Xbox First-Party Boss Discusses How COVID-19 Is Affecting Game Development

Xbox First-Party Boss Discusses How COVID-19 Is Affecting Game Development

on | OpenCritic

Matt Booty, Head of Xbox Game Studios and former Minecraft boss, has issued a statement on the current state of the company's 14 first-party studios and how they're each adapting to the ongoing COVID-19 threat.

In a statement first shared by Gamespot, Booty said the "health and safety of our XGS development teams is [their] top priority," and though he didn't specifically address delays, reading between the lines, one could easily come to understand that such options remain on the proverbial table for Xbox Game Studios. You can see his full statement below.

"We know that gaming connects people during times of social distancing, and we are committed to delivering the highest quality Xbox Game Studios games for our global community of players. At the same time, the health and safety of our XGS development teams is our top priority. Each studio is facing unique challenges and constraints depending on its particular location, and many of our external development partners around the world are similarly affected. We are supporting our studio leaders to make the right decisions for their teams and their individual games during this challenging time."

The statement follows word from the team behind Minecraft Dungeons that the game, currently slotted for later this spring, may now be in danger of a delay. We've also recently learned that Animal Crossing: New Horizons may suffer delays to its post-launch support. 

PlayStation, meanwhile, is still hoping to release The Last of Us Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima in May and June respectively, and though the company has not said anything about potential delays for these two games, it would seem given all we know that they may also be in danger of getting pushed back again.

 

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