Xbox boss Phil Spencer admits to making ‘worst game choice decisions’-GameCentral-Entertainment – Metro

Phil Spencer turned his back on Destiny (Bungie)

The head of Xbox has revealed that he passed on exclusivity deals for both Destiny and Guitar Hero, but claims he has no regrets.

Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has been in charge of Xbox for a decade now and while he remains a popular figure amongst fans, since he’s clearly a gamer himself, many have started to question his record, especially in light of the confused messaging surrounding the format’s exclusivity policies.

Last year, he admitted that he was ‘upset with myself’, over the failure of Xbox console exclusive Redfall, which later saw the closure of developer Arkane Austin.

Now, in a new interview, he’s revealed he passed on the chance to make both Destiny and Guitar Hero Xbox exclusives, admitting, ‘I’ve passed on some of the worst… made some of the worst game choice decisions.’

Destiny developer Bungie was at one point owned by Xbox before returning to being an independent studio, which is presumably when they approached Spencer with Destiny, circa 2013.

Spencer revealed that Destiny ‘didn’t really click’ when he was first shown the game and that it didn’t ‘land’ with him until the release of DLC expansion House Of Wolves in 2015.

As a result, Activision ended up publishing the game instead. After that, Bungie ended up leaving them as well and were eventually bought by Sony, with the future of the developer currently feared to be in considerable peril.

Speaking at the PAX West 2024 event, Spencer also revealed that he passed on rhythm action series Guitar Hero, because he was convinced it wasn’t going to work. This was long before he was head of Xbox and must’ve been some time before 2005.

Again, Activision ended up as the publisher, enjoying great success with the series – and the general concept of bespoke peripherals – until they oversaturated the market and killed the franchise; although there have been occasional rumours of its return.

‘I’m not a regrets type person,’ said Spencer. ‘Maybe that’s a fault of mine, but I passed on so many games. I could look back and say… but no, I try to look forward and be positive about the things that we are doing.’

It’s not clear what other games he was thinking of when he said that, but it is known that Xbox passed on an exclusivity deal with Marvel somewhere around 2014.

It’s not clear exactly what the deal was for, but since Sony’s first Spider-Man game didn’t come out until 2018, there’s a good chance it was that.

All executives will have made similar mistakes in their time, and it’s brave of Spencer to admit these examples, but at the same time it won’t silence critics who feel it’s time for new management at Xbox.

Guitar Hero – Phil Spencer didn’t see the appeal (Activision)

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