Just two hours before Microsoft rocked the gaming world with the surprise announcement that four major Xbox-exclusive titles are headed to rival platforms, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer outlined the company’s new bold “Xbox everywhere” strategy to employees in an internal memo.

The memo represents the first time Spencer has fully fleshed out Microsoft’s vision of bringing Xbox games to “every screen” for the company’s workforce. This comes after a town hall meeting earlier this month failed to directly address the possibility of Xbox titles appearing on competing consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.

While Microsoft stopped short of using the “Xbox everywhere” or “every screen is an Xbox” phrasing during yesterday’s Xbox Podcast announcement, the core concept is not entirely new. For years, the tech giant has pushed to make its gaming experiences accessible across Xbox consoles, Windows PCs, and cloud platforms. However, this internal communication reveals a significant shift – Microsoft now plans to extend that reach by bringing its gaming catalog to rival systems.

This story was originally published on February 16, 2024, at 6:40 am ET.