Xbox marketing manager Aaron Greenberg claims that Microsoft doesn't need Crackdown 3 to release in 2016, as it has many other games set to launch this holiday season.

One of the biggest Microsoft exclusive games on the horizon is Crackdown 3, the third game in the open world action series where players control superpowered agents. However, it was announced earlier this year that Crackdown 3 was delayed from its original release window of summer 2016 to some time in 2017. Usually when a major game is delayed, it seems like it is bad news for the publisher, but Microsoft isn't sweating it, stating that it "doesn't need" Crackdown 3 as part of its 2016 lineup.

Xbox marketing manager Aaron Greenberg made this statement while speaking on the latest TXR podcast. He explained that the 2016 holiday season is already full of Microsoft published games, listing Dead Rising 4, Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4, and ReCore as examples. With all these Microsoft published games releasing this year, not to mention a slew of notable third-party titles as well, Greenberg said that it's better for Crackdown 3 to release next year instead of being "crammed" into this year's lineup of games.

Greenberg claimed that this decision was made partly from Microsoft being "more thoughtful" about spreading out its releases, which gives people more time to play and buy games. Perhaps Microsoft's aggressive holiday lineup from last year taught the company this lesson, as it's possible the choice to release Rise of the Tomb Raider not long after Halo 5 and on the same day as Fallout 4 contributed to that game's somewhat disappointing sales on Xbox.

Greenberg's reasoning behind Crackdown 3's delay makes sense, but it contradicts a previous reason given for the game's delay by developer Reagent Games. According to Reagent Games creative director Dave Jones, Crackdown 3's delay actually came about because the game simply wasn't finished, and the developer didn't want to compromise on its "size, scope, and quality."

As a part of increasing Crackdown 3's scope, perhaps new features have been added to the game as a result of this delay, and if so, fans may be able to get a look at them soon. After all, it was around this time last year that Crackdown 3 was given the spotlight during Microsoft's Gamescom 2015 press conference, and while Microsoft is not having a Gamescom press conference this year, new footage of Crackdown 3 could still debut at Xbox FanFest in August.

Regardless of the real reason why Crackdown 3 was delayed, Greenberg is not wrong when he says Microsoft has an impressive lineup of games this year. There are numerous high profile games from a variety of genres that will be exclusive to Xbox One and Windows 10, and if new initiatives like Xbox One S and the Xbox Play Anywhere program take off, 2016 could be a banner year for the Xbox brand, even without Crackdown 3.

Crackdown 3 will be available in 2017 for PC and Xbox One.

Source: TXR Podcast (via GameSpot)