"I don't like expansions that are manipulative," he says. "I want it to have a unique point of view. I don't want it to be, like, the third level that you cut before you launched.

Things are changing fast at Xbox as it continues its march toward becoming what is essentially a third party publisher…that also makes hardware.

Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer has been doing a few interviews as 2024 draws to a close, celebrating Microsoft's generally strong lineup of games over the year while also warning that the PC-heavy lineup is "historical" and an "anomaly" following the $69 billion Activision-Blizzard acquisition.