Looking Toward E3 And Beyond

This has been a great year for gaming at Microsoft, and it’s only going to get better in the coming weeks and months.  With the greatest games lineup in Xbox history coming to Xbox One this year, and Windows 10 being the best operating system for gaming we’ve ever released, this is going to be an exceptional year for gamers. No matter where or how you play, I truly believe 2015 will be our biggest year yet.

Throughout the week of E3, we will talk about our Xbox One games lineup and some of what we are doing for gaming on PCs and tablets with Windows 10. Not only are we focused on the gaming platforms you play on today – consoles and PC – but we’re also passionate about new, immersive ways to play. This morning we announced our partnership with Oculus VR and shared why Windows 10 will be the best platform for experiencing virtual reality on the Oculus Rift. Gamers who buy the Rift will get to play games with the included Xbox One controller, as well as stream their favorite Xbox One games to Rift through Windows 10.

We recognize that gamers want choice in how they game, whether that’s gaming in virtual reality on the Rift or the mixed reality experiences that will be made possible with Microsoft HoloLens. What we’ve shown so far with HoloLens is just a sneak peek of what’s is possible with holographic gaming and computing – the ability to bring holograms into your physical world. I can’t wait to see what sort of experiences game developers create and how fans react to both of these exciting technologies.

The Windows 10 launch on July 29 is a major milestone for Microsoft as a company. We’re working to make Windows 10 the best version of Windows ever for gaming – both for gamers and for developers. More than ever before, feedback from our fans is driving the direction of our gaming plans. The Xbox Feedback site has been instrumental in proposing and prioritizing the hundreds of features we’ve rolled out in our monthly updates on Xbox One. Similarly, updates to the Xbox app on Windows 10 devices are being driven in large part by the fans – something that will continue through the release of Windows 10.

On Monday morning, we will unveil games and experiences coming to Xbox One this holiday and beyond at our Xbox E3 Briefing. I can’t wait to share the passion of our game creators, demonstrate how Xbox One continues to evolve, and provide a closer look at gaming across devices. I believe this year we have the greatest games lineup in Xbox console history, led by Halo 5: Guardians and blockbuster titles like Forza Motorsport 6 and Rise of the Tomb Raider. There’s even more news than we could fit into the 90 minute briefing. So be sure to tune into our live show, Xbox Daily: LIVE @ E3, Monday through Wednesday at 4PM PT for additional game reveals, world premiere trailers, interviews, and demos.

E3 is just the beginning. Over the next few weeks and months, we’ll be sharing many more of our plans for 2015 and beyond. Having a jam-packed lineup of games to show at E3 means that there simply isn’t enough time to give each of our upcoming titles its well-deserved time in the spotlight. We’ve decided to save some of our most eagerly-awaited future titles for gamescom in August. Rest assured that titles like Crackdown, Quantum Break and Scalebound will be front and center at gamescom along with new game reveals for both Xbox One and Windows 10.

See you next week at E3!

Phil Spencer
@XboxP3