With Starfield: Shattered Space and Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, we’ve seen a couple of major first-party Microsoft games getting expansions this year, so clearly, adding to its games with sizeable post-release expansions is something the company isn’t against. But is it something that we can expect to see on a regular basis?
In an interview with Game File, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer touched on the topic, stating that developing post-launch expansions is by no means a “top-down mandate” for all first-party studios, and that above all, he doesn’t want expansions for games that feel “manipulative”, and instead add actual value to the larger experience.
“It’s really left to the creators [regarding] what plan they have for their stories,” he said. “I think it’s a great way for us to reengage players who may be lapsed.
“I don’t like expansions that are manipulative. I want it to have a unique point of view. I don’t want it to be, like, the third level that you cut before you launched.”
Spencer went on to add that every release continues to be a learning experience even now- like the aforementioned Shattered Space, which released earlier this year to divisive responses, with criticism being directed at its lack of new features. Interestingly, as per Spencer, those criticisms led director Todd Howard to wonder whether pairing the expansion with the release of buggies (which were added to the game for free earlier in the year) would have made it seem more substantial.
“But we’re always learning,” he said. “Todd and I were talking about Shattered Space. Starfield is a game I put a ton of hours into and really love, but they’ve had this thing where they’ve added features throughout the year and then they had an expansion.
“I think some of the feedback on the expansion is: ‘We wanted more features.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, should we have waited to put buggies out?’”
Ultimately, however, Spencer says that not every first-party Xbox title is necessarily going to do expansions.
“I think you’re trying to tune both development effort and the impact of the expansion. And I think there will always be a balance to managing the game month to month. But not every game will do expansions.”