Since the 2000s, the rivalry between Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s Playstation has been a favorite topic among gamers, dubbed “the console war”. The most recent line of next-generation consoles — Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S and Sony’s PlayStation 5 — were released last November. However, with the current scarcity of graphic cards, the competition seems to be on hold. But that is not enough to stop Microsoft’s war efforts. In late March, Microsoft offered more than 10 billion USD to Discord in an attempt to acquire the company. This has been the next big move by Microsoft after acquiring ZeniMax Media last September for 7.5 billion USD. Both companies don’t have much to do with consoles aside from games, but this may be the right action for Microsoft to not only win this generation of console war, but also to survive it.

Without a doubt, between the previous console models, Xbox One and Playstation 4 (PS4), PS4 came up on top, mostly thanks to the success of several PS4-exclusive titles such as Last of Us, Uncharted, Spider-Man, and God of War. Making successful and fun exclusive games meant that consumers had to choose one console over the other. By November 2020, PS4 hit 114 million sales while Xbox One was only estimated at 30 to 40 million. It is therefore no surprise that Microsoft decided to buy ZeniMax Media before releasing its next generation of Xbox.

With the games produced by ZeniMax Media — namely Doom, Dishonored, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout series — Microsoft can bolster its own lineup of Xbox games, of which the only popular ones were Halo, Forza, and Gears of War. However, what’s interesting is that Microsoft does not seem to be interested in making these franchises Xbox-exclusive. Unlike Sony, which only makes Playstation-exclusive games available on other platforms years after their release, Microsoft is already preparing to release games on Xbox and on PC simultaneously, including their latest installments, Halo and Forza. Normally, releasing exclusives on other gaming platforms hurt console sales, which makes it a very peculiar decision — but one that makes sense once we look at the reasons behind their attempt to acquire Discord as well.

Currently, Discord is the main application PC gamers use to communicate, discuss, and share information — a perfect platform for gaming communities. But Xbox already has its own multiplayer service, Xbox Live, for in-game chat and communications, so Discord might seem redundant. However, if Microsoft were to own Discord, it can link both servers, allowing cross-platform interaction. Now considering Microsoft’s release of normally Xbox-exclusive games for both PC and Xbox and this possibility of Discord and Xbox Live interaction, we arrive at one conclusion: PC and Xbox cross-platform gaming. 

Most games support only one platform, and even if the game is on multiple platforms, chances are that each platform will have its own separate server. So why would Microsoft try to mix Xbox and PC? The answer is simple: Microsoft does not see a clear future for consoles. Unlike Sony, which enjoyed huge success through PS4, Microsoft had its share of failure, giving the company an opportunity to reevaluate its business choices. Their conclusion? The age of console gaming is coming to an end, and combining PC gaming with Xbox is the path for Xbox’s survival. Recently, Sony has also been making similar moves towards PC gaming by releasing old PlayStation-exclusive games for PC. However, most of the current PlayStation-exclusive game developers have little to no expertise on PC, unlike ZeniMax Media. Without a doubt, in terms of PC gaming, Sony is a step behind Microsoft.

Sun Tzu wrote in the Art of War, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” It is a time of chaos for consoles. With the rise in mobile and PC gaming, consoles’ once-dominant share of the gaming industry is continuously decreasing. What’s worse, companies cannot meet consumers’ demand for consoles due to the shortage of graphic cards. No, the console market will not completely die out, but it will become a mere shadow of what it was. In this situation, Microsoft’s decision to buy companies related to PC like ZeniMax Media and Discord may be its solution to maintain its revenue in the gaming industry. The decision of releasing exclusive games for both Xbox and PC may hurt Xbox sales in the short term, but in the long run, PC may just be the lifeline that Xbox needs.