1020°

Spencer announces conference for next week

Xbox boss Phil Spencer "We've been planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox. Stay tuned."

The_Klank494d ago

I wonder what this could be about?

crazyCoconuts494d ago

Google for all the Xbox rumors going on the last few weeks. It's related to that

Eonjay494d ago

I don't understand what the complaints are about from Xbox fans. They were the ones asking for the acquisition. This is the result. No one is going to spend almost $100 Billion to keep them from making as much money as possible. I think they really believed that shareholders wanted to donate $100 Billion to play console wars.

darthv72494d ago

Thats the thing with rumors though. Easy to proclaim but hard to deny because people will still think they are lying no matter what. i think they should just play it cool like they are doing now. all this talk about this game or that game sure is getting lots of people in a twist... they need to just cool their tits.

Eonjay494d ago

@Darth

People will think they are lying no matter what because they are proven liars. Thats not the point. A lot of Xbox fans are upset about the silence or their perception that Xbox is not being upfront with its plans. I think if they had just come out months ago and said, we are going multiplatform, people would have their feelings, but they would at least know Xbox was being straightforward. Thats whats missing here. The rumors are only rumors because Xbox hasn't been clear with their plan.

crazyCoconuts494d ago

So, @Darth, Phil said "We've been planning a business update event for next week"
And you're proposing that they are going to say "Here's our business update. No changes, you guys were all wrong"
Update kinda implies something is changing, doesn't it?

darthv72494d ago

No crazy... i just said that rumors are tough to address even if trying to deny them because people will believe what they want regardless.

fr0sty494d ago

Pay close attention to what they are calling it... "Business Update Event", this isn't a pre-scheduled event, it isn't aimed at revealing new games, it isn't even aimed at gamers... it's an update on the business end of Xbox, aimed at their shareholders, who likely are not happy about how slowly Xbox is expected to recover the nearly 100 billion they spent acquiring these publishers. So, they are updating these shareholders on the future business plans of Xbox, so them going third party sounds more likely than not.

Microsoft is pulling a Sega... but with a much bigger game developer portfolio.

wesnytsfs494d ago

@Eonjay, I know I do not care. This is what Sony will eventually do as well. Stupid to force gamers to play on a console they do not want to play on. I know I hate the PS controller layout Im sure their are just as many who feel that way about the xbox controller layout.

Cacabunga494d ago

I cannot stand seeing or hearing this guy

crazyCoconuts494d ago

"This is what Sony will eventually do as well."
No frickin way. You're kidding yourself. The fewer Xboxes there are the cheaper it is for them to secure an exclusive. That's why losing the console war compounds on itself the further behind you are. It's like compounding interest.

Eonjay494d ago

@wesnytsfs
Jury is still out on that but I feel like PlayStation is such a large part of Sony that they will resist as long as they can.

S2Killinit494d ago

It’s a lying appointment.

FinalFantasyFanatic493d ago

Those are some crazy rumours, but based on their current behaviour, those are some believable moves for Xbox.

@wesnytsfs,
I friggin hate the Xbox controller layout, I bought the 8bitdo ultimate controller because of the rave reviews, and the fact that Win11 messed up Bluetooth badly, so a lot of stuff like my 8bitdo Pro 2 won't connect (It's a struggle to connect my AVR or bluetooth speaker). PS controllers have always been more comfortable for me, but I'm pretty sure Xbox controllers are pretty popular though, so someone will probably make a 3rd party controller for PS.

You could always go PC, most games from Sony end up there too anyway, as well as almost all the Xbox games, or maybe get a Switch.

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 493d ago
RaidenBlack494d ago

lol,
Now, Sea of thieves and Hi-fi I can understand
heck even Starfield
but Halo on PS? That sounds soooo .. weird?
Halo defined Xbox and now its leaking into the very rival platform, for which Xbox owes its existence?
< I'd say port everything from Starfield to Senua II but keep some legacy IPs like Halo, Gears, Fable & Forza exclusive to the Xbox. >
:-P

VenomUK494d ago

Hopefully Phil Spencer announces that Microsoft is making an officially licensed PS5 controller with haptics etc , but using the Xbox controller chassis! Then you get the best of both worlds! 🎮

FinalFantasyFanatic493d ago

I get the feeling we won't see any new games, maybe more about upcoming games that were already announced at best.

IRetrouk493d ago

@raiden, sonic on ps or nintendo sounded weird too once🤷🏻‍♂️
If they are gonna do it they may as well just go whole hog, sell your games on rival platforms, offer gamepass on your own console and pc, should be good to go.

RaidenBlack493d ago

@IRetrouk
yea well, MS's still in the console business unlike the SEGA 2001 exit.
I am not talking the hypothetical Xbox exit, which is yet to happen or may not happen.
So for the meantime i.e in near future, IMHO, MS can port every of their recent exclusives to PS except their revered flagship IPs. (Halo, Gears)
Of course if MS actually exits the console hardware market in about ~5 years, they will no doubt port those to PS as well, but before that, I guess they'll keep some and port the rest.

bloop493d ago

There's rumours doing the rounds on twitter now that Gears could be one of the franchises coming to PS5. Hard to believe MS would release Gears, Halo or Forza on PS but who knows the way things are going. Could be all bullshit but we'll all find out next week either way.

1Victor493d ago

@Raiden: “but Halo on PS? That sounds soooo .. weird?
Halo defined Xbox and now it’s leaking into the very rival platform, for which Xbox owes its existence?”
I can tell you it’s was disturbing playing a Sonic the Hedgehog on PlayStation and Nintendo but after a few games reality g starts to settle and the console hardcore players begin to accept it and live with it.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 493d ago
Obscure_Observer494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

"I wonder what this could be about?"

Well, FINALLY, Phil Spencer himself will gives us a definitive answer whether/if Xbox will go full third party, partially third party AND/IF Xbox will leave the console market for good leaving Xbox gamers behind.

The way he said "Stay Tuned." gives me hope. :)

crazyCoconuts494d ago

Was it... Like... "Stay Tuned!:⁠-⁠):⁠-⁠):⁠-⁠)"
or more like "stay tuned. :⁠-⁠\:⁠-⁠|:⁠-⁠("
Seriously though, clarity is long overdue.

darthv72494d ago

just by virtue of having games like minecraft and now CoD they are already a partial third party. i can see them making some of their other live service games more available to others. Grounded, sea of thieves, those could do well on ps and switch. Combining player counts to up their engagement. live service games should not be walled off... they need to be as open and available to a wider audience as possible.

Eonjay494d ago

Xbox isn't going anywhere. If thats what you were worried about you can take a sigh of relief now. If fact going third party will only ensure they stick around. I think its the box people are worried about and I get that because some sort of competition is needed, but because like 95% of GP subs are on Xbox, the idea that Xbox is going away is not even realistic.

LabRat494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

Oh man Obscure... If the rumors had a SHRED of falseness to them, he'd deny it via X (formerly Twitter) and he'd say more to come next week, but the rumors are "false". This is true, and the PR message will be VERY vague like "Xbox loves all gamers, we want to include as many people as possible in our games, we are thrilled to announce X, Y and Z will be going to playstation and nintendo and all future games will be case by case!" (Hence all future games will be that route).

BoneMagnus494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

I can’t help but laugh at the fact that whatever darthv72 says - on any topic -he gets at least 66% disagrees on average.

Hofstaderman494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

Dude why wait a week? The man is obviously aware of the rumours and the internet going into a meltdown. Perhaps the PR team is formulating a very carefully worded script for him. Its very clear Phil has been reigned in by a very irate CFO. They want their return on investment by any means. Not saying XBOX is leaving the console market but XBOX centric media and their sources are leaking that all the XBOX tentpole games are going to be released on other consoles due to metrics.

fr0sty494d ago

Why wait a week?

1. It's easy... have a bunch of people leak the news via "rumors".
2. Announce you're going to talk about it in a week, without denying it... sending the community into full on meltdown.
3. After everyone has had some time to digest the shock from it all, and people start to calm down, then deliver the news.

FinalFantasyFanatic493d ago

I wouldn't be surprised if they left the hardware space, they just can't get people to buy Xboxes, and Gamepass is already available on other devices like PC. I think we're more likely to see them announce a slew of games for PS/Nintendo consoles.

I've actually heard more rumours this week of Xbox games going to other consoles, but that could just be the internet snowball effect or something.

@BoneMagnus,
Doesn't matter what he says any more, whether it's true or not, he'll get buried in disagrees regardless.

Father__Merrin493d ago

I think it makes sense that partial third party

shinoff2183493d ago

I feel it'll be partial. They did say game by game basis.

I am annoyed at all these xbox guys pointing to sony raising prices like the ps3. Ps3 was 600 at launch cause of bluray, with that said so

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 493d ago
Jin_Sakai494d ago

They’re going multiplatform. We knew it was coming just a matter of when.

Eonjay494d ago

As someone pointed out, this alone will make them the biggest publisher in the world. So its a win win. Xbox isn't going anywhere and PlayStation is getting the content it would have got if not for the merger.

darthv72494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

Technically... they already are. People want to know will they be even more third party now or not.

fr0sty494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

@eon Them being so hesitant to sign contracts for chips for a new Xbox, and Phil saying they may have to reconsider their strategy of remaining in the console business by 2027 are in stark contrast with your "Xbox isn't going anywhere" comments.

darthv72494d ago

@fr0sty... I thought it was posted not long ago that MS were looking into ARM tech for their next platform. The lack of a deal with AMD could certainly be a sign of that different direction.

crazyCoconuts494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

It's win win if you're comfortable with Xbox continuing to sink in the sales charts. If they continue to sink, they won't make more hardware.
I'm not sure I'd use GP subs as rationale for Xbox hardware sticking around. Heard much about GamePass lately? You think you'll get CoD for the same GP price? Now that GP growth has leveled off, I bet the love affair at MS is over

fr0sty494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

@darth

Them going with ARM would be a huge mistake, as it would put them at a big disadvantage for third party games... They would be running on a completely different architecture from the PCs many of these games are developed on, and from PlayStation... So developers would have to port every single game to a completely different architecture, which would take time and money to do, and it would cost them games as a result, in addition to performance issues due to developers not wanting to put in the time needed to optimize their games for an entirely different architecture. Think about what happened with PS3 and Cell.

FinalFantasyFanatic493d ago

@darthv72,
I'm more inclined to think they'd go to Nvidia first like Nintendo supposedly has, but we'll see.

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Kiryu1992494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

In my opinion, they will announce that they will be bringing games to other platforms maybe not day one. Also, this does not affect Xbox fanbase at all because they can still play the games on game pass.

If people on other consoles want to play, they have to pay full price or wait for a seal, unless game pass can be brought to other platforms

Just like when PlayStation brought their games to PC early on, they had some PlayStation fans mad but now no one cares it’s just part of business

Microsoft spent almost $100 billion on acquisitions and they need to make this money back or at least they want to make this money back. To Xbox fanboys it may sound good to stay at 3rd but MS wants Xbox division to be really profitable and self sustaining not needing parent company to keep funding them

fr0sty494d ago

Gamepass doesn't have to come to other platforms, they can license their games to appear on PS+ Premium, for instance, and still make money on them that way.

PhillyDonJawn494d ago

But they are profitable in fact they profit better than PS do. So being in 3rd hasn't hurt their bottom line they're still rolling in cash.

Kiryu1992494d ago

In my humble opinion

Do you have any data that backs up this claim that Xbox is more profitable than PlayStation? It doesn’t sell more games, it doesn’t sell more hardware

Xbox used its parent company funds to buy publishers. And I stand by my point:

It hurts no one if more gamers get to play the games. Why does it matter or affect an Xbox gamer if their game could be played by others. Same goes for PlayStation. That’s why PC gets best of Butt worlds while console gamers (not all but some) are arguing over who has a better plastic box

We should all enjoy our hobby and play together

mkis007494d ago

Id go a step further and say this meshes with their digital only plans for their box. Xbox is the ghost in the machine not the machine itself.

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Lightning77494d ago

Them going 3rd party. What else? I say why wait and let us know they're going full 3rd party now.

Plague-Doctor27494d ago

Probably want to wait for the fervor to die down a bit before announcing anything. And also buying time for their PR team to make sure the message comes out as best as it can

SyntheticForm494d ago

If I had to guess I'd say it's going to be pure damage control dealing with all the third party talk.

Sharky231494d ago

MS shareholders have seen how PlayStation owners buy games. They spent way too much money on publishers to keep those games exclusive. Sure if GamePass subs would have picked up and console sales went up. We wouldn’t be hearing these rumors about 3rd party. To me it’s a no brainer straight 3rd party and they will be #1 is games and making a lot of money for share holders.

Chevalier494d ago

Missing targets 2 years straight and now coming up 3rd straight year of missing targets and now high cost of this purchases makes Gamepass unsustainable.

Without Playstation and Nintendo sales they're leaving too much on the table. 25 million potential Xbox customers who don't buy games. Release games on the Switch and Playstation and 25 million goes up to 170 million potential customers.

Tzuno493d ago

All the mfkers that work on D4 will be fired :)))

shinoff2183493d ago

Lol.

So I came across this on xboxera, it's from a user with the name anecronomicon(hope I spelled it right). I personally think he's spot on

"BTW it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened: MS acquired two publishers & a total of 22,000 developers which the Xbox hardware install base is not large enough to accommodate for. It’s a sudden & unsustainable growth for a platform with roughly 30 million or so hardware owners & Gamepass subscribers.

That’s what happened. I mean after the initial ‘surprise’ at the news, it’s fairly obvious the Activision acquisition put too much sudden pressure & strain on the hardware division to sell enough consoles & achieve high enough the Gamepass subscription numbers to make the entire venture profitable.

Third placed Xbox basically cannot sustain 22,000 developers & all their output by itself. The business grew too fast beyond the scope of their hardware & services reach. Now console users are going to be in a worse position because we’re back to square one with Bethesda & Activision (which were always multiplatform anyway), it looks like Xbox Game Studios content is going multiplat as well (gross) & the hardware will take a nosedive because there’s going to be no point buying it when all their games are available elsewhere."

Basically saying with all Xbox just bought their small base cant sustain all this.

Ms isn't gonna foot the bill for another 10 to 15 trying to build that base, they've been doing it. Gamepass certainly isn't helping. Yall were so happy about those day one games, in the end it helped in all this in a negative way. Alot of ps users were trying to tell yall

1Victor493d ago

“I wonder what this could be about?”
( insert here joke about retirement/going multi platform)

I don’t know what it is but should be fun.

TheEroica493d ago

Xbox is about to make a truck load of money being a publisher with that many studios.

Master of Unlocking491d ago (Edited 491d ago )

Well, in that memo Phil Spencer doesn't flatout dismiss those rumors, so I'd say they're gonna publish a few Xbox games on the PlayStation 5, but not as many as originally planned before the outcry. That will come later, in a much more discrete manner.
I do not believe for one second he's gonna say that's it with Xbox, we're done, no more hardware and we're going the Sega route, so calm down my Xbox friends.

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MrDead494d ago

MS buys Bethesda, bans them from releasing games on their most profitable console platform takes them through two rounds of dev firings just so a handful of extremely rich people get richer and now it looks like they could be allowing Bethesda to put it's games back on PS. No new games just a movement of wealth, industry consolidation and firings, MS is a disease.

Mikeyy494d ago

Don't forget Microsoft bought Activision just to fire Bobby Kotic and save all the female developers from his sexual wrath. Oh wait, Spencer and Kotic are BFFs and Kotic got a $400 million dollar retirement payout and sailed of happily into the sunset. LMFAO. also, Microsoft layed off 2000 employees from them, How many were victims of the harassment? Convenient way to get rid of future troubles.

493d ago
theindiearmy494d ago

I've been saying all along with the Activision acquisition that their plan was to use COD as leverage to get Game Pass on Playstation. I still think that is the long game here and it starts with putting other titles on Playstation to make Game Pass more lucrative when it does launch. Wouldn't be surprised if they get Game Pass cloud streaming on Nintendo's console as well.

fr0sty494d ago

They don't need to put GamePass on PlayStation, they can still make a fortune licensing their games to PS+ Premium.

Plague-Doctor27494d ago

The guy who initially leaked all this is now saying COD isnt even coming to GamePass either

mkis007494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

How would that work though in practice? Ive been trying to figure out the logistics. Ms pays devs to have their games in the catalog, but with every new system (playstation, nintendo) they introduce the payment expands by at least double right? All those sales lost potentially to subscribers. Then you have the platform holders fee.

Barlos493d ago

GP isn't coming to playstation PlayStation. Ever. Why would Sony allow a service that competes with its own PS Plus?

theindiearmy493d ago (Edited 493d ago )

Because they like money and selling systems. Even subscription services have a fee that goes to Sony. Money they wouldn't otherwise be getting.
If MS started bringing their exclusives to Playstation via Game Pass, that would be an additional system seller for Sony.

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Lightning77494d ago

What are you a broken record? They're goin multiplat so you can stop whining every 2 seconds about it.

MrDead494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

Why? Thousands of people lost their jobs just so MS could consolidate the industry and make a few extremely wealthy people even more rich. We now have three publishers no longer competing with each other MS, Activision and Bethesda, everything MS has done has been of no benefit to the industry.

...oh yeah let's also not forget that they can pull the plug anytime and ban those publishers from releasing games on any system they want.again.

S2Killinit494d ago

They are not going multiplatform. This is just an appointment to lie.

mkis007494d ago

This could even be a reaction to the public outcry over their layoffs. Get that extra "huge" revenue source and keep those people paid next time.

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Terry_B494d ago

Inb4 a clarification that all these rumors are wrong and Xbox won't go multiplatform. Its a marketing stunt..nothing else.

crazyCoconuts494d ago

Dude that would be an interesting twist lol
That's playing with fire though... I think that's too ballsy for MS PR. At least some of these rumors are true, question is how far are they going?

Mikeyy494d ago

PR stunt? Bro they are getting very bad PR right now, from their hardcore supporters. This is a mistake if that's the case. He could have easily denied it all, but he didn't, that means something is true, How much? We'll see next week.

His message is an admission that something is up.

darthv72494d ago

Even trying to deny something is often times seen as the opposite. You would still have people saying they are lying and everything is true.

crazyCoconuts494d ago

@darth not if it's wholesale not true. "Xbox is not porting our exclusive titles to PlayStation" would have shut down the majority of this churning. Minimally there's a "yes, but" here.

Terry_B494d ago

Nay. Instead its happy face Phil saying that Xbox titles are exclusive and stay exclusive and that Xbox is the best blabla.

Something like that.

fr0sty494d ago (Edited 494d ago )

Keep in mind Phil referred to this as a "Business Update Event", not a "new game showcase" or a "future of Xbox" event... They are updating their entire business model, this event is for their shareholders (who are likely pissed that they are not making money off of this 100 billion dollar investment as they expected), not us gamers.

neomahi493d ago

Right. If it wasn't true, he'd have flat out said it's rumor. Next week, Xbox is going to make a big deal of it, and it's in their best interest to do so

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Profchaos494d ago

Or as Reggie said "it's not the same game it's not the same content"

neomahi493d ago (Edited 493d ago )

No, I beg to differ. Spencer knows he needs to do this. He's seeing now just how profitable this will be, hes seeing PS fans will give his brand the attention he wants to make his games possible for Game of the Year which means sales. They may not stop selling the Xbox Series consoles, but it takes the stress and pressure of the Series S consoles so, Xbox will finish out this console generation but next gen, they're going consoleless but they'll go multiplatform. Imagine Phil Spencer allowing Bluepoint to remaster the original Gears of War trilogy for PlayStation, not even just 4 & 5, Gears of War isn't making money anymore, but releasing the series on PlayStation, what Epic originally wanted to do with the Xbox cow milked dry, now he can go after the PlayStation crowd and make a ton of money. It's gonna happen, but Xbox won't have a next Gen console, they'll support the Xbox Series consoles to finish this gen out

Extermin8or3_493d ago

You don't organise a pres conference for that.

shinoff2183493d ago

Marketing stunt. Over on xboxera there's people saying they've canceled their gamepass. Some say they are selling their Xbox. If it is a marketing stunt it's very ass backwards.

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70°

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 devs praise games like Space Marine 2 for "lowering the barrier"

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 developers discuss the huge success of Space Marine 2 and its effect on the series as a whole.

Read Full Story >>
videogamer.com
Jingsing21h ago

How about an official level editor for Boltgun?

220°

Phil Spencer Teases 2026 As A "Really Special Year" For Xbox

2026 will mark the 25th anniversary of Xbox, and Phil Spencer has teased it as a "really special year" for the games division.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
TheEroica1d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

You got downvotes by pathetic gamers for feeling hopeful about good games coming out next year. Imagine how small your brain must be to downvote someone excited for future gaming joy? It is pretty neat to see people's world view blow up in front of them as they realize Microsoft has put themselves in a driver's seat that Sony hasn't been able to touch all generation.... What's even more pathetic is the same people downvoting you are the same people wishlisting Microsoft games on their ps5s 😂

P_Bomb1d 10h ago

“Imagine how small your brain must be to downvote someone excited for future gaming joy?”

My dude your post history shits on EVERYTHING. You never have a good thing to say about anything lol! 🤣

PanicMechanic1d 1h ago (Edited 1d 1h ago )

“Getting ready for those GaaS reveals! Sony is a shadow of themselves this gen.”

You literally said this a couple of days ago. Start applying the clown make up, you hypocritical jester

derek1d 10h ago

Yep we'll see, they have alot releasing next year.

RaidenBlack1d 7h ago

NGL, next year might be one of the best years in gaming ... starting off with RE9 and GTA VI ...
and then all the good games that's been cooking
Pragmata, Sands of Time, Saros, Gears E-Day, 007 First Light, Blood of Dawnwalker,
Mortal Shell II, Onimusha, Marvel1943: Rise of Hydra
current-gen only Infinity Ward's CoD, Duskbloods
+ My guess: Wolverine, Exodus, Mudang, Crimson Desert, Clockwork etc ...
~ seems like it might get too stacked

1Victor1d 5h ago

@rokos:”Hopefully “
I downvoted you not for been hopeful but because I have seen the same “NEXT YEAR WILL BE SPECIAL “ comment for the last 10+ and hasn’t seen anything special from Microsoft.
I hope next year will be the one that everyone been waiting for since the last 3 years of the Xbox 360, it have to be after over $80 billions spent on acquisitions.

Lightning771d 5h ago

So the new excuse is they don't count because it's from the ABK now huh. I guess all those 3rd party games count even less because they don't own them. According to your always crappy logic.

InUrFoxHole20h ago

Lol. You haven't seen anything special? Do you even game?

OtterX1d 16h ago

Always with the "next year..."! 😂

neutralgamer19921d 15h ago

I don't know they have delivered this year and even last year. And they have a lot more content in the pipeline right now than anyone else. We can't just keep hating on MS

Indiana Jones
South of midnight
Avowed
Flight simulator
Hell Blade 2
Minecraft update
Gears of war reloaded
Indian Jones:expansion
Gears E day
Clockwork revolution
Fable
Doom the dark ages
The outer worlds 2
Grounded 2
Call of duty

OtterX1d 15h ago

How many of those titles were just buyouts of companies that were going about making their games anyways? *Throws cash - "Oh look what we made!"

dveio1d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

This list, that's been posted again, and again, and again in every single topic like this, contains almost nothing, literally almost nothing from Microsoft's own creational thoughtprocess.

It's a bunch of former 3rd party IPs.

Now even slowly returning to Playstation in some cases like Indiana, Hellblade, probably Starfield soon too, after they were made exclusively to Xbox on purpose.

Due to Microsoft's lack for own IP material except Halo & Forza. Which, the lack of, was the sole reason for all of it to happen in the first place anyway. Please don't pretend it wasn't.

And just look at all the games that come from Obsidian alone.

You really think Obsidian wasn't already working on Avowed and South of Midnight even without Microsoft buying Zenimax?

Microsoft delivered nothing but cheques.

OtterX1d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

@dveio THIS. Lol, this dude thinks Call of Duty wouldn't exist without Microsoft! smh 😂

neutralgamer19921d 14h ago (Edited 1d 14h ago )

Common narrative I see often — that Microsoft shouldn’t get credit for the games its studios release because they “just bought them.” But this viewpoint ignores key context and sets a double standard that other platform holders aren’t held to

No one is saying these games wouldn't exist at all without Microsoft. But let’s not pretend that having a trillion-dollar company backing a studio doesn’t make a massive difference. Obsidian never had AAA funding before the Xbox acquisition. Pillars of Eternity was crowdfunded, and their resources were always stretched thin. Now they’re working on Avowed, with proper support behind it.

Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was made by around 20 people, using borrowed equipment and doing mocap in a boardroom. It was a passion project held together by tape and willpower. Today, Hellblade II exists because they were given resources, time, and freedom — something many developers don’t get unless they’re owned by a company that believes in their vision.

ZeniMax (Bethesda’s parent company) was in real financial trouble before the Microsoft acquisition. Reports and insider accounts have pointed out how much they needed a cash infusion. And while some people want to write off Xbox’s ownership of Bethesda titles, they forget the alternative could have meant layoffs or even closures.

The same goes for Activision Blizzard. Would you really prefer the company to stay under Bobby Kotick, after all the documented workplace misconduct and toxic leadership issues? Say what you want about Microsoft, but their acquisition brought accountability and change to a company that desperately needed it.

At the same time, Xbox gets hated on for doing what every major company does. Sony bought Housemarque, Bluepoint, Insomniac — but no one says Spider-Man 2 “doesn’t count” because of that. Why does Xbox get treated differently for acquiring struggling or undervalued developers and giving them a chance to thrive?

And the idea that Xbox locks games away is outdated. They're pushing cross-platform releases, cloud gaming, Game Pass, and backward compatibility more than any other platform holder. They're not forcing all studios into live service. If anything, their upcoming lineup is less GAAS-heavy and more focused on narrative and creativity — Avowed, South of Midnight, Clockwork Revolution, Fable, Perfect Dark, Towerborne, and others show real variety.

Whether people like it or not, Xbox is now the biggest publisher in the industry and owns the most gaming IPs. But what matters more is how they treat their studios. Most of these teams were previously stuck making AA games with limited scope — now they’re getting the tools and support to aim higher.

So when people say “Microsoft didn’t make those games,” they’re missing the point. It’s not about who started the studio — it’s about who enabled them to do their best work. You don’t have to love Xbox to admit they’ve helped a lot of developers and are taking a player-first approach.

Instead of writing off everything they do, maybe try recognizing the good they’re doing for both devs and gamers. At the end of the day, we should want more studios to succeed — no matter who owns them

BeHunted1d 14h ago

I'm surprised Clockwork Revolution (BioShock meets Dishonored) isn't getting more media attention. The game looks interesting and reminds me of the old RPG games.

anast1d 13h ago

The only good game on that list is Flight sim. The rest are either average or will be average. It's not a good look for MS.

TheEroica1d 13h ago

My god.... Look how many comments are upset about microsoft's successes... 😂 This may be my new favorite thread. Not one gamer saying thanks for all the goodness coming their way, just bitter anger and downvoting the very games they themselves will purchase throughout 2026.... Sony really worked you guys over this generation.... Condolences.

DivineHand1251d 12h ago

@neutralgamer1992 You said what needed to be said.

I have heard for years from older gamers that fanboys are the biggest issue with any fanbase. They will defend or gloss over negative news as long as the correct logo is on the box and they bash the competing platform no matter how much good they are trying to bring.

Right now their advocacy for PlayStation is elevating that platform so high that Sony no longer believes they need to do anything to satisfy their loyal fanbase like they did in the PS4 days.

I just hope most of them will eventually start advocating for themselves and encourage others to do the same. No one should blindly support one platform because these companies do not care about anything other than profit.

neutralgamer19921d 12h ago

Hunted

And first proper game done by the studio with proper AAA budget and saying it will be released when ready

Anast

I believe we went through this before that you are objectively wrong. Meta critic, user reviews, game sales. In Playstation top 10 best selling games were 5 from Microsoft studios

Otter

No this dude is saying so many other studios wouldn't be thriving without MS money and people would be getting abused physically and mentally with Bobby kotick and his side kicks

Also maybe look up how the original founder of Bethesda and zenimax was kicked out of his own company by his best friend lawyer. So that was always a shady place and had been struggling financially before MS paid a premium of almost 7 billion

Eroica

I use to be a die hard Playstation fan and now I only have a Pc. I see how these fans are so toxic. They just can't handle any positive news regarding Xbox. When the best selling games on playstation are Xbox titles. Look at Forza horizon being best seller and that's years old game by MS. I guess ms don't deserve credit for that success too since they are the only company in gaming making acquisitions

Forget the fact Sony paid 3.6 billion for bungie and MS 6.9 for zenimax. Which investment has turned out better

Destiny and marathon with a lot of controversy

While zenimax output is nothing short of amazing compared to what bungie has released

crazyCoconuts1d 11h ago

Yeah it's tricky. "Xbox" has morphed to mean different things to different people.
Console, now Windows, GamePass, and the cross platform games. There's a mix of attitudes towards all those things individually, and maybe an overarching attitude towards MS. But can't argue that the game companies MS recently bought continue to flourish, and GamePass PC has been a great value over the last year.

InUrFoxHole20h ago

@OtterX
You're the dude mad at your exes new guy. She's with someone else... get over it.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 20h ago
Lightning771d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

They've had good output so far. So waiting for those games shouldn't be a problem.

Who cares if they're buy outs of companies or whatever excuse you want to make. They're games that are being distributed to other console. Play the games and enjoy it instead of fanboying or complaining.

ocelot071d 14h ago

They going to be a he best and biggest publisher on Xbox, Playstation and PC next year. They not really said anything about Switch 2 though spite claiming to be big supporters.

quenomamen1d 14h ago

If you call making one last Xbox before going full Sega, as Great. Then yea.

TheEroica1d 12h ago

Doesn't feel like you're paying attention to what's happening.

RhinoGamer881d 13h ago

It will be, his net work will hit 50 million and he plans to buy a new mansion in Cape Cod. Thanks everyone! #failup

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