Xbox Year in Review: After a quiet year, the Xbox Series X has a lot to prove in 2023

It has been a difficult year for the Xbox Series X. While we had all expected Microsoft Gaming to build on the momentum it had generated coming out of 2021 – following the releases of Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite, and Microsoft Flight Simulator – delays to Redfall and Starfield scuppered that, and it left the platform with arguably one of its weakest first-party lineups since Phil Spencer took over the job as head of Xbox nine years ago.

[Orchard]

Very quiet year overall. Games like SF being moved out is what killed them this year.

Next year looks pretty packed so far, and SF is going to undoubtedly be one of the biggest, if not the biggest game of the year (looking at you Zelda, are you actually coming out?)

In 2023 I want to see them get their first party output on track. Keep filling GP with good titles. 2023 will be a big year for Xbox with Zenimax games finally coming to Xbox and the Activision acquisition coming to a close.

Oh, and release goldeneye already.

[lelo2play]

Microsoft were a complete joke in the gaming business on 2022 (and a few years before). Not many exclusive worth mentioning.
Game Pass must be saving their butt's, because the lack of quality exclusives certainly aren't helping them...

[Orchard]

Yep. Next year seems to be more packed - but the question is, now that the Zenimax dust has settled - can they keep that up on a regular cadence?

Time will tell.

[Lightning77]

It's not necessarily the quality because Grounded Pentiment, I guess 3rd party like Ask Dusk Falls and Naraka Blade point were good. They lack big AAA games to sell their platform and services.

[EvertonFC]

Xbox has been pants since the last 2 years of the 360 gen so about 2011 imo.
You wouldn't think MS has trillions in the bank and nothing for 10 years of any serious note.

[Sonic1881]

"Microsoft were a complete joke"

It's been like that for over a decade but they are still around

[LOGICWINS]

Microsoft is a complete joke....but they're consistently the #1 most talked about topic on N4G 😆

[343_Guilty_Spark]

What promises did MSFT make for 2022?

[blackblades]

@343 didnt they said this was going to be the best year of gaming or was that last year.

[LOGICWINS]

As excited as I am for Starfield, that's not enough to compensate for 2 years with no AAA exclusives. In ADDITION to the Activision deal going through, I want another big acquisition such as:

1) IO Interactive - I want that James Bond game to be an Xbox/PC exclusive.

2) Sega - Xbox becoming the home of Sonic, Yakuza, Persona, and Valkyria Chronicles would elevate their standing in Eastern markets.

3) WB Games - This acquisition is absolutely essential for Xbox IMO. Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, Lego Star Wars, DC Universe etc. Xbox has ZERO household name IPs. This is where Playstation has the upper hand with Spiderman, Uncharted, God of War, The Last of US etc.

Extremely clever of Sony to use their film/tv adaptations to market their games (this is why there's speculation that Microsoft is looking at Netflix for their next acquisition....because they want to do the same thing with Xbox IPs).

This is Xbox's biggest problem IMO. Grandma's and Grandpa's know what Pokémon and Spiderman is...but they don't know about Marcus Fenix or Master Chief.

Acquiring WB would actually make Xbox competitive with Playstation.

[Sonic1881]

It might be the end of acquiring publishers after Blizzard (if it goes through), especially with what's going on with the CMA and FTC. I'm sure they'll be able to acquire developers though like I/O interactive.

[MajorLazer]

Lol, not one mention of cultivating talent or building a great studio. No, just pluck a dev like some talentless rich kid with too much money and little else going for them.

[LOGICWINS]

@MajorLazer I play games...not "studios". I don't care if a studio is homegrown or purchased. Just put a great game in front of me and I'll enjoy it.

[crazyCoconuts]

As a gamer, hoping Xbox acquires another company doesn't really make much sense... You ALREADY get to play games from IO / WB, etc. Xbox acquiring these studios don't give you more games to play as an Xbox gamer, they just take games away from Playstation.

[Lightning77]

NGL I don't think MS needs to pick up anymore studio's. They need to prove they know how to release games with the studios they got first.

[Orchard]

@LOGICWINS If I were to hedge a bet, I'd say MS will acquire other studios in 2023/24 (depending on how quickly Activision is resolved) - but I also don't think they need to at this point, XGS + Zenimax + Activison should be more than enough.

Sega and IO could be interesting. WB games perhaps less so, they make a lot of good games but they also don't own the rights to most of them, so you're gambling a bit if you acquire them.

"Xbox has ZERO household name IPs"

COD should fix that though. COD is a bigger IP than Spiderman, GoW etc.

@MajorLazer Acquisitions are the name of the game. For Sony & Microsoft at least. Nintendo less so.

@Crazycoconuts Not 100% true. It does add something for gamers - you'd get the games in GamePass day 1.

[MajorLazer]

None of the studios you mentioned are depriving you as an Xbox fan of any of the mentioned games, other than maybe getting Yakuza slightly later. Buying those studios gains Xbox nothing, it only deprives rival platforms which is basically admitting you're so far behind you can't even compete on wits & talent, you need to buy up the competition just to be able to compete.

@Orchard

Games are the name of the game, not acquisitions and denying rivals.

[LOGICWINS]

@MajorLazer Once again, I don't play "wits & talent"...I play games. I don't care how the finished product was made, just give it to me and I'll pay for it if I find it worthy of my money.

Ultimately, all the consoles we play on are made at Chinese factories with long hours and subpar work conditions. But the Playstation faithful doesn't talk about the "ethics" of that now do they? They only care about ethics when it comes to Microsoft....

@Orchard Buying those studios also means devs can focus on squeezing the power out of ONE console as opposed to working on two. It's a win for Xbox gamers because we're getting a more polished product than we otherwise would have if the game was multiplatform.

[Orchard]

“Buying those studios gains Xbox nothing, it only deprives rival platforms”

Buying those studios means their games will be in GamePass day 1. That is a huge win for Xbox gamers.

“Games are the name of the game, not acquisitions and denying rivals.”

Right... and... who makes games? Developers. So, you acquire developers.

The majority of studios owned today by Microsoft & Sony were the results of acquisitions.

[SoulWarrior]

1. The James Bond game is already coming to Xbox, why MUST it be an exclusive and how would that magically make it better? Where is the logic in this?

2. Those games aren't remotely popular on Xbox, the only reason some of them were ported over is because MS dropped a fat stack of cash on their desk to put some on gamepass, if they weren't given for pennies xbox players wouldn't bat an eye and Sega would be pissing their money in to the wind.

3. And again, why must Xbox acquire WB? Where it the logic? Just to remove games from playstation? They are all coming to Xbox anyway??? I'm really struggling here lol. Halo used to be a hugely popular franchise, and Gears also, it's only due to MS and 343's incompetence that they are no longer as big as they were.

MS already have loads of studios and are already trying to justify adding a mountain more by this obviously BS facade they are a teeny tiny 2 trillion dollar company, it's absolutely laughable. The whole basis of your argument is just wanting MS to buy everything up just so games stop releasing on Playstation, that is literally it.

Oh but what's the solution to this problem? Hey let's just buy up the entire industry! Buying Minecraft, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Doom, Dishonored, Wolfenstein, Hellblade, and a bunch of other IPs wasn't enough, now they are trying to buy up CoD, Overwatch, Diablo, Crash/Spyro, and whatever else I'm forgetting. Most of which all see considerably more success on Playstation.

It's a worrying prospect, and if allowed to go through, especially without heavy concessions I do worry for the industry in 10-15 years time and what it will look like, I wouldn't want Sony buying up huge publishers either, but MS are setting the precendent. It's just as worrying seeing zealots clamor for this too.

[Hofstaderman]

You sure want a lot but have received jack since about mid 2010.

[SurgicalMenace]

If you like games so much, why even make the XB a primary console?

[Orchard]

@SoulWarrior Maybe he wants those games in GP? Or wants the studios to have extra funding, IO for example could do a lot more if they had Microsoft or Sony's $$$.

@Surgical Does the Xbox not play games? I'm pretty sure it's a games console.

[Chevalier]

WB would NOT make Xbox competitive with Playstation in any way whatsoever. Warner Bros already said many times their studio sales will NOT include IPs. They would make way more money licensing Harry Potter, Batman, Mortal Kombat, Lego and DC go companies.

Xbox already has enough IPs sitting around already with Bethesdas purchase like Elder Scrolls, Doom, Wolfenstein, etc. Plus they're doing a Fallout series and already have Halo TV series as well.

Also buying IO wouldn't make Bond games exclusive either. Amazon owns the IP and all MGM studios properties and no way they would let that IP sit exclusively with Xbox. They know that they need wide releases to make money and grow their properties.

[crazyCoconuts]

For y'all that are saying MS needs to buy a company in order to guarantee it will be day one on GamePass, that doesn't make sense. Any company will take a bulk payout greater than their projected revenue for that game from MS and gladly put it on GamePass. MS ends up paying whether it's an outright payment or via opportunity cost

[jwillj2k4]

So just buy up everything huh? THATS the road you see to success? Buy their way out of decades of failure?!?!? These games are already playable to you. It’s only going to increase their wallets which IS NOT THEIR PROBLEM!

They have the most money but can’t make any good games. It’s clear the problem is INTERNAL MANAGEMENT.

[F0XH0UND922]

My guy, do you know what monopolies do to price and quality? Think about it for a sec.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Microsoft is just trying to squeeze out competition like they've done with Windows, I'd be more impressed if they actually did something with the studios they bought rather than just let them sit there.

[jukins]

Whats the point of another aquisition of another company that makes games that...already...appear.....on ...xbox. use that money to create an identity

[VariantAEC]

@Logicwins
If great games were all you cared about... you would just buy a PS and call it a day, but you don't, why? What is so great about Xbox? Is it the ads on the dashboard, their controller's asymmetrical stick layout, their lack of quality games what is it that makes you defend Xbox?

When I play on PC I use the Xbox One gamepad I do have a favorite controller layout and that is PS' but I'm not handicapped or upset about using the Xbox One pad.

The Xbox menus are not great. I'm not a fan of all the dead space on the screen and tiny text. At least PS5's menus make use of the screen real-estate though not as great a use of it as the PS4 did... man that was great though I've gotten used to the PS5's top menu and I like the idea of the XMB played on my old PS3 and I miss that design. Also played my Xbox 360 and noticed they removed the ads from their home menu. Again the menu tiles are small and waste space like crazy.

Playing on X360 made me remember that their most beloved games were really middling with some like Forza Motorsport particularly being a carbon copy of Gran Turismo with less class just as much grinding and far worse driving physics (especially since I can compare my real world car to FM4's physics as it was included in FM4), but I won't argue that FM4's menus seem to be constructed in a more logical way than GT5's. Anyway Xbox 360 wasn't very good whether it's the HW (objectively worse than PS3), the software (subjective experiences based on the Xbox 360 OS) and the games (depends on taste as well, but in the case of direct responses to PS franchises like FM when you play the genuine article I think people understand what I mean) were in some way lifeless inside. Forza Horizon gets a pass for being a near carbon copy of NFS because EA butchered that franchise and as a result it only took 4 more Forza Horizon games for the franchise to be lauded as a success by MS neqring the end of the 2020 pandemic late in 2021. Both MS and PS saw a significant drop in revenue, subs and monthly active users after world governments declared the end of that pandemic.

[Sonic1881]

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom already has a release date. If it did get delayed I still believe it would come out this year. Most main Zelda games come out in 5 years and it has been almost 6 years since the last game. This game won't get delayed

[Orchard]

I agree, I doubt BOTW2 will get delayed - and it will definitely be GOTY if not delayed.

[Lightning77]

Not sure what you mean when you Mention Zenimax. They've owned Bethesda and Zenimax for almost a year now.

[Orchard]

They've had to work through Zenimax's backlog first - they had a bunch of contractual obligations to ship PS exclusives.

Ironically, in the year or so that they've had Zenimax, every new game released has been released as a PlayStation exclusive :P

[Vengeance1138]

Starfield is mid at best unless they totally overhaul everything we saw. Not likely to beat Spiderman 2.

[tay8701]

Spiderman 2 and FF16 will both be bigger games than Starfield. Ofcourse if Zelda releases that will be huge for nintendo. Next yr is a make it break yr for xbox; I Fully expect Sony to be on fire next yr. If xbox doesn't bring their A game, they are getting left in the dust.

[S2Killinit]

Waiting till next year

[Rude-ro]

Here is 100% reality..
If it were not for Microsoft’s own media and whatever connection they have to n4g…
They would not exist.
There is zero reason to know or combine Microsoft and gaming outside of paid media.

[Orchard]

That’s one hell of a tinfoil hat theory.

Microsoft wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for N4G and paid media? What has N4G got to do with MS?

And outside of paid media, tens if not hundreds of millions associate MS with gaming - console owners, GP subscribers, PC gamers.

Also MS is heavily associated with game development too - lots of games are powered by PlayFab and Azure across all platforms, PSN is powered by Azure, and PS4/5 games only exist because Windows and Visual Studio exist.

[IRetrouk]

Psn is not using azure, it uses amazon's system.
Not all ps dev teams use window's and visual studio either....
He may have a tinfoil hat, but you just straight up lie.

[LG_Fox_Brazil]

Xbox this year felt a lot like 2021 and 2020... Also as 2019... or 2018. Seriously, I remember that the last time I had a blast with the Xbox was in the X360 days

[Crows90]

You mean the wait till e3 hype isn't working on you? What a shame

[Mr Pumblechook]

Hellblade II should release in the latter half of 2023. If Ninja Theory are firing on all cylinders then this really has the potential to be a God of War Ragnarok killer. Also, Horizon Forbidden West is a visually beautiful game, but Ark 2 with a photorealistic Vin Diesel may just put it to sleep. And don’t forget what could be the best WRPG ever Starfield.

Spider-man 2 naturally will be a big hit because of it’s built in audience but if you think about it the gameplay only consist of swinging on a rope and button mashing the X button. For me, Redfall will offer a fresher, more dynamic, gameplay loop.

2022 was PlayStation’s year. But 2023 will be owned by Microsoft.

[SoulWarrior]

@Pumblechock

You cannot be serious lol, a GoW killer? The first game was an 8 hour long at best AA game that divided opinions, for me it was a boring walking simulator, it isn't killing anything except people's insomnia.

Redfall more fresh? It looks to me like co-op shooter #9999, like we don't have enough of those, might be good might be meh like Deathloop was.

Saying that I do expect MS to have a better 2023 as they cannot possible do worse than this year.

[jwillj2k4]

@ Pumblechock you think a “photo realistic” Vin Diesel is going to kill Horizon?!? 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 omg I haven’t laughed like this in so damn long 😂 😂 thank you honestly..

[Crows90]

@pumblechook

Firing on all cylinders? Please do point to me towards their game where they fired on all cylinders and was a god of war competitor that could actually compare. Ark 1 doesnt compare to Horizon Zero dawn...not sure why youd compare the second ark game...considering theyre entirely different genres. Spiderman 2...web swinging...hmmm no way. Cant be. Maybe he should be boots on the ground or something. But again...comparing it to redfall...a co op 1st person shooter similar to destiny, left 4 dead, etc....yeah much fresher...yet we dont really know many details about the gameplay loop so thats a big ol stretch for you.

[Ra3030]

@Mr Plumblechook
Wow....that's some kooky fanboy talk you got going on there, you ok? Maybe ya might wanna think about passing on that next round of Microsoft kool-aid they got going around....no offense, I'm jus saying that's alot!

[RedDevils]

@Mr Pumblechook Can have the weed you're smoking with? Cause that's some good shit bro.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Mr Pumblechook,

...What? Hellblade was a good game, but there's no way that's going to be a GOW killer, reminds me of all the "Halo Killers" we had over the years, in the end, Halo killed itself. I can't see 2023 being Microsoft's year unless they somehow pump out alot of exclusives in that one year and I don't think there're capable of that.

[Lightning77]

They had momentum in 2021 they even convinced me this year was gonna be the final year they drop big AAA games.

Yeah about that.... They need to capture the 360 days or the early 360 days when it was all quality games. On paper they can definitely do that but reality they struggle with it. Yes delays are essential but if MS was competent and consistent before and released games, then delays wouldn't hurt them so much.

Here we go... Wait 2020 somethin as always.

[EvertonFC]

Agree somewhat, although I don't mind delays if the games turn out great. Imo it's the wrong types of games Xbox gets wrong.
Phil Spencer says he plays all the playstation exclusives so he must know when he goes to studios what type of games they need yet here we are with little to nothing in regards to AAA.

[blackblades]

@Everton does he really, he shouldve known halo infinite wasnt looking so good before they showed it off.

[Crows90]

@everton
Phil doesnt care about gaming. Its business. End of story. There is no real passion...hence why theyre buying up 3rd party devs that were realeasing multiplatform games.

[Chevalier]

" If Ninja Theory are firing on all cylinders then this really has the potential to be a God of War Ragnarok killer."

😆 🤣 😂. Hellblade released on every system can't even come close to even 1/10th of GoW sales.

https://www.gematsu.com/202...

And you think Hellblade 2 will come close?! Lol

https://www.vgchartz.com/ar...

Hellblade 1 took till 2021 to sell 1 million copies. 20 million copies of GoW were sold in the time it took to sell 1 million for Hellblade fyi. Confirmed by IGN and Microsoft in August 2021.

https://www.ign.com/article...

You think a game that launched in the same year as GoW and sold 1 million in the time GoW sold 20 million is going to 'kill' Gow Ragnarok then sorry you are delusional

[Jin_Sakai]

Same story different gen.

[Julion0715]

Definitely not a good year for exclusives but I still enjoyed my series x with plenty to play. Getting through the Witcher now for the first time is helping the exclusives wait

[Crows90]

Xbox is too busy fighting against regulators to make 3rd party games exclusive in order to make their base feel special. They don't have time to actually work on releasing new games for the Xbox.

[SullysCigar]

I think they're actually trying to appear as feable as possible at the moment, in order to appeal to regulators as the poor little guy who just needs a break.

It's a pathetic, dishonest tactic that's just prolonging the pain and embarrassment of their loyalist fans. They're expected to play the waiting game - like for the past decade - while MS shamelessly bickers and airs it's dirty laundry in public.

[darthv72]

MS openly stated they would support crossgen for 2 years (and got mocked heavily for it). Well... that 2 years is coming to an end. so I fully expect the games releasing in 23 will be for Series/PC. Anyone who still uses an XBO in 23 are doing so strictly for the xcloud games not specifically released for the XBO. MS better be future focused from this point forward. There are a lot of people who have waited patiently over these last several years.

[MajorLazer]

It's a shame the Series S is so gimped, all Series-only titles will be built for the S and then upscaled for the X, rather than being built from the ground up with the X being the base level but it's understandable, without the S Xbox wouldn't have even breached 10m by now and would likely have somehow had a worse gen than the X1.

[GamingSinceForever]

That’s no excuse for the lack of compelling software. Elden Ring has proven to be one of the best games ever and it is playable across two gens.

Series S isn’t holding Series X back and vice versa. XBOX is holding themselves back.

Nintendo and Playstation consistently make several good games that are considered the best annually.

XBOX as a company must figure out what the problem is. They have arguably had the most powerful console crown going on 5 years now and yet few to no bangers.

[Orchard]

@darthv72 Agreed. I have been supportive of cross-gen games in the past, but we all know at some point it has to end, and 2 years feels like a good grace period for people to make the transition to current/next gen.

And it looks like they are sticking to that - Forza, SF and Redfall are all Series only.

I also can't imagine playing a game in 2023 on a 2013 XB1/PS4. Ironically, the X1X and PS4Pro could probably still hold up (minus the hard drive), but platform policies require that you ship on everything.

@MajorLazer "It's a shame the Series S is so gimped, all Series-only titles will be built for the S and then upscaled for the X, rather than being built from the ground up with the X"

That's not how next-gen game dev works. Given that they have near identical CPU, storage etc, the only real difference is the GPU - at which point it's easier to just make an Xbox Series X game and scale down the res, texture quality etc.

And the perfect example to prove your statement wrong is Forza Motosport, that game is better looking than ANY other console racing game out there, and even has in-game raytracing. Clearly that game was built for the Series X and not the S and 'scaled up' like you claim.

"without the S Xbox wouldn't have even breached 10m by now and would likely have somehow had a worse gen than the X1."

Sounds like the S was a great business decision then, especially given the trying times we live in.

[MadLad]

The people who try to act like the Series S is "gimping this generation" have no idea what they're talking about.
They don't understand anything about overall scalability, or what parts allow for what. All they care about is the spread sheet they saw online that shows which console has the most flopz and that proves AlL dUh pOwUh

[SoulWarrior]

@madlad

Kind of ironic you bringing up flops when all Xbox fans were saying throughout 2020 was all that BS about the PS5 having only 8 or 10tf and it being a weaksauce console which hasn't even remotely been the case lol.

[IRetrouk]

We haven't seen the console version of motorsport, only the pc footage they tried to pass off as xbox series x, so it being the best looking console racing game when we haven't seen it on console is a bit of a stretch, no?
Plenty of games have added raytracing to their games after the fact, that does not point to it being built for the x and then scaled down...at all.

Devs do not like to scale down, they build to the lowest common denomiator and then add from there... its much harder and costly to scale down than up, as a dev, you should know this.

Devs are definitely having issues with series s support being mandatory.

https://www.videogameschron...

The s was a smart idea, doesn't mean its not holding devs back.

[Orchard]

@Iretro Forza games have always been leaders in visuals. Even an open world one like FH5 blows closed track racer GT7 out the water. Clearly Forza will be a visual masterpiece - and it’ll have in game RT, something apparently not even possible on PS5 for racers 🤷

“Devs do not like to scale down, they build to the lowest common denomiator and then add from there”

That’s just not true. Every game I worked on last gen, the PS4 was our primary day to day devkit, while the lowest common denominator was the 2013 XB1.

You target the console with the highest install base. The rest comes later. It’s very easy to lower res, framerate, texture quality, reduce pedestrian amounts etc.

[IRetrouk]

Talking rubbish as usual Orchard.
Forza 5 looks nice, but let's not pretend the cars are comparable, you can point to bushes and objects on the side of the tracks and maybe have an argument, but when it comes to car models and physics gt shits all over forza, that why one series sells and one doesn't. But then again, I play both, do you?
Devs use the lowest common donominator and build from that, they do not build high and then lower, especially on console.

[IRetrouk]

Also Here you go, straight from an ms employee...

https://ibb.co/QmFNPDR

https://ibb.co/kgw477Q

https://wccftech.com/id-sof...

As for you claims about forza, ms has been caught lying twice so far this gen with that series, I'd be carefully believing anything they say🤣 again, we haven't seen it on console for you to make that claim.

Also you said forza has always lead in visuals? Is that why sport shit all over motorsport 7 on pc? You do remember them being compared don't you? They didn't even use the console version for motorsport🤣
Oh and because forza has raytracing but gt doesn't, that means that the ps5 can't do it? Even though we've seen much better rt from playstation studios than xbox ones? You just sound silly.

[MajorLazer]

Forza still uses car models from the 360 era. Gran Turismo and Forza aren't even in the same league when it comes to car models and of course more importantly physics. I won't mention Forza's colour palette either, which looks like a cartoon instead of looking even remotely realistic.

[jwillj2k4]

It’s the same thing as living in a subdivision. The builder needs to build two houses using the same blueprint. One owner has 1m dollar budget, the other 100k budget.

The 1m house will have fancier counter tops, appliances and maybe better flooring while the 100k house will have the standard interior. The 1m dollar budget will not be maxed out.

By default the ARCHITECTURE of BOTH houses is limited to what is AFFORDABLE within a 100k budget. Sure the 1m house has better landscaping and wood floors, but it still has the same 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms JUST LIKE the 100k house, builtin in the same 100k subdivision as opposed to the 1m dollar neighborhood.

It’s basic logic. You build to the lowest common denominator to guarantee both are playing the same game (have the same house).

[Chevalier]

To be fair mocking crossgen aside. It's not like Xbox blazed the last 2 years full of releases. So I wouldn't call what they released as 'support'. To support a generation you ACTUALLY have to release games you know.

[ravens52]

Ye cause it's silly and I wish they didn't cause maybe Sony wouldn't have followed suit. I hate that GOWR was on ps4 too, as well as HFW. Bs. I really do hope that they are done with cross generation cause its holding current Gen back.

[VariantAEC]

"MS openly stated they would support crossgen for 2 years"
And in that 2 years they released 3 or 4 games in maybe 5 - I feel like I must be forgetting something... Halo: Infinite (X/O/S/X & PC), Forza Horizon 5, (X/O/S/X & PC), Pentiment (X/O/S/X & PC), Ori and The Blind Forest (X/O/S/X & PC) isn't that all? Psychonauts was an acquisition made late in development so I don't count it (and it also launched on PS4 though MS seems to have blocked a native PS5 release curious as to why that was) but there were a few games like that and ultimately the other games were really small didn't make many waves like Battletoads and some other stuff... MSFS released before Xbox Series started shipping. I remember picking up a Gamepass subscription on PC just to get MSFS which never materialized so I played FH4 instead and dropped my GP sub. I can't find any info saying MSFS was delayed, but I swear that it was.

[EvertonFC]

Many quite years not just one, here's hoping for a good 2023

[masterfox]

hmm lets see how much people still naive and in denial. :D

[Npugz7]

Same thing year after year with Xbox and the main reason I won’t buy one. They can’t deliver on the games. Everything is mediocre sub par games.

[Destiny1080]

two 5/10 games does not equal one 10/10 game

[Firebird360]

Only reason I'm still supporting xbox is backwards compatibility.
I've lost all faith in them releasing must buy first party games.
I'm over the halo, gears, forza releases, have been for years now.
If it wasn't for bc and now them owning Bethesda, id have zero reason to support xbox.

[Elda]

They have a lot to prove. The only AAA first-party exclusive games announced for 2023 are Redfall,Starfield & of course another Forza with no release dates. Hoping there are more AAA first-party exclusives releasing in 2023 on XB.

[purple101]

Absolute shambles at this point. Not wanting to spread more hate than there already is.. but just get a playstation at this point. No reason to own an Xbox with less than half the games output, no innovative controller, constant lies and trying to buy everyone - it's a sinking ship after halo infinite flopped. everyone saw it.

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

Without Forza and Halo, Xbox amounts to nothing. They still haven't managed to do better than that, after billions spent and a decade since the release of XBO.

[gold_drake]

i feel like its been this way since a few years now.
theres always talk about "great games coming", but they never do. and when they do, they bomb.

[Hofstaderman]

The only thing they have to look forward to is a court case.

[TheColbertinator]

Starfield will hopefully be a sign of better days ahead

[frostypants]

"Just wait til next year!" - every year for Xbox for at least the last decade

[Profchaos]

Forza Horizon 5 was a highlight but it's not a game that appeals to everyone. I think ms was banking on starfeild or redfall originally padding out the year.

[SonyStyled]

FH5 was released in 2021. The article is about 2022 looking into 2023 for Xbox

[Profchaos]

Seriously... My memory is warped I guess

[Father__Merrin]

Just you wait till E3.... Just wait...

[saint_seya]

Well i enjoy my Series X in a different way, i buy multiplatforms on it, since i live in Argentina, and the prices on Series X are waaaaaay cheaper (because regional prices), compared to my PS5. So i enjoy both consoles, but if the prices were equal, then i wouldnt need my Series X tbh.
Also i finished the two games i liked the most on Series X (Ori 1 and 2), i really hope there is a 3rd one, but not sure after the ending of the second game, anyone knows if t here is any news about it?

[TheTony316]

"Xbox has a lot to proof in *insert year*"

It's always the same with xbox. I guess we'll find out more at E3.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

If in 2023 MS doesn’t bring the exclusives then they never will. MS has not been about exclusives since mid 360 era. Time to shut up and show out MS…

[TheKingKratos]

More like *quiet decade*

Microsoft is a joke to me ever since their late years of Xbox360

[ravens52]

I hope they do step it up tho. This coming from a ps1-ps5 owner. Never had an Xbox but my brother had the 360. I don't like that they have their loyal followers always fighting for them. Xbox makes their fans look bad and that's corny. I feel for you all and especially the ones who are blinded, you deserve better. To Xbox team, STOP trying to buy the Industry up and take those 20+ studios and make 20+ exclusives! Some have to stick. It's not possible that you have so many studios with so many talented people and can't come up with one blockbuster . Step it up Phil and stop being a douche.

[Notsofast]

I would think Xboxes big hit was (high on life) while (scorn) was a disappointment for most people. overall I'm done with Xbox until they drop their Xbox series x ultimate system in a year or 2 but gaming PC's seem to be the way to go for me now just overall way better graphics and framerate.

[46player]

Bill Gates is more focused on getting you to eat bugs and manufactured meat than games for Xbox. He also wants to make sure you are getting all your experimental vaccines. True story.

[StarkR3ality]

They need a solid AAA exclusive every 2-3 months to stop the rot. Anything less than that would be disappointing as they have a lot of catching up to do on the 1st party side of things.

2022 will be known as the year that a lot of Xbox fans finally lost patience, if they don't claw that back in 2023 they're outta goodwill with me and a hell of a lot of other people. Sick of waiting.

Take Ryan from IGN, he's a known Xbox fanboy and even he put out a hit piece on Xbox recently. Time is running out Phil.

[DaniMacYo]

Microsoft is only in the gaming industry to try and stay relevant to try and have some attention come their way. Otherwise no one else cares they haven’t created anything memorable in over a decade.

[Flewid638]

Articles from 2010 be like....

[Demetrius]

I plan on getting a series x and ps5 soon but seriously the ps5 bout to start having those games rolling in mane I’m tempted to get the 5 first before Xbox

[hotnickles]

I turned my Xbox on like twice in 2022. It won’t be hard to outdo this year.

[wiz7191]

I own all three consoles so I don’t care about who buys what , but I noticed one thing for sure is how clueless some people are about the things the go on in the background. The cost of development is getting so high these days a lot of developers need the extra help to get games out , hence all these third party exclusivity deals. You think the higher ups at Activision wasn’t already looking to sale ?? Activision set their price but how many other studios or company’s have $60 Billion in cash just to burn ??? Name me one that’s not a Chinese company like Tencent. I know for a fact Sony CANNOT make that kind of purchase even if they really wanted to , they only have a budget of $18 billion to make acquisitions with only $10 billion being left. Everybody mad about this Activision acquisition , but other than Microsoft who else got the cash. I rather them than those Chinese companies or possibly Amazon, look with happen to SE.