The thing is that he says he was focused on hardware and services as a priority - which I'm pretty sure doesn't jive with what he said a couple of years ago - but is he incapable of handling software as well as hardware? That doesn't seem to be a problem with Sony or Nintendo -- particularly Nintendo, who run two very successful hardware lines and then have some of the best software in the business. If Phil Spencer cannot run Xbox first-party software at the same time as focusing on other parts of the business then maybe he needs to hire someone as Head of Software Development and give them autonomy and a sizeable budget to improve in-house software.
He's probably talking about 'second party', i.e. independent developers developing Microsoft IP, like Moon Studios with Ori or Playground with Forza Horizon 3.
Do you have a link?
I really don't think there's going to be another Dead Rising given how drastically underperformed. They tried to make it appeal to the mass market and it completely failed.
Based on what we know and what we can surmise, I think things are looking like this at the moment:
2017 2nd half: Forza 7, Cuphead, Crackdown 3
2018: State of Decay 2, Sea of Thieves, Super Lucky's Tale (was this dated at all?), Ori 2, Forza Horizon 3, Halo 6
It's never Spencer's fault though. He's troubled by the hangovers from Mattrick's era. His hands are tied by Nadella. He's not being allocated the budget for new software.
It won't. RotTR was disastrous for the series and doing another timed exclusive would be the exact opposite thing that it needs to get back on track.