Xbox‘s Phil Spencer, whose official title is the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, was asked about his favorite games in a recent interview with Famitsu, with two of the titles being Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. While some fans are critical of his latter pick, given that he is the Xbox boss, it’s a rather common answer in Game of the Year debates.
Speaking of which, fans can expect Game of the Year debates to pick up even more steam over the next few months. The Game Awards take place on December 11, often serving as the crux of these discussions. Fans can expect nominees to be announced ahead of that date, but even now, the debate often points to games like Hollow Knight: Silksong, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2, Hades 2, or Split Fiction.
Spencer is not actively engaging in these debates, of course, but his answers do seem to reflect what the “average” gamer may say. For example, even as the debate rages on, Expedition 33 is probably many’s frontrunner for GOTY. According to Famitsu, Spencer set aside Microsoft’s games to say Hollow Knight: Silksong, Expedition 33, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, and Death Stranding 2. Of these four titles, Spencer has also deemed Expedition 33 as his Game of the Year from the bunch. Bringing Microsoft’s games back into the equation, Spencer highlighted Oblivion Remastered and DOOM: The Dark Ages as some of his favorite games of the year.
Best Games of 2025 (According to Phil Spencer)
- Expedition 33
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Oblivion Remastered
- DOOM: The Dark Ages
Spencer’s answer, while innocuous in and of itself, is reflective of a changing industry. Several Xbox games have come to PS5 over the past year or so, with a PS5 version of Halo: Combat Evolved also rumored to be announced soon. Xbox President Sarah Bond also recently stated that exclusives were “antiquated for most people.” Some fans may not agree and the reasons are not as clear-cut as that, but the talk lines up with the walk.
SCOOP: For the last two years, Microsoft has pushed Xbox to hit profit margins of 30%, an ambitious target that’s far higher than the industry average. This chase for profit has led Xbox to raise prices, cut thousands of jobs, and rethink everything. Story: www.bloomberg.com/news/article…
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-10-23T11:02:14.614Z
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier recently reported that “Microsoft has pushed Xbox to hit profit margins of 30%” for the past two years, with this likely explaining the move away from exclusivity, among other happenings in the industry. Still, it’s worth noting that it’s an innocent question with an innocent answer. Death Stranding 2 is a fantastic game, one worthy of being in any GOTY talks.
