LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The head of Xbox on Sunday said Microsoft is hard at work on a next-generation console along with a cloud service that would let players stream games to any device.
Microsoft is adding five new game studios, one it is creating in Southern California and another four it is buying, Xbox team chief Phil Spencer said.
“We are making one of our greatest single year’s investments in teams by adding five new creative studios,” Mr Spencer said at an Xbox media event ahead of the formal start of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo here this week.
Financial details of the acquisitions of Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, and Compulsion Games were not disclosed.
Microsoft has been pelted with criticism for lacking hit video games exclusively for play on Xbox, while Sony has dominated this console generation with PlayStation 4 models boasting a cornucopia of coveted titles.
The Xbox event was packed with cinematic snippets or play of 52 games, including new installments to blockbuster franchises such as “Fallout” and “Halo.”
Of those, 18 titles were tailored exclusively for the Xbox console.
