Microsoft Feels Like It’s Back In The Xbox One Era With Its Release Landscape

Yesterday, Bethesda announced that it was delaying its two biggest 2022 games, Redfall and Starfield, into 2023. Delays are certainly the norm for major games these days, but Starfield had promised a hyper specific date that Bethesda expressed supreme confidence in (11.11.22) but more importantly now, they’re a Microsoft studio. And these are Xbox exclusives that are no longer coming this year.

[sparky77]

While things certainly have been slow and this year feels like an XB1 year by no means will this continue.

MS currently has like 23 studios with around 35 teams and once ABK joins it will be even more. Eventually things will be more consistent I feel like this generation will have growing pains but by next gen Xbox will be a force to be reckoned with.

Luckily Game Pass still have plenty of games to play even if they aren't first party.

[Antnee534]

I do agree with what your saying but at the same time that's what we have been saying since the end of xbox 360 where all the no game problems began

[EvertonFC]

Exactly

[LOGICWINS]

Microsoft definitely has a project management issue that they need to work out, but let's not forget that they went from 5 to 30+ studios in just a few years AND they bought the biggest IP in gaming.

Yes, we've been hearing "Wait for E3" for over a decade, but the difference now is that they actually have the plethora of IPs necessary to actually make these games.

This is a very different Microsoft from that of previous eras, pretending otherwise is foolish. Don't you think after spending 100 billion+ of acquisitions, Microsoft has earned the privilege of a mere 6 month delay?

This is such an overreaction IMO.

[Flawlessmic]

@Logic dude u need to give it up with the constant defending.

Last year wasnt a great year all round for gaming so MS trumped it but really the only stand out game was forza 5, halo was ok, and pyschonaughts 2 was 1 multiplat and 2 overrated for me anyway feel like it got extra brownie points for dealing with mental health, outside of that ratchet was a wayyyy better game.

The first 3 months of this are already better than all of last year.

[Godmars290]

@LOGICWINS:

"This is a very different Microsoft from that of previous eras, pretending otherwise is foolish."

And insisting that its different with less than evidence that such is the case, more examples of continuing bad habits like delays, lack of content and over monetization in what does come out, is just as foolish. If not more so if such is endlessly defended.

[Flawlessmic]

.

[LordoftheCritics]

There is no issue here.

We have a brilliant piece of hardware called the PS5.

We have access to a large amount of the greatest games ever made.
This year is looking good as well.

[X-23]

Thank You for saying this, a million times thank you. People pretending that this hasn't been a problem are likely the reasons why it still is.

[TheTony316]

@LOGICWINS

Are you saying we should wait for next gen? I don't understand how people still defend Micoroft after over a decade of disappointments and false promises. Microsoft can't even manage their original handfull of studios, let alone over 30.

[EvertonFC]

Eventually ?

[GJC1]

Eventually……. Everton may win something 🤣🤣

[RedDevils]

at least he's not a plastic fan.

[Double_O_Revan]

" but by next gen Xbox will be a force to be reckoned with."

And there is it! There is ALWAYS is. Just keep waiting folks! Eventually, Xbox will have something of substance.

[LOGICWINS]

To anyone who isn't capable of waiting 6 months, I recommend they sell their Xbox and cancel their Game Pass. Play on another platform where game delays don't exist. Problem solved.

[Flawlessmic]

@logic

6 months??

More like 12 months for forza 5 and halo from when xsx released and going off the current information we have it will be another year and a half from the release of forza and halo before the next first party game!!

Sure than can change and we may get forza but we dont know that yet.

How is what i just brought up even acceptable?

I have it now so im not gonna sell it but i certainly regret being an early adopter, ps5 has more than covered this gen so far with games to play.

Nintendo and sony have delays also but by some magic they still have other games coming out in the same year to soften the blow, why is ms incapable of this?

[crazyCoconuts]

They really have to demonstrate an ability to manage all those studios. A few of them are already in excellent shape, but a great many of them need help, and MS hasn't done well with turning studios around, even when there's just a few of them

[Father__Merrin]

What lmao

Wait till E3
Wait till DX12
Wait till Azure compute
Wait till Secret chips
Wait till Wait....

And now its wait till next generation? Sony on the other hand will provide great games and features for thier user base. I want time to forward to December as I want to count all exclusive software on xbox for 2022

[Muigi]

“By next gen” Sheesh that’s a long time to be waiting lol.

[SullysCigar]

I guess when you've waited well over a decade already and still haven't figured out you're holding the sh!tty end of the gaming stick, it's not so bad..

[Charlieboy333]

Xbox has 'growing pains' you say. Are you for fucking real? This Xbox's THIRD generation FFS. Also if I remember correctly, Phil and Co said the lack of content for the final years of the Xbox One generation was due to them putting all their focus on 'next gen' correct? Yeah 2.5 years into 'next gen' all that 'focus' will have provided of note is Forza Horizon 4.5 and an insulting Halo entry which makes Halo 5 look like a masterpiece with cutting edge graphics and a content overload in comparison. They have been bullshitting for YEARS now, took a giant dump on their biggest and most iconic and successful franchise ( don't forget that Phil was IMPRESSED and HAPPY with the state of Infinite on that fateful day when Craig was introduced to the world ). It blows my mind that there are still people defending and praising....even after the Redfall and Starfield delays ( also, no one delays a game for a fucking year just to 'polish' it or fix some minor issue.....more bullshit ). Let's also not forget the DRM fiasco which brought to light just how worthless an Xbox is with no online connection. I mean I get being loyal to a company, but if all they do is lie to your face, treat you like gullible morons and constantly disappoint, you really must be lacking in self respect, have toilet level standards, lack intelligence or possibly a combination of all 3. I loved my 360 because of all the awesome games and experiences I had on it. Since Xbox One Microsoft has shat on and ruined everything that console stood for....which is personally why I don't care a flying fuck what they do anymore. I'm not a brainless fool that wags my tail at every scrap that falls off the Xbox table. Getting kicked and crawling back for more. I will leave that to you and the other indoctrinated disciples who all say that these delays are a 'good thing' and everything 'is fine'. There is nothing 'fine' about any of this and 'fans' like you will only ensure that things remain 'not fine'. It's great that gamepass is satisfactory enough for you as a gamer and that you are already excited about how awesome the NEXT Xbox is going to be! What patience! Personally I demand better for myself and expect the company whose console I bought to do their job and provide me with consistently compelling reasons ( new mindblowing exclusive games ) for my purchase. Games that make your jaw hit the floor and make you say 'holy shit' out loud more than a few times because they are so awesome to play and look at. I regularly experience that on PS, but that kind of thing doesn't really happen on Xbox anymore does it.

[Charlieboy333]

Apologies I forgot it's actually Xbox's FOURTH generation. Growing pains my ass.

[GJC1]

You sound really pathetic

[isarai]

"Eventually"..... it's been "Eventually" for over a decade. Yes they are in the best position they've been in since, but they have yet to deliver. When are you guys gonna get fed up with being told "just wait guys" only to be told it again and again and again everytime the thing you've been waiting for doesn't deliver. Aren't you tired of the dangling carrot game all the dang time?

[DarthMarvin]

Just wait until E3, then you'll see XBox will be back, baby! Uncle Phil said so, it must be true.

[Bathyj]

So just wait you're saying?

Has it occurred to anyone that while just wait has been the Xbox mantra for a decade that is actually beneficial for Microsoft to make you wait now because you are paying a subscription therefore you are paying to wait?

Trust me there is no rush to release games now for MS because there's no incentive to do so. In fact it's better for them to draw it out. It's even better for them to finally release them half finished because then you can just wait for things like coop and forge and pay to wait.

[jBlakeeper]

It still doesn’t change the fact that Microsoft doesn’t know how to manage their studios. They’ve been slacking for over ten years now. Their management skills are not going to change overnight and I haven’t heard of them cleaning house.

[TheTony316]

I've been hearing this for 10 years now. Microsoft for some reason just can't manage their studios and having more of those won't make it easier.

[Futureshark]

News just in...
MS has just released a brand new exclusive, day 1 on gamepass too.

It's called 'The Waiting Game'.
(Chortle).

Oh actually I've now just heard it's a port from last gen.

[Crows90]

I think that's a remaster. The game was first released half way thru the 360 gen.

[SullysCigar]

I heard it's been remade from the ground up, with 16 times the detail...and that it just works. Exciting times.

[LordoftheCritics]

The co-op mode will come next year. Hopefully

[SierraGuy]

The sequel will be 'the crying game' 😭😭

[SullysCigar]

There's talk they will round out the trilogy with 'a mug's game'

[Chevalier]

Wait till 2023 for the remastered/Remake of Wait Simulator!!! Pay to sub now and bonuses include in game cover skins! Change the video game covers for games spanning 4 generations!

Co-op mode in consideration. Possibly available 2025!

[derek]

Lol

[EvertonFC]

There joking right ?

[Gamingisfornerds]

It’s definitely not the same as that era, because their focus this time around does seem to be games. However, Microsoft is still recovering from their lack of investments in new games and studios the past 10 years (riding the Gears/Forza/Halo wave). And it’s biting them in the back now.

😘

[crazyCoconuts]

So the only difference this time is more hope

[EvertonFC]

Seems it, the Xbox gamer is the type to bank transfer 50,000 to a scam artist.

[Gamingisfornerds]

Without hope, there is no…hope?

😘

[Hofstaderman]

Back in the Era assumes they left that Era in the first place

[VenomCarnage89]

Exactly. We've been "waiting for e3" for like 16 straight years now

[purple101]

12 years actually

[moriarty1889]

It does seem like it. All those studios and not much to show for it.

[jznrpg]

Never left , it’s just a continuation of the XB1 era. Marketing spin and gamepass blinded people from the fact they had little scheduled for the first 3 years .

[LOGICWINS]

https://www.pcgamesn.com/ps...

Yup, nothings changed at all. Let's all play make believe. 🙄

[Flawlessmic]

.

[Chevalier]

Does metacritic change the fact that there's no games?! Lol. Nope. The only make believe thing here is you're spin. Seriously we get that there will be games. It's absolutely 💯 FACT that there are no games now almost 2 years in.

Seriously Xbox had like 13 studios before the purchases were even done so what have they released? A half baked Halo and a Forza game. The other 10 studios? This has NOTHING about studios needing time. That's utter BS. Nintendo has fewer studios than Xbox and have churned out far more games.

[chronoforce]

Nothing has changed, I see Forza, Halo, Flight sim and Age of empires on that list. The usual suspects bar Psyhconauts 2.

[Flawlessmic]

Does the future look bright yes, which is why i bought an xbox yet again even after my xbox one was the definition of a dust collector and right now my xsx is doing the same.

While there will be a lot of games coming at some point there is still no excuse for the poor xsx start, in close to 2 years they given me 2 games worth playing and that looks like its gonna be the case fkr atleast another year which honestly guys is just unacceptable.

Dont feed me that gamepass bullshit either as its either indies or old 3rd party ive already bought.

Its been yet another poor start, people shouldnt have tk wait years to for there console to get going.

Sony has kept the exclsuives coming at pretty consistent rate, never longer than 6 month wait fir the next one.

Oh and stop with excuse of ms only just bought all these studios so they need time, they have plwnty of studios before the recent purchase and its just poor management of these teams that there are the long ass gaps between anything wortwhile

[LOGICWINS]

"While there will be a lot of games coming at some point there is still no excuse for the poor xsx start, in close to 2 years they given me 2 games..."

Matt Booty warned XSX owners ahead of time that the first few years would be slow. You not paying attention is on you and you alone.

https://www.eurogamer.net/d...

[Flawlessmic]

So apparently im required to read every bit of news?

Stupid me for expexting ms to deliver games like there counterparts do, silly me clearly expecting to much from a console maker.

Spin it however u want mate, make all the excuses, send some more links, doesnt change the fact ms has started where it left off which is drip feeding games.

Whats more concerning is ur totally fine with it lol im just saying that u can love xbox and criticise them aswell u know that right?

I mean love sony, its always the first console i buy before i get the others, always has been and likely always will be, but im there harshest critic also for instance i think the bungie deal sucked absolute balls, along with the 10 live service games, the purchase of an absolute unknown studio in haven, giving epic a billion dollars to waSte on the even more stupid metaverse. Not a fan of the direction sony seems to be going in.

Its really not that hard to just call out the bullshit

But hey if playing fanboy helps justify ur purchase then by all means go ahead.

[VenomCarnage89]

@logic
So it's defendable because they warned their new consoles are essentially useless for a few years? So sucks to suck for anyone who's actually a fan?

Now don't get me wrong, after the entirety of the xbone era, I do feel anyone that bought the series consoles was not exactly being a savvy, knowledgeable consumer, but it doesn't mean they should be allowed to get shafted so hard.

But hey, Ms warned everyone their console blows (in your own, non-verbatim words,) so it's all good, no worries

[The Wood]

Oh. So dude says he's going to slap you then actually slaps you. Its ok because he warned you. Logics logic. Smdh. Microsoft just weren't prepared and thats abundantly clear.

[IRetrouk]

He didn't imply or claim the first few years would be slow, he implied cross gen would last a couple years lol stop the spin🤣

[Chevalier]

@ Logicwins

Absolutely trash logic. Please explain why NINTENDO with like 13 studios has released so much more games than Xbox between Xbox One and Current gen since the Switch has released then?! Damn logic is not your strong suit.

[Imalwaysright]

You bought a console based on its "bright future" and not on the games already available for it and now you're crying because you have to wait for the future? You knew what you we're getting yourself into and no, you don't have to read everything but anyone that comes to websites such N4g should by now know that pretty much every game has been delayed at least once for some years now so I fail to see what's so surprising about you having to wait more the "bright future".

[Flawlessmic]

As in the future would be a lot better than it is now but there will still bright things to look forward to in the mean time which are now gone!!
Besides im pretty sure all early adopters buy new consoles looking to the future and not what is there at the start as we know things will come out, the difference is there is acceotable waits like with sony and ninentdo, what ms is doing is unacceotable.

Again u can spin it or blame me but the blame is simply on ms for not producing games like every other console maker does.

So ur saying people shouldnt be unhappy about the lack of games? That the blame lies on the customer and not the provider ?

I really dont get some of u.

And to ur point its the reason i bought ps5 first as i knew sony are ever realiable but still doesnt excuse ms and the lack of games over a 2 year period and possibly longer now.

[Imalwaysright]

As far as I'm concerned early adopters deserve anything good or bad that happens to them. Putting faith on a faceless corporation is dumb so yeah they deserve everything that happens from the moment they buy a console.

"Again u can spin it or blame me but the blame is simply on ms for not producing games like every other console maker does."

What other console makers do is absolutely irrelevant to what MS studios are doing. What? You think that just because Nintendo or Sony released a game that MS should release a game that isn't ready to be released?

"So ur saying people shouldnt be unhappy about the lack of games"

They should be unhappy because they were stupid enough to base their console purchase on a "bright future" and not on the games already available for the console. You knew you had to wait so why are you crying that you have to keep on waiting?

[Flawlessmic]

I expect them to release at least one game this year from one of there first party studios which is not a stretch at all considering all there studios, if anything that was a safe bet.

Well u must be dumb aswell cause im sure u buy products from faceless corporations every day just like the rest of us.

Im sure sometimes ur happy with ur purchase and sometimes ur not just like the rest of us, calling out the bullshit is fair game.

Unless anytime uv bought something that isnt right or under delivered ur train of thought is im dumb for buying it?

And if that is ur train of thought then u must feel dumb a lot cause no one lives there life without buying stuff from faceless corporations that wasnt up to scratch.

[The Wood]

I'd blame a faceless mega corporation for being unprepared for a new gen whilst promising better. Delays always happen but a contingency plan wouldn't go amiss. MS have been in the game for long enough now so excuses shouldn't have to be made for them. On this occasion ms lacked the guile to assure gap fillers gave their platform substantial usp's during it's earliest years

[Imalwaysright]

Games don't become ready to be released just because you expect them to so you can keep on waiting and yes I do many dumb things but investing on a console that doesn't have at the very least 5 games I want to play isn't one of them especially when delays have become commonplace in this industry.

The Wood

You can get as mad as you want but that won't change anything. MS has the studios and IPs to have a far better generation than the last one so unless you're a proponent of crunch culture and games that are even more broken than they already are then you'll have to keep on waiting...

[Docknoss]

Every Redfall character looks like Antifa, LGBQ+, Feminist and BLM rioter all in one. I find it would be hard to be tactical with a 2" Afro. It's pretty stupid that it would even be a thing.

[Elda]

Wow!! Smh.

[Docknoss]

When someone says SMH, It makes no sense to me, its so giving cridge i wanna puke. It's equivalent to low IQ. There's a reason why the IQ level for retardation was lowered in the 1950s and Marxist was behind it. The study was called "Beyond the bell curve".

[Godmars290]

Why is there an article talking about how MS is in a better position than ever before, while MS have just announced game delays?

Or am I just reading the title wrong, and not really caring because there's been such a style of argument - "MS's doing badly but they're really doing well" - for too damn long?

[Wrex369]

At some point you have to look at your console and ask what have you don't for me lately just like every consumer electronic device. Yes it can play third party, yes it can stream videos and things like that. But we all purchased this device for the games Microsoft is supposed to be making. Not mad, not even really upset. Just disappointed in the output, once again.

[Bathyj]

You also should be asking how many times have I felt this way about an Xbox?

No offense to you, not singling you out, I'm generalising but if anyone's answer is more than once then you're the problem as much as them.

[DarkZane]

The truth is, even with all the studios they bought, I don't think it will be any different.