Sounds like inefficient uses of resources to me.
You're spending millions and millions of dollars that won't even help you sell your console - the focal point of your entire strategy (Game Pass growth, third-party software revenue cut, market share, etc.)
And as for Ori, I can't speak for others, but for me - absolutely. If Moon Studios and Microsoft made an Ori 3 that is only available on Xbox (not even on PC) and it's a good game, I may legit buy an Xbox to play it.
Lol. Point of first-party games for Xbox are primarily to increase or sustain Game Pass subs. If Pentiment kept Game Pass subscribers engaged with service, game did it's job. And since 12 people worked on that game, you can probably imagine how "crazy" budget of that game must have been (ie. not that high and I would be surprised if it was higher then 10 million $).
Also, while boosting sales of consoles it probably best way to increase Game Pass subs, it's hardly the only way so we can stop pretending that it is the case (PC Game games exists, Sales on Steam still exists).
And yes, some first-party Xbox teams are working on games that will not be system sellers. And they are not designed to be. I really doubt that next Double Fine game will be system seller. I doubt that next Spyro from Toys for Bob will be a system seller. And that's okay. Not every first-party game needs to be blockbuster. I know that it is Sony's MO, but that doesn't mean that every company needs to do same thing.
And let's stop pretending that Xbox doesn't have enough studios to have plenty types of games and support all of those pillars. Because they are currently covering everything:
- existing live service games (Minecraft, Call of Duty, Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, Sea of Thieves, Halo Infinite)
- potential system seller blockbusters (Perfect Dark, Fable, Hellblade 2, Gears 6, Indiana Jones, Blade, The Elder Scrolls VI, Forza Horizon 6, Quake Reboot?)
- upcoming live services (Everwild, State of Decay 3, Oddysey, Contraband, Project Kestrel)
- mid-tier games (Clockwork Revolution, South of Midnight, new Spyro?, Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2)
- more niche games (Age of Mythology: Retold, OD, Towerborne, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Double Fine next game/games, Wu Tang RPG game)
- mobile games
They have 30+ studios. They CAN make multiple type of games and don't have to rely on all of their studios making "AAA cinematic action adventure games"
If Microsoft was just interested in making blockbusters they would never buy studios like Double Fine. Because goal of that purchase was not to transform Double Fine into AAA powerhouse. But to allow them to continue to make gamest they are already making.