Xbox Series S: Phil Spencer thinks it’ll outsell the Series X

Phil Spencer thinks the Series S will become Microsoft’s hot ticket throughout the next generation of gaming.

In an interview with Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo, Spencer explained that the Series S exists because Microsoft wants to “expand the market.” As with mobile phones and other hardware, more options and a greater range of prices mean another big step toward ubiquity.

Which, in the case of something like Game Pass, is the goal: you want more people to have access to games in the same way that folks have access to HBO and Netflix.

“I think we’ll sell every unit of both of them that we can deliver,” Spencer said of this holiday release window. Microsoft expects both the Series X and Series S — not unlike the PS5 — to fly off the shelves in November and December.

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“I think demand is just going to outstrip supply of pre-orders. For us and PlayStation, I think that the manufacturing supply chain is going to dictate [market] share more than anything else.”

He added, “Maybe buying two $500 consoles is going to be a difficult thing, so we said, ‘Hey, let’s make sure we’ve got something to catch a second-[console] owner.’”

So, in the long term, “our expectation would be that price really matters, and that you would see the Series S sell more,” Spencer said.

Games optimized for Series X at launch include Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Borderlands 3, Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5, Gears Tactics, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Sea of Thieves, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

The Xbox Series consoles launch on November 10.

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