Ralet-Marion noted that Phil Spencer's era strategy was initially built around expanding Game Pass: through major AAA games, small projects with unique ideas, and the most diverse catalog possible. Within the industry, PlayStation was even criticized for focusing on “third-person and action-adventure” games like God of War, Horizon, and Spider-Man — Xbox wanted to take a broader path.
He emphasizes that the idea of an affordable subscription providing access to a large number of games seemed logical and even promising for attracting new audiences. However, the key problem was that subscriber growth was lower than expected, and the games, although “very enjoyable,” did not become the hits that could cause a “tsunami of subscriptions.”
This ultimately pushed Microsoft to major acquisitions like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, but even they did not solve the problem of scaling the service. The strategy “looked flawless on paper,” but failed in execution and business results.
Separately, Ralet-Marion criticizes the idea that Xbox “spent billions without a plan,” calling it an oversimplification. The company had financial forecasts, calculations for subscriber growth, and expectations for profitability, but reality proved more complex.
In conclusion, he notes that skepticism about the gaming direction existed within Microsoft from the very beginning: every crisis — from the original Xbox to Xbox One — brought back the discussion about the feasibility of the business. And although Phil Spencer “saved the brand at a critical moment,” his long-term strategy did not bring the expected result.
Ralet-Marion also admits that the current course of events does not surprise him: “this is exactly what I expected.”