Xbox chief says cross-play is the future, but that 'maybe in the short run, there's some people in some companies that don't love it'

• Phil Spencer, Microsoft's gaming chief, said that exclusive games are "something we're just going to see less and less of."
• He said that in the near term "there's some people in some companies that don't love it."

Phil Spencer, Microsoft's gaming chief in charge of Xbox, sees cross-play and non-exclusive games as the future of the gaming industry.

But he predicts some pushback in the near term.

Spencer told Bloomberg that he views video games made exclusively for one game console as "something we're just going to see less and less of."

"Maybe you happen in your household to buy an Xbox and I buy a PlayStation and our kids want to play together and they can't because we bought the wrong piece of plastic to plug into our television," he said.

"We really love to be able to bring more players in reducing friction, making people feel safe, secure when they're playing, allowing them to find their friends, play with their friends, regardless of what device — I think in the long run that is good for this industry."

But he accepted that not everyone would agree right now.

"And maybe in the short run, there's some people in some companies that don't love it," Spencer added. "But I think as we get over the hump and see where this industry can continue to grow, it proves out to be true."

Spencer has long been a champion of cross-play. But the main competition — Sony's PlayStation — has hindered those ambitions in the past, including with "Fortnite."

Sony initially didn't allow PlayStation "Fortnite" players to play with others who are on different devices (though it eventually enabled cross-play after a months-long standoff). It frustrated Spencer at the time.

"I just get stuck in who this is helping," Spencer told Insider in 2018. "It doesn't help the developer. The developer just wants more people to play their game. It doesn't help the player. The players just want to play with their friends who also play games on console."