RolStoppable said:
There has been no new Halo release since Microsoft has changed their strategy, that's why Halo (well, most of the games) is still exclusive to Xbox. Going forward, however, it's going to be PC+Xbox for Microsoft. The upcoming Halo Wars 2 will be multiplatform and it would be surprising if Halo 6 didn't fall under the Play Anywhere label that is PC+Xbox by default. |
Yep, Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3 are already on that track, Halo 6's eventual release is almost certainly going to follow the same path.
An IP such as Minecraft is profitable because of licensing. Stores are crammed full of overpriced Minecraft junk, Minecraft lego stuff, etc. That means that you want the biggest exposure possible to keep that fire going. Crossing out the console with (by far) the largest global marketshare would be an idiotic move that won't pass muster. If this was still Microsoft 2007-2013 era, it would be a possible idea. Mehdi's MS? Not a chance. Dollars and sense-wise, this is about overall market penetration for the IP.
They've already been extremely lukewarm with the Xbox tie-in on Minecraft, which seems a lost opportunity to me. The Minecraft Xbox bundle should have included a custom Minecraft-themed console and controller for sure.
But overall, selling Minecraft the game for $20 to a kid is much less interesting to them than having that same kid beg his parents for $500 worth of Minecraft junk over the next few years of his life, Microsoft getting a cut of every bit of that with no effort or expense expended, whether or not he has any, all, or zero consoles or PCs beyond whatever platform he got the thing on to start with.
Expanding the marketing cross-reach should be their goal. You should be able to go out and buy the Minecraft Star Wars add-on pack for your game for $20, the Marvel Avengers pack, the Guardians of the Galaxy pack, etc. Terrible value perhaps to the PC modder fans, but for those playing on Phone, WiiU, Vita, PS4, Xbox One, etc, I'm more than confident that would sell gangbusters.
