Xbox's 'Project Moorcroft' aims to recreate the E3 show floor experience on Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass is already one of the best subscription deals in gaming, and Microsoft has a plan to level it up.
The Xbox maker revealed what it's calling (for now) "Project Moorcroft" during a recent press briefing. Sarah Bond, VP of the Game Creator Experience and Ecosystem at Microsoft, laid it all out in the context of a larger discussion about trade shows like E3 and the challenges faced by game creators, and indies in particular, as they try to stand out from the crowd.
In Bond's words, the goal of Project Moorcroft is to "take Game Pass and make it like the show floor." So a developer would be able to "take a piece [or] level of their game, release it into Game Pass, generate excitement for what's coming, and also get that really valuable feedback as they're tuning and preparing their game for launch."
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It's a solid idea. Even without the global pandemic, the advent of streaming video and cloud-based gameplay has kicked down the walls that previously set up press (and later, influencers) as the primary disseminators of information coming from game publishers and developers. Industry-centric trade shows like E3 were already facing a transitional period even before COVID-19 arrived.
So the basic premise of Moorcroft bringing that preview portion of the trade show experience into players' homes is a natural step for any publisher to take. Microsoft already has the infrastructure in place for cloud-based gaming and this new program would put that technology to use in a new way.
Bond also revealed that the program is structured to provide participating developers with "financial compensation." That's important because it addresses one of the bigger pain points video game creators face when it comes to trade shows: Building demos for an E3 or a Gamescom is costly. The slices we see at these events aren't simply copy-pasted out of a larger experience. They're custom built and polished to run for (and, they hope, dazzle) show attendees.
Microsoft's move to give development teams financial incentive to participate in Moorcroft is a more invisible feature of the program if you're a player. But it's a smart, creator-friendly decision that makes it much more likely that any given studio will want to participate. In other words, financial incentive for creators likely means more cool demos for you to check out at home. When the industry empowers creators to do what they do best, we all win.
Project Moorcroft is expected to launch in 2023, so we'll have to wait and see if the reality matches up with the promise.
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
