Topic: Why Xbox had such a weak 1st party 2022 presence *theory*

I have been wondering if Microsoft intentionally did not show off much this year in terms of 1st party upcoming games, and allowed all 23 of their developers to either push back or delay their games into 2023 and beyond all the sake of the upcoming Activision Blizzard deal. It has been made clear from early on this year that this deal is HUGE and something both Microsoft and Acti-Blizz both want very badly. And they knew they had a rough battle coming up, meaning they are going to have to convince not only the FTC but also EU regulators why this deal needs to go through. If they had Starfield and another two or three major exclusive games released this year it could have very well put a really bad image on them on why the FTC and EU regulators should NOT allow this deal to go through, for example, Starfield just launched and it's exclusive, this will also happen with all Acti-Blizz upcoming games, etc.

It is very possible that as time went on it become clear to both companies that this deal was not going to go through smoothly and they will need all the weak presence image they can get. Would this be part of the reason Microsoft has shown off so little and had one of the weakest years every? It does put them in a better position to argue their reason to the FTC and others on why they need this purchase to go through, what are your thoughts?

@Ashadelo I really doubt that the deal for A/B was a primary reason for the weak 2022.

Their games have been known about for quite a while and just because they were 'delayed', doesn't mean that those games would somehow be 'overlooked' in this deal because they haven't released yet seems absurd. It's not as if those games aren't coming 'soon' and would be known about by all the Organisations involved.

The FTC have tried to use both Starfield and Redfall as 'examples' of MS breaking a promise to the EU Commission regarding exclusives - something the EU refuted and had to issue a statement on clarifying MS had NOT misled or lied to them regarding the 'future'. They let MS buy Zenimax pretty much 'unconditionally' as they felt that it was in no-way likely to harm consumers and certainly improves the competition...

Point is, you need to look at the FTC, particularly the person in charge who also tried to Block Meta buying a VR developer and LOST because that person has a personal vendetta against 'big' corporations like Facebook, Microsoft etc and doing what they can to 'block' ANY expansion regardless of whether it benefits Consumers, Competition etc - that's why their arguments are so weak and why MS and A/B have and will countersue the FTC if they do decide to take it to court - Both have sent letters to basically accuse the FTC of breaking US laws and expect a judge to throw them out, awarding them with all their legal costs and of course letting the deal conclude...

I am sure MS expected 'some' pushback from Sony, but as ALL the other major players in the industry, as well as numerous territories already passing the deal, but they probably didn't anticipate the FTC to make themselves look 'stupid' in a last desperate attempt to Block a deal that actually benefits Consumers - something they were set up to do!!

regulators know far more than what people in the comments think.

they will be aware of exclusives etc.

i think its more the studios are being poorly managed is the issue, which will improve as they all get used to working together/what MS demand etc

I have my doubts. However, the decision to sue was handed down the same day, and MS execs were probably focused on the ABK deal for some time. Spencer and Bond have a heavy presence in all Xbox game presentations. The FTC & CMA cause distraction and lower morale.

IMO the better move would have been to show a few trailers of games that have not had updates. Possibly this would bring up other concerns...who knows.

If Microsoft is working on their own show, they need to announce something soon. I get the feeling Xbox & Bethesda feels pressure to make the Starfield debut grand, so they keep holding out. Meanwhile, the dozens of other games in development have to be catching up.