Thomas Mahler of Moon Studios, the developer behind former Xbox-exclusive Ori series, has criticized Microsoft for having “artificial barriers” against rival platforms while advocating gaming with no boundaries or restrictions.
Mahler made his comments on ResetEra in response to an Axios interview with Xbox boss Phil Spencer, in which the executive claimed that today’s Microsoft would have been able to retain Halo developer Bungie, who parted ways with Microsoft in 2007. Mahler believes that Spencer doesn’t understand that Bungie wanted to split because it wanted to create video games for everyone. Microsoft, on the other hand, has a vision of unrestricted gaming that isn’t matched by its actions.
“I think Microsoft is in this weird ‘between a rock and a hard place’ position where they’re saying that this is the vision that they want to see happening in the future, no artificial walls, no boundaries, but then they’re not necessarily acting accordingly, I think mostly because the other parties aren’t playing along,” Mahler said. “Microsoft would probably keep going into this direction if other parties would participate, as in, if Nintendo/Sony would allow some of their games to be playable on Xbox, but that’s just not where the industry is at at this point. These corporations still very much believe in walled-gardens and are scared of change… so be it.”
Mahler isn’t wrong. While Sony and Nintendo actively resist the idea of dropping exclusives, Spencer has often suggested that he’s in favor of making games accessible to everyone. Yet, Microsoft purchased ZeniMax Media with the aim of making former multiplatform franchises exclusive to its platforms going forward.
Mahler added that he wishes Microsoft “would have the guts to just go through with their vision.”
