Games are everywhere, and we have more choices than ever. The real issue is whether or not we have the time or money to play the ones that we want.
Game Pressure met with the one and only Josh Sawyer at Digital Dragons and chatted about RPGs, Pentiment, Pillars of Eternity, the state of the industry, and the genre.
Microsoft has announced a partnership with AMD to power the next generation of Xbox, including its first-party future Xbox consoles.
This thing is gonna be *expensive* and extremely powerful!
It might easily break the $1000 price point for a console for the first time ever.
So what's going on here?
I think two things: Windows faces an existential threat from SteamOS if it ever goes mainstream. So Microsoft wants to build an Xbox PC complete with streamlined Windows OS that will be able to be more attractive than any SteamDeck home console.
Microsoft wants every gamer including PlayStation gamers to move to PC, then it wants to market Game Pass to ALL PC players. Even if it only captures 5% of the worldwide market that would likely be enough to bring in enough revenue to make the subscription service a financial success.
Note how much emphasis they keep putting on "you can play your games across any device"... as in, no exclusives. This thing will flop hard, again, if it even launches. They already pumped the brakes on the handheld.
If it's going to do that, it will flop hard. Their best selling console is the cheapest one on the market, not the more expensive one. And they can't sell that to keep up with the more expensive PS5.
Edit: Also, AMD is easily not going to sign away anything that limits what they can do with Sony. They make more money the more consoles manufactured, not the one that sells the least out there but for more.
@Christopher
"If it's going to do that, it will flop hard. Their best selling console is the cheapest one on the market, not the more expensive one. And they can't sell that to keep up with the more expensive PS5."
I don´t think they care if it will sell like hot cakes or not based on their upcoming handhelds. I heard rumors that the "entry" model will cost around $500. The *cheaper* one! In case they price the premium model at $700-$800, what´s will stop/prevent them from charging $1000 or more on a premium next gen console?
Bear in mind that Sony priced the PS5 Pro which has barely noticeable improvements over the base PS5 at $700
Besides, this console will not be targeting the next Playstation console or any other console in the market. The console wars is over and Xbox will continue and release their games for every gaming platform in the market.
"AMD is easily not going to sign away anything that limits what they can do with Sony. They make more money the more consoles manufactured, not the one that sells the least out there but for more."
Nonsense. Take Steam Deck (AMD Zen 2) vs ROG Xbox Ally X (AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme) for example.
Same rules applies to home consoles which literally means that AMD will build whatever custom silicon MS is *paying* them to build. Same goes for Sony. AMD is not helping any company out of the kindness of its heart.
Oh look who Came…….running after hearing that Xbox news notification tone🤣👇.
.
@obscured: “ It might easily break the $1000 price point for a console for the first time ever.”
Anything over $699.99 is DOA 🤔
***I don´t think they care if it will sell like hot cakes or not based on their upcoming handhelds.***
You mean ASUS handhelds with Xbox logo thrown on them? And, yeah, sounds like a great business plan, build a huge deal with AMD for an expensive device so it won't sell much. My #1 goal as a business is to, of course, build something that won't sell.
*** Nonsense. Take Steam Deck (AMD Zen 2) vs ROG Xbox Ally X (AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme) for example. ***
You literally are proving what I was saying. Did you read what I said? The whole point is that this 'deal' with AMD isn't going to give them any advantage as AMD will make similar deals with others. They're especially going to make a deal with the better selling company who has given them more money to-date than Xbox.
@Christopher
"You mean ASUS handhelds with Xbox logo thrown on them? And, yeah, sounds like a great business plan, build a huge deal with AMD for an expensive device so it won't sell much. My #1 goal as a business is to, of course, build something that won't sell."
Unlike Sony, not a single device is MS priority anymore. So if they want and decide to sell their next gen console at profit, they´ll just go ahead and charge 1K for it.
Now, with that said, in case they want most Xbox gamers to migrate to next gen while keeping their Gamepass Ultimate subscription active they´ll have no other choice but subsidize and charge $700-$800 which still expensive.
"They're especially going to make a deal with the better selling company who has given them more money to-date than Xbox."
And they´ll do exactly what each company wants! That´s the point! We don´t know what "advantages" or features one will get over another if any at all!
If Sony paid AMD for its more advanced SOC, that´s what they´ll gonna get! Same applies to MS. It´s the same company making silicon for both MS and Sony, but silicon are *custom*, so chances are they might not be the same! That´s my point.
Xbox doesn’t have someone like Mark Cerny— let’s not pretend that’s a small thing. Sony's domination really began when Cerny became the lead architect. What most people don’t realize is how much of a developer-first mindset he brought to PlayStation hardware.
For example, during PS4 development, Cerny made the call to increase RAM from 4GB to 8GB of GDDR5—a huge and expensive decision at the time—specifically because developers told him they needed more memory. That change had a massive impact on the PS4's long-term success, making it much easier to develop for and future-proofing it in ways Xbox One simply wasn’t.
And he doesn’t just sit in an office and make guesses—he visits every major first-party, second-party, and even third-party studio every two years. He talks directly with the people making the games and collects detailed feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Studios trust him because he’s not just a hardware guy—he’s been a game developer, a producer, and a creative lead. He understands game development from the ground level all the way to the top, and that’s why studios feel comfortable being honest with him. That’s how features like the ultra-fast SSD and the dedicated 3D audio chip made it into the PS5—they weren’t just specs on paper, they were answers to real-world studio needs.
So while Xbox is doing great things with AMD (and that’s a strong move on its own), they don’t have a Cerny—a bridge between engineering and creative. That matters.
And for those claiming Xbox might gain an advantage by launching early—this isn’t 2005 anymore. Back then, launching the Xbox 360 a year early gave Microsoft a real edge. But now? People are invested:
They’ve built massive digital libraries
Their friends and social systems are tied into Xbox Live or PSN
And cross-play means you don’t have to switch consoles just to play with others
You can’t “win” the generation early just by releasing first anymore.
If Xbox wants to win the next generation, they should aim squarely at core gamers. Release a powerhouse, even if it costs $800–$1000. The hardcore market would embrace it. But the real danger is that they’ll also release a $350–$400 console, like they did with Series S—and that console will hold the whole generation back again. Series S was the bottleneck of this generation. Developers had to build to its limitations, and it’s part of the reason why PS4 is still being supported with new releases in 2025.
Power is only one part of the equation. Vision matters. Studio trust matters. Execution matters. And that’s where Mark Cerny and PlayStation’s approach continue to set the bar
I think they could put in a low effort iteration that doesn't pack in a lot of innovation (same dashboard, copy some ideas on the controller) on refreshed silicon, benefitting from AMDs newer architecture. They don't need an Uber engineer for mediocrity.
If they would have doubled down on exclusives after buying up the universe they could have done just that
But they've done nothing short of sabotaging their consoles for the last several years - why would they try for another baby after clubbing their eldest son? It's madness
Crazy
Microsoft has made major moves in the gaming industry, investing over $75 billion—possibly closer to $80–85 billion—acquiring publishers like ZeniMax and Activision Blizzard, along with renowned studios such as Obsidian, Ninja Theory, and Playground Games. Once that level of investment came into play, Xbox could no longer remain a side project—it had to become a serious, profit-driven business.
One of the major shifts we’re seeing is how Microsoft is adapting its strategy. While Game Pass is a fantastic service—especially for Xbox and PC players—it simply isn’t a sustainable model on its own to fund the rising costs of AAA blockbuster game development. Most Xbox players enjoy their games through subscriptions rather than purchasing them outright, which limits revenue per title.
That’s why we’re now seeing Microsoft embrace a hybrid model: keeping Game Pass as a core service on Xbox and PC, while also releasing major titles on other platforms like PlayStation and the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.
The results speak for themselves:
Forza Horizon 5, a flagship Xbox title, has become one of the best-selling games on PlayStation.
Gears of War: E-Day (Reloaded) is already charting as one of the top pre-ordered games on PSN.
The newly released Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has performed well.
And there are strong rumors that Microsoft is working to bring even more iconic Xbox titles—including Halo—to PlayStation.
Why? Because the PlayStation 5 install base is on track to hit 100 million within the next year. That’s simply too large a market to ignore, especially when trying to recoup the costs of massive development and acquisition budgets. The days of treating Xbox like a vanity project are over. This is now about business fundamentals: revenue, growth, and profit.
While exclusives still matter in some strategic cases, Microsoft is clearly evolving with the market. It’s no longer about pleasing a small group of fans demanding exclusivity—it’s about adapting to a new reality where cross-platform availability increases revenue, reach, and long-term sustainability.
In short, Microsoft is playing smart: keeping players happy on Game Pass while also capturing full-price sales from the largest gaming audiences worldwide. They’ve chosen growth over pride—and the numbers are backing that up
I think that stance really downplays what Ken kutaragi brought to the table with the ps1 and its development pipeline which was far easier to work with than any other system at the time including the jag, n64, 3d0
Because let's be honest Sony dominated hard with both the ps1 and ps2.
Ps1 dominated so did 2 but that was harder to dev for with the emotion engine but highly capable.
Its with the ps3 that Sony lost it and really its their only console they failed to get developers on board with and the reason that Ken stepped aside.
But really modern consoles mirroring pc hardware was inevitable consoles were originally made because pc hardware wasbt capable of things like smooth scrolling and as everything evolved consoles slowly morphed into PC's which is basically where we are at now but there's beauty in a consoles simplicity so I dont know what ms will do but making a windows console seems like a bad move many gamers dont want to play with settings they want plug and play and if you push pc to be a console you lose that simplicity and that will hurt
Cerny has nothing to do with Playstation success. Playstations's success comes from the ps1 and ps2 days.
I hope there's no focus on 8K. Current gen consoles aren't exactly setting the world alight with rock-solid 4K60 titles, nevermind 4K120. Focusing on 8K would be a waste.
UDNA is on track to be revealed Q2 2026, so the Xbox rumors from the Activision trail, might be true about them launching their console first to market with a holiday 2026 release date.
That being said UDNA will be a big improvement over the current Series Consoles, but I don’t think UDNA 1st-gen is going to be a huge upgrade over the RX 9000 performance wise. RX 9000 is on 4nm, and UDNA 1st-gen is supposed to be on 3nm (basically 4nm+).
The question I have is are they going to stick with a 2 console future. Are they dropping the high-end since Series S sold better? Are they making a higher-end platform and using the ASUS Xbox handheld PCs as the new Series S option, or are they making a middle ground that’s “affordable” and balances price:performance. Also, are they sticking with the Xbox-PC mentality we see with the ASUS handheld.
"... Xbox consoles" ~ they're again gonna pull a Series S-v2 and handicap the next-gen's 2nd phase.
@RaidenBlack
Series S was a handicap primarily due to the RAM (it needed at least 12GB), but with Switch 2 and more handheld PCs it’s going to become a porting point for those platforms. So while it hurt development early on for Xbox, it’s now helping every other mobile platform…..which is great for everything else even if it doesn’t directly benefit MS, outside of their ASUS Xbox Handheld PC.
That being said, if they did do a Series SV2 I would hope they learned from their mistakes (they clearly didn’t learn from the PS3 or the GTX970 about split memory being awful for GPUs).
RAM
16GB is the will still be the minimum for the next 5+ years (12GB is starting to hit its limit), so that problem would be solved.
GPU
RDNA4 and/or UDNA are big improvements over RDNA2. Even staying at 20CUs like the Series S, the jump to RDNA 4 + clock speed would be around a 60% - 70% boost over the Series S, putting it around a RTX 2060 - RX 6600 performance, which is a much better result, even if it’s still below PS5/SX natively. However, the Switch 2 is showing was a superior upscaled can do, and having FSR4 would be a SIGNIFICANT upgrade over the PS5/SX, and would allow the SSV2to run PS5/SX games at native 1080p same High-Medium settings and FPS as those consoles in most games, but upscaled to 4K with better image quality than both of those consoles.
Price
Considering they raised all their console prices here’s where the issue comes into play. The above hardware would be fine, but if they can’t get it to $349 - $399 (the Series S is now $379 -_-), then why not get a digital PS5 starts to become the question for anything above $399. But if the global economy steady and back to normal what could anyone say bad about this platform at $349…?
@ABizzel1
I think their lower version will do less damage to industry next time because even less people will be buying xbox.
HELL YEAH!!!!
HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!!
ALREADY GOT MY MONEY SAVED THANKS TO GAMEPASS!!!
First to market with the weakest console of the new generation, half-baked and rushed. Then Sony comes around and shows them how it's done for the fifth time in a row.
You said they weren't making another console? What happened? You types are wrong about everything all the time it's quite fascinating to watch actually.
I still say that... talking about releasing a console and actually releasing a console are 2 totally different things. The fact that they are only just now securing a partnership to manufacture the chips shows just how behind they are. Sony already had a deal with AMD worked out nearly a year ago ( https://www.theverge.com/20... MS already canceled plans to release their handheld ( https://www.laptopmag.com/g... , and instead are relying on other hardware manufacturers to make it for them. The same could be true with the console... MS taking the 3DO route and licensing the Xbox brand to other hardware manufacturers to make consoles for them, while also releasing their games on all the competing consoles, turning them into little more than a third party developer. Besides, that's quite rich coming from the folks who said MS games wouldn't be on PS5. You were also dead wrong about Xbox Series S holding back the generation and making multiplatform games worse on all platforms, developer after developer kept coming out proving you wrong, and you still wouldn't admit it. Just kept trying to move the goal posts...
"I still say that... talking about releasing a console and actually releasing a console are 2 totally different things."
Reality is hitting you hard also I see.
MS is always behind when it comes to this stuff. They were behind in making the X1 back then, nothing new.
"and instead are relying on other hardware manufacturers to make it for them. The same could be true with the console..."
I'm sorry what? So you didn't watch the video where she literally said they're making their own hardware? That's the whole point of the freakin video. Lol you can't make this up. As usual your off to a horrible Start and it's only gonna get worse it always does. I just laugh.
Xbox going third party is something nobody could of predicted even hardcore fanboys like yourself if we're talking beginning of then gen. No don't sit there and lie and say "you knew all along" because you didn't nobody did 5 years ago.
"You were also dead wrong about Xbox Series S holding back the generation and making multiplatform games worse on all platforms, developer after developer kept coming out proving you wrong, and you still wouldn't admit it."
This again? Ok if that's the case then list me all the games that got held back from the S. Sense it's all prevalent and out there. Don't make excuse just list the games. I always ask and you dodge and make excuses. Show me digital foundry footage I wanna proof evidence and details. Now go, no excuses list the games now.
"You said they weren't making another console? What happened? You types are wrong about everything all the time it's quite fascinating to watch actually."
The fact f the matter is Microsoft dragged their feet big time on committing to their next gen console. They signed their deal with AMD two years later than Sony did.
It's clear that there was discussion within Microsoft about how they want to continue with Xbox and Satya at least on some level wanting to reign in or stop Xbox. We heard as much from the ABK case and other rumors.
No one looking at Xbox as a console can look at it and say it's doing good. And the only reason why there is another Xbox is because Microsoft can keep throwing money at it. I doubt they even expect this console to be a profitable venture as they move towards publishing.
@light: “ Reality is hitting you hard also I see.”
Reality is no one expected Xbox to go out of the console market next generation but everyone expects it to be their last IF they perform equal or worse than this generation or Xbone
I like the all caps and multiple exclamation points but I feel like you could have pumped up the current gen more. 6/10, good effort.
"Watch it be DOA."
Forgive me to be skeptical and not trust your predictions after your dumb claims that a new Xbox console wouldn´t even exist.
Now it not only got confirmed, but also confirmed that it will play games from both PC and Playstation games.
So at the moment I don´t have reasons to buy a PC or a Playstation console at all. The next gen Xbox will be a day one buy for me and many many others. Just deal with it.
Those playstation games are pc games though.....
You already have access to them though don't you?
And what they described isn't a console, it's a pc.....
Its gonna flop.
"Now it not only got confirmed, but also confirmed that it will play games from both PC and Playstation games."
I wounld.t be so sure that this Xbox is going to play PC games. Her talking about multiple store fronts which everyone seems to think means the console is going to support Windows comes after the splash for "Xbox play anywhere" which is part of the "This is an Xbox" marketing campaign. What she is actually saying is that Microsoft will continue it's "play anywhere" meaning they will continue to sell their games on storefronts other than Xbox/Windows Store.
https://youtu.be/VOCtRanwXr...
Every gen since the first gen everyone says that the next Xbox is going to play PC games, then it doesn't. Heck even when the One X was still rumors before it released people said that was going to play PC games and it wasn't even it's own thing...
@obscure
You talking about dumb comments is ironic. Besides, ive never said that, I think you are just making things up, Ive always said MS will make a placeholder “console”, while they switch more and more toward monthly subscription services.
Secondly, is this really an xbox if MS ends up putting its logo on a device created by someone else? Looks to me that MS may have already exited consoles and this is to save face while they push their monthly service plan business model.
I think next xbox will follow the same trend of selling even less than this generation. So yes DOA in my opinion.
@raiden kind of but if they didn't rush rrod may not have happened and they could have turned a profit that generation
Also ps3 dropped the ball massively so the generation would of been theirs by default but rrod abd mattricks casual push killed them and gave Sony a opportunity to claw it back
@prof, don't underestimate how much developers finally getting a grasp on coding for the Cell processor also helped PS3 take the crown in the end.
Classic move if you're losing just start the next gen early look how that worked for dreamcast
At least the Dreamcast was an amazing system (still is!), the last two Xbox generations have been shameful.
Except Dreamcast was a generational leap, majority of games looked just as good if not better than some PS2 titles. More than what can be said of Nintendo since the Wii.. plus an early launch worked well for the 360.
Sony confirmed their partnership with AMD for PS6 ages ago.
With Xbox taking time, everybody was hoping they might try something new & different by going Nvidia route but guess they went with the boring AMD route again.
Well Sony recently said that PS6 was top of their mind and are hard at work on it.
Next gen talk already we're 4 in a half years in the gen. 9th gen is easily the worse gen by far.
Almost 5 years in for PS and XB entries... Nintendo kicked off 9th gen back in 2017. MS and Sony were late because of the release of the Pro/One X consoles to extend their 8th gen presence. And in doing that is why the adoption rate for their 9th gen has been slower than the previous. Its also why crossgen is still a thing.
But like you said, 9th gen has been the worst, even in my 40+ years of gaming.
They kinda have to, regardless of how poorly SX/S is selling, they can't just dump most of their gamepass subs, turns out console sales are important.
Edit: and nah I never claimed they'd drop hardware, most of their gamepass subs come from console as most PC players stick to steam, getting rid of console completely would be a bad idea, regardless of how horribly it's been selling this gen.
"Edit: nah I never claimed that, and never thought that, most of their subs come from console as most PC players stick to steam, getting rid of console completely would be a bad idea, regardless of how horribly it's been selling this gen."
You did.
I personally claimed they won't have another console.
And I still think they won't have another console.
Even if Sarah Bond says they will.
Call me crazy.
@lightening - tough pill to swallow?
To watch Xbox fail AGAIN with yet another generation?
No, I guess I wouldn't mind seeing that one more time - I support this move
How many "failures" does it take lol. You sound mad. Like a angry cartoon villain. "you'll fail next time Xbaawwwx!"
It's only consoles and you're over here cryin about it. Just stick to what you like and ignore what you don't, I dunno how many times it needs to be said.
Grab some water for that pill you'll live I promise.
You're crazy. I always claimed they would have a console next gen and even the gen after. If they don't release a console, GamePass as we know it would be destroyed. Console gamers aren't just going to go to PC, vast majority would migrate to Playstatiion where there is a thriving console community that is also getting Xbox games going forward and zero GamePass. So if Xbox stopped console, a majority sized chunk of GamePass subs would suddenly be no more and MS are not going to just HOPE they all suddenly get $2000 PC's and set up over there. They would never take that risk. MS will always have a console where these GP subscribers can go. They would not suddenly dump them and hope they go to PC and continue GP over there. And as long as there is an Xbox console, those console GP subscribers will stay there. Without a doubt. But if you take away their console, they won't be going to PC, they'll go to Playstation
"But if you take away their console, they won't be going to PC, they'll go to Playstation "
What if MS makes more $ from those people paying full price for their games on Playstation? What if GamePass isn't actually profitable?
I don't think it is profitable. But it's an investment in a future they hope can get bigger sub numbers. It's a guaranteed revenue stream. On console, gamers pay to play online. You take their console, suddenly that entire revenue stream dries up. GamePass subs dry up. 3rd party sales dry up. Add-on dlc content for all games dries up. They have at the very least, 30 million players embedded in their ecosystem. They won't give that up. In my opinion, MS are much more likely to end GamePass than they are to stop making consoles for their 30-35 million console gamers.
I support MS with what they decide because they're putting all their games on Playstation. They want to end GamePass? Great. They want to stop xbox consoles? Cool. I really don't care. I care about Playstation and games and all their games are coming to Playstation while I laugh and choose what I want to play.
yeah, i figured there is a threshold where putting your own hardware out isn't worth the cost, and they were acting like they crossed it.
But you're right - over 30M is still a big number. I guess time will tell...
Lighting sounding mad while telling people they sound mad.
I think xbox, if its even an xbox and not a xbox branded device, will be DOA.
Can Sarah Bond take Phil's job and get him out of Xbox finally?
She seems to respect the console and the platform, but it's coming off like they're using her and these years-ahead hardware announcements as damage control for what Phil is currently doing to undermine them.
She really does she's far more passionate about the brand have a feeling Phil is just checked out and exhausted with it all
"She seems to respect the console and the platform, but it's coming off like they're using her and these years-ahead hardware announcements as damage control for what Phil is currently doing to undermine them."
It might be news for you, but Sarah got promoted and has been leading as *Xbox president* for almost two years now.
She´s doing nothing but *her* job!
Also, the Xbox next is *her* baby! Not Phil´s. That´s why you´re seeing her in this video, and you´ll get to see her again next year to announce it.
I know her role, and I still said what I said.
Nothing from you of all people here will ever be news to me.
"Full" suggests hardware. No practical reason they'd need emulation when consoles manufacturers are basically swapping out AMD PC components a few gens apart.
Yup, she's making it sound like custom silicon, so probably the typical hardware based approach of running prior Gen downclocked and restricted. She's implying a traditional console I think
More than likely emulation for the older stuff and hardware for the xbox one/xs stuff, kinda like this gen.
"full bc" when there's a bunch of games that won't work even now, like Simpsons Hit and Run.
Let's assume:
• Xbox Next, 2026
• PS6, 2028
That'd be a two year gap. But in hardware specs, too.
Would they really do that?
There is no way their console is coming in 26, just a FYI Sony signed the same type of deal for the PS6 almost two years ago and they have already gone though the testing phases and the final design is already ready for tape out for production.
Given the information we have PlayStation is WAY farther along than Microsoft.
PlayStation 6 SoC is 'design complete' says leaker: AMD Zen 5 with X3D cache, next-gen UDNA GPU
https://www.tweaktown.com/n...
Exactly. That's why, from a business perspective, this has no legs. Who the hell is going to be left in the Xbox camp wanting another console with no exclusives in 2028?
"That'd be a two year gap. But in hardware specs, too."
Sony made a lot of PS fans mad this week by confirming their focus now lies on PS6, which means that the PS5 and PS5 Pro are not longer a priority.
PS6 is just around the corner my dude. Like you or not, It is what it is.
I think they should honestly hold off there no point rushing gen 10 to market but it's the classic were losing quick less change the game and start the next gen early
Sometimes it works
Xbox 360 (although waiting may have resolved the rrod issues)
Sega mega drive
Sometimes it fails spectacularly
Dreamcast
3d0
Either way gen 10 is good we need Microsoft on hardware even if they add multipart as the competition is good and as much as I love Nintendo and my switch 2 it won't compete with a ps6
What did the Series X/S really bring to the table that the Xbox One couldn't handle?
They never used the Series X at it's full capacity and now they are planning on releasing a new generation of consoles already. It's embarrassing to say the least.
I have owned every xbox generation since the OG and I'm really the most unimpressed with the last generation.
And then I haven't even brought up other doubtful company policies that are evidently not there to benefit gamers.
I get that Microsoft wants to make a profit, that is what companies do. However,
Microsoft has taken this to a whole new level. They treat us like morons, as if we are nothing more then mindless consumer drones.
The same can be said about both of these consoles. 5 years ago we saw Unreal Engine 5. 5 years later we barely seen anything like they were talking about. Only shades of it. Tbh HB2 was that extreme graphical showcase that we've wanted but at the expense of Gameplay and immersion. We're still lacking those true gen innovations across the board. Last gen took most of This gen with cross plat games which I think is the biggest issue. The games are slow to release. Xbox is doing better that department but it took them half the gen to get things going. PS is recovering from their LS failures and put a big dent in their 1st party portfolio.
I think this is the worse gen yet.
The part about backwards compatibility is pretty key. Otherwise people expected a PC with an Xbox logo (and no native support for discs).
All this includes their next gen hardware. I was told this was their last console?
Deluded Sony fanboys have been screaming that narrative I'm curious what goal post narrative theyll come up with next.
Anyway this news also comes off the back of Tom Henderson who thought Xbox's next console would be made by Asus hardware with Xbox software and features. I think this was away for them get ahead of that and confirm they're making their own hardware.
Why, same games on XBox on PS6 plus Sony Exclusives. I will go with Sony.
I'm glad that Xbox is still moving forward with their next-gen console plans. As a primarily PS gamer, I'm looking forward to seeing what they come out with to compete with PlayStation. Competition is still good, people 🙂 But Xbox needs to convince me why I should look forward to the next Xbox, especially if their games will likely come to PS anyway.
2026 with Halo remake, New Gears, Fable and Forza would be a killer launch. She said a portfolio of devices wonder if the could have 3 ready at launch X S and P
I had zero doubt that they would release a console for next gen. I even think they will the gen after next
Who exactly is going to buy their console after sales this gen were anemic and many of those who invested this gen likely feel betrayed by the cross platform shift?
You mean fully backwards compatible with the disc games you no longer make. No thanks. Also they have spent the last years of 360 and two generations destroying Xbox. There is literally no point in them making hardware anymore. Anyone who buys it is just throwing money away. Do we need to bring up a graph to show a death spiral trajectory, the damage is done.
Not for me. I only know a couple kids that ar that own Xbox this gen and one guy at work. Everyone else is PS and/or PC. It sells best in US but it’s declining here as well
Majority, what?
Xbox is third in North America and it's market share is shrinking month after month and has been for years.
Nice to see a number of disagrees. I guess Playstation is truly a favourite gaming console in north America. Microsoft truly lost their plot.
This is great news! For years I've been preaching xbox is dead. I've been catching a lot of flack for it on n4g. But here we are... The day has come. Proof positive!
Naysayers are wrong again as usual.
There's gonna be more Xbox hardware both in form of console and PC.
So a Xbox Steam Machine but with a modified Windows. Not very exciting since you can pretty much but/build one now.
However, I wonder if they would allow you to access your previous purchases on a standard pc.
Of course it will be. It's been the same console since the X1. The Series consoles are just the X1 Pro+
From Horse Armor to Mass Layoffs: The Price of Greed in Gaming. Inside the decades-long war on game workers and the players who defend them.
maybe a real enemy is people who use terms like "the real enemy"
there can be more than 1 bad thing, t's not like a kids show with 1 big bad
This is very much a “dummy who volunteers themselves to the middle” comment.
The real enemy is a common phrase, people use it all the time.
Calm down.
You don't seem calm at all. Don't take this so seriously, you seem desperate responding to others defending your opinion that lacks any value or critical thought.
stop projecting
i'm not desperately dong anything, i'm tapping at keys on my keyboard bud
DEI was never the problem and it was an ignorant take to begin with.
DEI is why games like Kena Bridge of Spirits, South of Midnight, and Ghost of Tsushima exist.
DEI is why we have a huge resurgence in Japanese, Chineses, and Korean developers producing games like Stellar Blade, Black Myth, and why Nintendo & Sony exist.
DEI is why more and more games have HUGE accessibility options with both Sony and MS fully behind this.
DEI was never a bad thing, the entire purpose of DEI is representation of all people, genders, disabilities, etc…
The problem was people used DEI as a default derogatory term to describe what they believed was forced representation, which allowed colorist, racist, sexist, misogynist, homophobic, and xenophobic fools to run away with the negative DEI narrative.
Executives seem to often have an obsession with perpetual revenue growth. There is always a finite amount of consumers for a product regardless of growth. Additionally, over investment is another serious issue in gaming.
The fact that they also rarely have any real expertise in game development compounds things. They'll look at what's been successful elsewhere, lack the knowledge to properly understand why they have been successful and then force a team to 'reproduce' their badly interpreted idea of that success.
We see it so often with sequels to games that were successful too. The team are left well alone, they have a break through hit and all of sudden the money men descend on the IP and completely railroad the dev team's ideas. Usually winds up being 'make the same game but MORE'
This is true throughout all of the corporate and public sector organisations to be honest. CEO's generally move amongst the corporate world without any need to have experience of a particular industry, they simply need to rely on their senior leadership credentials. A CEO of a retail giant will just as easily transition to a CEO role in the energy sector for example.
Not defending CEOs here to be clear, I think it's a huge part of the reason the western world is so fucked up. CEOs don't need to care about the sector they work in, in fact it's better if they don't care if they want to screw everyone to make profits.
Companies don’t hire executives to break even. If the goal is breaking even then why start the company in the first place.
That's understood; it's getting record profits and expecting to always beat those record profits, and seeing anything less as a total failure. Then they lay people off and raise prices to reach those record profit levels again, just to sate shareholders. It's setting expectations way too high just to spike share prices, then inevitably falling short. It's feeling entitled to being more successful than everyone else. It's the CEOs doing all this to boost their own bonuses.
Growth benefits the company’s profits and therefore the company’s stock if publicly traded, which pleases the shareholders making them more and more rich, which is why Growth is always at the forefront of the vast majority of any publicly traded company.
More growth = More Money and the people at the top want all the money they can get. I can’t really blame them anyone would love to see their profits go from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, to multi-millions it’s almost like a gambling addiction.
But it also goes to show someone how morals can go out the window for a lot of these people, and how amazing some CEOs are when they catch this early and provide a balance solution that takes complete care of their employees across the board while keeping the business sustainable IE: Insomniac Games ALWAYS on the best places to work list. The rest of the industry could learn.
honestly, the "real" enemy of gaming, is ourselves
if nobody bought horse armor, shitty dlc would have died almost overnight
if we stood firm and nobody bought games from companies that were bad with layoffs, it would be solved
we're the idiots supporting awful business practices, we are the ones enouraging it
I think the reality that we don't want to convince ourselves of is that without the rise of "horse armor" and DLC, game budgets would have essentially stagnated (smaller teams/smaller games), or game prices would have risen much more dramatically than they have. There was an incessant drive for bigger worlds, infinite detail, and hundreds of hours of "gameplay" over the last two decades, that while perhaps a natural evolution of things, needed a suitable funding stream to accomplish.
What...CEOs make tens of millions and that doesnt include SLT etc etc...we now have multiple editions of games, in game currency, MT's, battle passes.....and what do we get..worse game than what was coming out 20 years ago....dont drink the cool aid, its this nickel and dime crap that is absolutely leading us to gaming destruction.
This is the worst possible answer to this conundrum. Blaming the masses is blaming the only people who are constantly “told” to buy.
Consumers are the only ones not to blame here. People make their own choices all the time. Disney movies are bombing and DEInis being blamed. Has that been enough to put Disney out of business? No and it never will.
Disagree. Businesses are able to do what they do because people are bad consumers and don't think critically about purchases. Disney got away with doing shit stuff for years and it's just the last year where people got tired of it. It's not like it didn't work for 5 years or so for Disney to do the things they've done. They'll just move onto another way to get people to see movies and it will be just as bad but more profitable until people wake up and realize it.
Consumerism drives business behavior. It's not so much "blaming" as it is observing behavior. The point I'm making is that the direction that games have gone are driven by the spending. Consumers are spending on DLC and they are driving the expectation of more glitz and padded out (lengthier) games. If they continue to pay, they will continue to drive that direction until a threshold is reached that forces a change in behavior.
Corporate advertising is the most powerful force on the planet.
This is N4G for god sake, every day there are arguments between people who are Team Xbox and Team PlayStation because they’ve been convinced that having an identity built on paying money to Sony and Microsoft matters more than having one as individual gamers who can play whatever they want.
And THEN we get to the corporate advertising part: to play whatever you want is to sink MORE into the advertising pits, making it so that you can more than one specific product.
ah you're right
they were told to buy it, it's clearly impossible to avoid that
if enough people stopped supporting, it would stop
disney not stopping would only be because enough people didn't stop
Agreed. I’ve been saying for years, announce you won’t be buying the upcoming game because of the practices of the previous game, then you only have to stick to your guns once, see how quickly things change for the better.
We have to unite in what we shouldn’t purchase.
just imagine a world, fifa came out worse, nobody buys the next one until they see proof it's better and stick to it
or games being forced online for single player and nobody buys it
things would change so fast
Greed and greedy people have and always will be the main issue for everything wrong in the world. Everything is a product to be exploited for monetary gain. Even when there are things that could help progress us along for the sake of making our lives easier that thing must be exploited for monetary gains. Anything that tells you otherwise is propaganda to make you complicit.
I've never thought "DEI" (although the way most people use it doesn't match it's real definition) is the problem with games. Good games have continued to be good when they have a diverse cast, and likewise, bad games have continued to be bad. There isn't a credible example I've seen where a diverse cast has been the direct cause of a game being bad.
Ok… I’d argue it’s both. But sure, corporate meddling is a major issue.
As long as you have complete like sweet baby ink who are just ruining gaming with their stupid ideas and pushing certain ideologies and agendas there's nothing that can change unless gaming in general gets rid of people like these and simply block them from ever getting any work in gaming because their thing is not to make gaming better their thing is to burn down the gaming industry to push their agendas
I’m a minority myself, and I strongly believe in equal opportunity. But equal opportunity should be based on merit—not on someone's sexuality, race, or gender. If I’m the most qualified candidate for a job, I believe I should get the job. My skin color or identity shouldn’t matter either way. I understand that the real world isn’t always fair, but the goal should always be competence first.
What concerns me is when companies prioritize hiring based purely on identity checkboxes—whether that’s being part of a minority group or identifying as LGBTQ—over actual qualifications. That’s when we start to see the quality of work suffer, especially in industries like game development.
For example, in cases like the Saints Row reboot, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, or Sony’s Concord, there were individuals placed in key roles who seemed to lack the qualifications those roles required. In some instances, these hires weren’t just underqualified—they became dominant voices that drowned out more experienced developers, ultimately hurting the entire team and product.
This kind of performative diversity—where the focus is more on optics than ability—can create an unhealthy environment. It not only affects the final product, but it demoralizes the rest of the team who are just trying to do good work.
I don’t think it’s asking too much to want games that are agenda-free. I’m not against representation at all. If a game has a strong female lead, or includes LGBTQ characters, and the story is great and the gameplay is fun—fantastic. Stellar Blade is a great example of this done right. But it should come from a place of good storytelling, not forced politics.
What’s frustrating is when certain games get criticized not because they’re bad, but simply because the lead character doesn’t fit a particular social narrative—like Days Gone, which received flak from critics partly because the protagonist was a straight white man. That kind of bias isn’t helping anyone.
At the end of the day, good games come from talented, dedicated people—no matter who they are. Merit should always matter more than identity.
This is an undeniable truth. Anyone who disagrees either didn’t truly read what was said or is part of the problem.
Yeah, more than 1 thing can be a problem, DEI, money hungry suits, investors who have no idea wtf they're doing when it comes to gaming, insidious ideologies, etc and so on.
Ceo's can be both great, and terrible. Just like kings of the past, just like president's, just like people in general.
There are plenty of CEOs who do a good job. Leadership without accountability though is right on the spot, although don’t you think the weird gender race thingy being pushed in recent years are something else at play?
DEI, feminism, nationalism, conservatism, capitalism, religion whatever it is can both be good and bad.
There is a reason for all these ideologies to exist, and it may even be a good reason. But when something is ultimately hijacked to promote some weird extreme version of that ideology things turn bad. Then it becomes worst when people (ceo included) try to shove it down people’s throats whether they like it or not.
And don’t pretend this is a world wide problem. In Asia generally most countries don’t face this problem. I suspect Africa this problem is also not prevalent.
DEI isn't the problem in games... DEI is a problem in development cause these 'new' people obviously cant write or make a good game.
You get you a DEI CEO...Hooootttt Doogggyyy....The secret end boss just done appeared
i think its a combination of that, but also of other things.
if you try to please alot of people, u end up not pleasing anyone.
This is spot on. Most of the time, we actually like the stories that are inclusive… if they are actually good stories. Unfortunately, a lot of what we see now feels forced. No one bothers with character development because they didn’t really like the characters that were writing to begin with.