COVID-19 pandemic may affect the game production pipeline for titles.”

Considering these recent developments, it is safe to assume that there will only be a few titles available for next-gen consoles when they are released. With the future of the industry still uncertain due to the pandemic, it’s difficult to determine when operations will return to normal.

Fortunately for fans though, both Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are expected to have backward compatibility, which means Xbox One and PlayStation 4 games will at least be playable as people wait for the true next-gen titles.