Xbox One: Microsoft may move 2015 releases due to "crowded" schedule

Microsoft's Phil Spencer has said that he doesn't know if the company can ship all the releases it's currently planning for fall 2015.

"It just might be too crowded and we might purposely try to move some things out to spread it."

Speaking to Larry Hyrb on his latest podcast, Spencer said that the line-up is already so busy it might have to shuffle release dates out of the usual autumn schedule.

"I mean, this fall from a first-party/third-party standpoint is great," said Spencer, as noted by videogamer.com.

"Next fall, I don't... Honestly it's not hype at all, I honestly don't know that we can actually ship all the stuff that thinks it's trying to ship next fall. It just might be too crowded and we might purposely try to move some things out to spread it."

Games due for Microsoft's Xbox One next year include Halo 5: Guardians and Rise of the Tomb Raider in the fall, as well as Quantum Break, the new Crackdown game and Scalebound, all of which have a tentative "2015" release window.

September, October and November are the busiest months for new releases in the video game calendar with publishers often opting to delay a title into the following year rather than get crushed in the pre-Xmas market.

But Spencer acknowledged that there are good opportunities throughout the rest of the year, and it's not always wise to stack releases in the same short period.

"I think as publishers and first parties have success at multiple points of the year it's just a good thing for us, because having three/four great games ship all in the same week at the end of October, while maybe on some forecast somewhere it feels like that's the right thing to do, just as an industry I think it's much more healthy if we have more beats throughout the year where people can ship great games."