Like every other publisher in the game world, Microsoft doesn’t only have to promote new releases. They also always have to be thinking about what comes next. And as Phil Spencer, the Head of the Xbox Division, recently told Major Nelson, that might involve delaying one or more Xbox One games from 2015 to 2016:
“Looking at production schedules and how things are lining up, next Fall is just crazy. I mean, this Fall from a first party/third party standpoint is great. Next Fall, I don’t… Honestly it’s not hype at all, I honestly don’t know that we can actually ship all the stuff that thinks it’s trying to ship next Fall. It just might be too crowded and we might purposely try to move some things out to spread it. You have to [give them some breathing room], you have to do that.”
We learned quite a bit about Microsoft’s 2015 release schedule during this year’s E3 Expo. Halo 5: Guardians and Rise of the Tomb Raider are both currently penciled in for a “Fall 2015” release while Remedy’s Quantum Break will launch sometime next year. And then there’s Crackdown 3, Platinum’s Scalebound, and Phantom Dust 2, all of which are in development and may launch in 2015. Black Tusk’s Gears of War 4 is also in development and it’s mysterious nature likely already points to a 2016 release.
So which ones will get the boot? Possibly none of them as Spencer also told Major Nelson that he is a strong believer in a year-round release calendar:
“I think as publishers and first parties have success at multiple points of the year it’s just a good thing for us, because having three/four great games ship all in the same week at the end of October, while maybe on some forecast somewhere it feels like that’s the right thing to do, just as an industry I think it’s much more healthy if we have more beats throughout the year where people can ship great games.”
As of right now, Screamride is the only 2015 game with a known release date. It’ll be available for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 in the Spring.
