No place for third-party exclusives in Microsoft's long term plan

Almost a year after Microsoft caused an almighty uproar by signing a deal with Square Enix to release Rise of the Tomb Raider exclusively on Xbox, Xbox chief Phil Spencer has revealed that third-party exclusivity deals are no longer part of the company's long term strategy. 

Speaking to Chinese website Gamecores, in an interview translated by DualShockers, Spencer explained that Microsoft is now looking to pump more cash into first-party franchises, citing Halo 5, Gears of War, Forza 6, and Fable as reasons for the shift.

"My strategy is more around our own first-party franchises, and investing in franchises that we own, and probably fewer exclusive deals for third-party content. I want to have strong third-party relations, but paying for many third-party exclusives isn’t our long term strategy," said Spencer.

"...It’s great to have Tomb Raider as part of our line-up, but investing in first-party, you’ll see more of that at Gamescom next week, is really core to our strategy."