At a recent summit in California, Xbox head Phil Spencer admitted that while Xbox values creativity, the company hasn’t always supported it well recently.
In a recent conversation with Tim Schafer of Double Fine (as reported by PC Gamer), Xbox head Phil Spencer emphasized the importance of protecting the creative teams behind games and other media, recognizing the passion and effort they invest in their work.
Honestly, what I care about most is the amazing creativity of the game developers, and we really need to support and encourage that. It’s the heart of everything we do.
Shortly after making that statement, Spencer acknowledged that Xbox hasn’t consistently supported the creative people who make its most popular games. While responding to online criticism, he admitted that Xbox—and potentially the entire entertainment industry—needs to do a better job of protecting its employees.
Spencer believes it takes real courage for any creative team – whether making a movie or a TV show – to share their work online and open it up to public feedback. He admits he sometimes wonders why anyone would willingly do that, given that online discussions can often be harsh. However, he emphasizes the importance of supporting and encouraging creative teams to take risks, as that’s the foundation of the entire media industry, even though not every attempt will be successful.
Recent events support this claim. In January 2024, Xbox cut around 1,900 jobs after acquiring Activision Blizzard. Then, in May and July 2025, the company laid off approximately 7,000 and 9,000 employees respectively, citing a changing market and canceling several games while also closing multiple studios. Surprisingly, despite these significant workforce reductions totaling nearly 18,000 jobs within a year, Xbox still achieved a $4 trillion valuation by the end of July. A Bloomberg report in October 2025 indicated that Xbox’s ambitious profit targets may be causing more problems than they solve, which seems logical given the large number of layoffs.
So, after Microsoft bought Double Fine back in 2019, Tim Schafer told me they’ve actually been able to stay pretty independent creatively. Having that financial backing from Xbox has really let us keep doing our own thing, which is awesome.
When the possibility of being acquired came up, my biggest concern was preserving our company’s unique culture, Schafer explained. Everyone assured us they wanted us to remain true to ourselves, and that’s proven to be the case over the years. We have the creative freedom to pitch ideas – even something unusual like a game about a walking lighthouse – and Xbox responds with enthusiastic support.
The game Keeper is receiving positive reviews from critics for both Double Fine and Xbox. In our review, we gave it a 9/10, with Steve Watts praising it as visually stunning, atmospheric, innovative in its movement, and a meaningful story about our responsibility to the world.
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2025-10-24 19:12