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Ahead of the launch of the Xbox Series X and S, we talked to Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, about the road to recovery after the Xbox One’s stumble, how Xbox has paved the way for an exciting new era, Spencer’s ambitions for Japan, and more.

With the launch of the Xbox Series X and PS5 this week, comparisons between the two consoles and what they’re capable of are inevitable.

Discussions between graphical power and loading times are to be expected, but if there’s one area where the Xbox Series X has a definitive edge over the PS5 it’s in the levitation department–specifically its ability to suspend a ping pong ball in the air and thus end the next-gen console wars before they can even begin.

SnowFlakesMilkHoney on Reddit showed off the Xbox Series X’s ability to not only suspend multiple games in a fixed state but also a ping pong ball, using the console’s vertical orientation and large heatsink to levitate a hefty .095 oz sphere in defiance of Sir Isaac Newton’s various laws of gravity.

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Xbox, as a brand, is the healthiest it has been in many years. After the tumultuous launch of the Xbox One, the platform holder has been realigning its strategies and, at the same time, moving in bold new directions.

Under the leadership of Phil Spencer, the company has pioneered Xbox Game Pass, a Netflix-like subscription service that offers a large library of games for a relatively low subscription fee. It has been a success, at least in the perception around it and the genuine value it offers its customers.

Game Pass, along with its expansion to PC, a cloud gaming service in xCloud (now incorporated into Game Pass Ultimate), efforts to improve accessibility, and meaningful changes to the Xbox One experience have allowed Xbox to turn a stumble into a steady jog towards success. Now, however, with the launch of two new consoles, it feels like it’s about to break into a sprint.

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1 vs. 100 on the Xbox 360 is remembered fondly by many of the 114,000 players who jumped into it over the year it ran. The digital game show, which pitted one player against a 100 player “mob,” would reward successful players with Microsoft Points to spend on games. In an interview with GameSpot, Xbox head Phil Spencer discussed the title, and says that he’s as keen as anyone to see it return.

Reflecting on the success of HQ Trivia and similar programs, Spencer says that he and ID@Xbox’s Chris Charla have “had many, many discussions” on what a return would look like. “I know I teased it a little bit a couple of weeks ago,” he says, hinting at his comments during a Fanfest stream.

“I wouldn’t tease people if I didn’t think that that was something, whether [or not] it’s that exact IP,” Spencer says. “But the mechanic of people playing online I thought was, and just the whole structure of that, was really neat and special–maybe ahead of its time. Getting to work on that was fun.”

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The Xbox Series X and S are both available now, and Microsoft is coming into the generation with an impressive line-up of first party development studios. According to a new report by Bloomberg, the US company has been eyeing Japanese studios for potential acquisition, looking to bolster its lineup despite Xbox historically underperforming in Japan. However, in an interview with GameSpot, Xbox boss Phil Spencer says that, as far as he knows, this isn’t true.

“I don’t think so… I mean, I’m not in every meeting that every team has, but I’ll say not from me,” Spencer says.

While Spencer says that he has an “affinity” for Japanese studios, there’s been no push to acquire more of them. “Most of the opportunities that we’ve had to date have been a long lasting relationship, and so, I don’t think we’re out there with our business card, throwing them out on the corner, trying to find people.”

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Elden Ring is the next game from Hidetaka Miyazaki, director of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, and fans are desperate for more information. Even so much as a brief mention has been enough to get Miyazaki’s fanbase aflutter–so the news from GameSpot’s recent interview with Xbox boss Phil Spencer might be enough to send them into a frenzy.

When asked how much of Elden Ring he had seen, Spencer told GameSpot’s Tamoor Hussain, “I’ve seen actually quite a bit. I’ve played quite a bit.”

While Spencer can’t say too much, he gave us enough to set the hype high. “As somebody who’s played all of Miyazaki’s games over at least the last decade, this is clearly the most ambitious game that he’s done,” he says. “I mean, I love his games, but seeing some of the gameplay mechanics stuff that he’s tackling, he and the team are tackling this time, of the setting, working with another creator in terms of story. I love it.”

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Halo Infinite, which was originally planned as an Xbox Series X/S launch title, was delayed into 2021, and fans have been getting nervous. Amid reports of staff turnover and concerns over a lack of new information, as well as an underwhelming gameplay reveal, there’s been some speculation that things aren’t going well at developer 343 Industries.

In an interview with GameSpot’s Tamoor Hussain, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has talked about the changes happening at the Halo developer across 2020, and said that what’s happening there is very normal–and that what’s being reported doesn’t always line up with what is actually happening.

“Sometimes what hits the press, or when certain things get announced internally, have actually happened months before,” Spencer says. He admits that the game’s delay so soon after its gameplay reveal was unfortunate timing.

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The challenge system in Apex Legends Season 7 is getting a big overhaul in order to make its grind less frustrating and more rewarding. Changes include a new Stars system for battle pass levels as well as additional objectives and challenge trackers.

In place of recurring weekly challenges, the rewards for these have instead been reworked into the daily challenges system, but unique weekly challenges can still be completed and have more consistent difficulty across the board.

To fill battle pass levels, you’ll now earn Stars. Each star is worth 1/10^th of a level and the meter will be reset whenever you reach a new level. You’ll also be able to more easily track challenges with an overhauled system that sorts into three different categories: daily, weekly, and event. Challenge information will be included in end-of-match summaries, too.

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