Microsoft committed to providing offline, single-player experiences on Xbox One

Although the Xbox One may have originally required a constant Internet connection, Microsoft says they’ve always been committed to providing high-quality offline experiences as well.

“Single-player gameplay remains a cornerstone of gaming,” said Microsoft’s Phil Spencer in an interview with GameSpot. “Looking at this last year, my personal game of the year right now is Brothers. I thought it was just a fantastic XBLA game this summer. I had a great time, and it wasn’t an online game at all. [Microsoft] will continue to invest in those games. I have a controller in my hand, I’m looking at a screen, I don’t need to compete with somebody, I don’t need a leaderboard, I just simply want to play through the game.”

However, even with experiences that remain primarily offline, Spencer doesn’t rule out supplementing them with online options when appropriate. “It’s true that for some of those games, if you have a connection, they might take advantage of that in some way, and I don’t see that as a bad thing.” But the “heart and the soul” of a single-player game remains in providing a quality experience “when you’re sitting on your couch playing….Even a game like Forza, with 16-player multiplayer. If pulling the gas trigger and hitting the brake and steering don’t feel great, whether I”m connected or disconnected, the game’s going to fail."

“Having great single-player games for people that are disconnected, purely disc-based customers, will be a huge part of our business," said Spencer. "We’ll continue to support that. And we’re signing games today where the heart and soul of that game is an offline experience. If there are connected experiences [the developers] want to augment in the game itself, I think that’s great, but so many games really live or die based on how much fun you have with...the single-player experience.”