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Microsoft is moving from Mixer to Facebook Gaming as it’s streaming service, yet despite the transition Xbox head Phil Spencer has stated he has no regrets about the decision.
Last month, Microsoft announced that its Mixer streaming app would be closing and instead the company would be using Facebook Gaming as a service going forward.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Spencer said that “it’s obviously a disappointment when you try to grow something to the scale it needs to get to and you don’t get there.”
Mixer was failing to meet expectations when compared to other streaming services such as Twitch and YouTube. Despite failing to capture an audience, Spencer remains optimistic about the company’s vision of the future in regards to streaming.
“I don’t have regrets. You make decisions with the best information you have at the time, you apply your best effort, and we’re in a creative industry,” Spencer continued to say. “We are in a hits-driven industry. And if we get into this space that we get afraid of disappointment that we won’t achieve what we’re trying to achieve as an organisation.
“I think it’s fundamental to us that we’re not afraid of trying things that might not work. And that is just the art of making video games, and frankly game platforms.”
In the interview, Spencer also talks about the company’s ambition with xCloud – a game streaming service reminiscent of Google Stadia. Mixer was originally intended to be a home for xCloud, however Spencer feels “really good” about potential new homes, including Facebook Gaming.
“We need to be on all the places where people might want to go play. And our xCloud strategy allows us to do that, where any place, any device that people might be able to play an Xbox game, we want to be able to deliver that,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean we need to own all of those social platforms, but we’re having really strong conversations with many of them around where xCloud will be available.”
The transition to Facebook Gaming will begin on July 22, in which going forward users will be automatically directed to the new service when trying to load Mixer. Any partners on Mixer will remain partnered up and join Facebook Level Up, the equivalent version of the program.
Microsoft will also be hosting an Xbox Games Showcase next week (July 23) and give fans a first-look at upcoming titles for the Xbox Series X such as Halo Infinite and Psychonauts 2.
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