Microsoft's Phil Spencer on Xbox growth, recent job cuts and the future of games on discs

In an interview with GameFile, Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft, discussed various aspects of Xbox’s strategy:

The global video game business is barely growing, with industry revenues up just 0.6% from 2022. Spencer believes Xbox needs to do a better job finding new players.
He acknowledged the increase in the price of games and the potential peak of extracting more money per player.
Cloud adoption and expansion had been slow, but is finally picking up. Gaming via the cloud now accounts for a double-digit percentage of total hours of Xbox games played.
Spencer mentioned that Xbox Series S console sales are expected to be higher than Xbox Series X.
He also addressed the issue of layoffs, stating that while the Xbox division needs to grow long-term, the success comes at a cost, as seen in the $68.9 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard.
Spencer reassured that Microsoft’s gaming division is not shrinking, but rather growing, with a 61% growth in the last three months of 2023, largely driven by Activision-Blizzard.
Regarding physical games, Spencer stated that getting rid of physical is not strategic for Xbox, despite the increasing cost of drives due to fewer manufacturers and buyers.
Finally, Spencer clarified that there are no plans to bring Xbox Game Pass to PlayStation or Nintendo.