Xbox boss Phil Spencer sees physical consoles living on for "the next decade-plus"

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Phil Spencer recently shared his thoughts on the potential move away from physical consoles in the games industry, and it doesn't sound like the Xbox boss sees that shift happening overnight.

Spencer was talking to Insomniac Games boss Ted Price on the Game Maker's Notebook podcast when the topic of cloud-based gaming came up. Price asked Spencer whether the industry is moving "from console wars to cloud wars," to which Spencer replied diplomatically:

"I hope not, 'cause the wars part is the part I try to avoid." The Xbox boss went on to paint a picture of a future where both physical and cloud-based media can co-exist in the gaming industry.

"But I do think getting to a world where you don't have to own one device to play specific games helps the industry," Spencer said. "That doesn't mean that owning a device isn't part of my gameplay experience. I think I'm gonna have a game console plugged into my television for the next decade-plus. I think it's going to be the best way for me to play on my television - to have a local device, download the game, and play. But sometimes I'm not in front of my television, sometimes I'm not in front of a device that has the native capability to play. And that's our bet on cloud."

While Spencer didn't mention the Xbox specifically in his reply, it's unlikely he was referring to the PS6 when he said he'd be playing on a physical game console in 2030. So, despite ample speculation to the contrary, it sounds like the Xbox Series X might not be the last physical Xbox console after all.

Here's GamesRadar's official scorecard for the impending battle of PS5 vs Xbox Series X.