Summary

  • Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said he "made some of the worst game choice decisions" in the past.
  • Among other things, Spencer passed up on the opportunity for Xbox to publish Destiny and Guitar Hero.
  • The Xbox boss said he still doesn't have any regrets about the past.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer said he made some pretty bad "game choice decisions" over the years. This introspective comment was offered as part of a recent interview that saw the industry veteran reflect on his first 23 years at Xbox.

While Phil Spencer was appointed as the Head of Xbox in 2014, he was an influential figure in Microsoft's gaming division for much longer, having previously led the company's developer studio family in the Xbox 360 era. Choosing projects to greenlight has hence long been part of his everyday responsibilities.

phil spencer takes dig at playstation
Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Throws Shade at PlayStation

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer takes a sly dig at Xbox competitor PlayStation over one of the company's biggest marketing deals.

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Phil Spencer Passed on Destiny and Guitar Hero

His decisions did not always pan out, with the industry veteran acknowledging as much in a recent interview. Speaking during the 2024 edition of PAX West, Spencer revealed he rejected quite a few games that ended up being humongous hits. "I’ve passed on some of the worst, like, made some of the worst game choice decisions," the Microsoft Gaming CEO said around the 44-minute mark of his PAX West interview. He backed up that claim with two examples, Destiny and Guitar Hero, both of which were offered to Xbox once upon a time.

Destiny 'Didn't Really Click' With Spencer for Years

On the subject of Bungie's hit shooter, Spencer said that Destiny "didn't really click" with him initially, partially because he's "not a big PVP player." Of course, Destiny turned out to be much more of a co-op experience than a PVP-focused one, with the executive saying he only started getting what it was all about following the 2015 release of the House of Wolves expansion. But his initial skepticism about the game prompted him to pass up the opportunity to publish it, a decision that was ostensibly made no later than 2013. Destiny ultimately ended up being published by Activision.

I’ve passed on some of the worst… like, made some of the worst game choice decisions.

Activision was also the one who picked up Harmonix's Guitar Hero, which was another major franchise that Xbox turned down. Elaborating on the reason for that decision, Spencer explained that the whole idea of expecting people to pay for both plastic guitar controllers and individual songs sounded like it wasn't going to work. He acknowledged being wrong about that as well, laughingly adding how he heard Guitar Hero "turned into a pretty good game." The franchise itself is nowadays owned by Microsoft, having been purchased as part of its 2023 Activision Blizzard acquisition.

Spencer Says He Has No Regrets About His Past Xbox Decisions

While he's quick to admit that some of his past decisions were mistakes, Spencer insists that he's not losing any sleep over them. "I'm not a regrets-type person," he said during his Pax West 2024 appearance, adding that he'd rather celebrate the gaming industry's collective accomplishments rather than dwell on what could have been.

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Xbox Game Studios
Xbox Game Studios
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Date Founded
March 1, 2000
Headquarters
Redmond, Washington, United States
CEO
Phil Spencer
Consoles
Xbox One, Xbox 360, Xbox One X, Xbox Seires X
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Accessories
Xbox Elite Controller Series 2, Xbox Series S Paper, Xbox Adaptive Controller