While Remedy had wanted to use the episodic release format, with each of the above episodes released digitally over time, Microsoft instead pushed Remedy to release the main game as a full product on retail disc. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox Game Studios, said in 2020 that at the time, Microsoft was concerned about if the episode format would work and its revenue potentials, projecting there would be declining sales with each successive episode, and instead believed a single release was likely more profitable. Spencer said that since then, they recognized this was likely a bad decision as it forced them into a certain way of thinking with respect to monetization.