Banjo-

@MinervaX76

I'm not going to say I like it.

I mean liking that she is being straightforward and honest. That's why I said "reading", because I was referring to her statements. It's much better than hiding the truth and what Microsoft really expects from this reboot. Nadella said it in his interview, Microsoft has been subsidising Xbox. Asha has a chance to reboot it and keep the Xbox division profitable. The alternative would be killing the division from the perspective of Nadella and the stockholders.

We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses [...] in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation.

Someone needs to fix that.

@MinervaX76 Of course. Some users state that others (us?) are happy about people being fired. That is utterly false. We are just trying to find reasons, explanations and likely outcomes. It's much easier to be demagogic and disrespect everyone else's opinions. I want to know the truth and what can be done to improve things.

Since Asha joined Xbox, we have learned many things that were unknown until now. I mean facts, not rumours that could be true or false. I'm shocked to read a CEO being so brutally honest and straightforward. We are not used to this, but I like it.

On topic, Id, Machine and The Coalition are all excellent developers, so I believe that they are able to maintain and use the same in-house engine efficiently.

@Millionski Yep, they definitely need to do something to be relevant in the PC market, especially after releasing Helix and merging both ecosystems and stores.

If the Halo remake was outsourced to Abstraction and others and Halo Studios moved away from Slipspace after Halo Infinity, no reason to not use IW from now on despite previous statements made during Phil's tenure. Machine could also use it since they are incredibly good at Id Tech, just check Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The advantages of doing so are cutting costs, streamlining development and supporting each other. They could even invest more resources in the engine if they only need to maintain one for Xbox shooters. The Coalition uses Unreal Engine 5 masterfully, so no reason why they wouldn't achieve the same results on IW.

@Titntin I have the Switch version which is pretty good.

@Markatron84 @MinervaX76 I wonder why Halo Studios do not move to IW instead.

@Titntin Cool! The only game of that kind that I like as much is Extreme-G, another British game.

As stated by others, it may be that they are replacing Id Tech with IW, since both engines are based on the same source and are seemingly capable of doing the same.

@Titntin Wasn't it originally developed by Psygnosis? Basically, the only game I regularly play on PS4 is the remastered compilation Wipeout Omega Collection.

@MinervaX76 Xbox owns Ori. Both entries are on Game Pass. I have no idea about Cuphead's rights, but it's not on Game Pass. My last comment was more about Game Pass revealing the secret details.

@TheSimulator That's exactly why I ask. Asha let the studios go with all the new IPs which is generous and unusual, but it would be even weirder to also renounce the publishing rights to the games they made as first-party studios. For instance, when Tango was transferred to Krafton, they kept the Hi-Fi Rush IP, but Xbox kept Ghostwire Tokyo and The Evil Within. Additionally, Xbox kept the publishing rights to Hi-Fi Rush 1.

@MysticWangForce @Titntin Wipeout has always been my favourite Sony IP.

@fatpunkslim All good points. Since all the parties involved here agreed on the terms, there might be specific and atypical conditions in each case. South of Midnight is a good example because it's a new IP and game made while owned by Xbox, so perhaps Xbox just transferred the publishing rights to Compulsion. Since Blade is an external IP, the deal was with Xbox, so they still will be involved in that project if it's not cancelled.

@MinervaX76 I guess that if we see games that they have made for Xbox on Game Pass in 2027 and beyond, Xbox kept the publishing rights to those games. Yes, it could also be that they signed third-party deals, but that wouldn't make sense if those games didn't engage players as expected. I think that Game Pass will tell us what games Xbox kept the publishing rights to.

@Jaxx420 Actually, ABK is profitable. She excluded it when stating the 3% profitability that now we know was the red numbers by Compulsion, Double Fine, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs dragging the rest of Xbox Game Studios down. The only other studio affected is Zenimax's Arkane. Of course, I expect the whole ABK to be restructured with most of those layers being removed, e.g., she wants Mojang and King to report to her directly. You could say that the whole Xbox division was so bloated that these numbers are reasonable and you could also say that being bloated was not sustainable because Microsoft is not willing to subsidise Xbox anymore.

@MinervaX76 @Grognard66 Yes, I understand that deal, but I was asking about the entries released while the studio was owned by Xbox.

I think that Xbox legally keeps the publishing rights to those games, e.g., Psychonauts 2, for some years. We have seen this before, with Goldeneye 007 being one of the best examples when Nintendo lost the publishing rights after ten years. Another good example is Fatal Frame, IP owned by Koei Tecmo and Nintendo owning the publishing rights to Mask of the Lunar Eclipse until they expired. If the law hasn't changed, Xbox will have the publishing rights to those games for ten years, while Take Two will have the publishing rights to The Outer Worlds 1 until 2029.

This is, obviously, my opinion, but most of the games copying its formula are more boring, e.g., Horizon Zero Dawn and Breath of the Wild. Ironically, Ubisoft's take on Breath of the Wild is much more fun and pleasant to play: Immortals Fenyx Rising.

I'm not saying that Ubisoft's games are perfect. I skipped most of the optional stuff in some of the Assassin's Creed titles, because of the many collectibles, but I also skipped half of the Koroks in Breath of the Wild and even more in Tears of the Kingdom.

Since I got the Xbox One and then Series X, I have played all the Assassin's Creed games in release order, taking a break just before Origins. I skipped Black Flag because of the remake rumours, so of course I'll get this remake.

@Jaxx420 This business is always at risk because the investments are big and the results come years later, so not many chances are given. However, Obsidian is very efficient and makes different kinds of games. They are busy with Grounded 2 right now, which is proving successful in early access.

@Jaxx420 They have explained that there were as many as 14 layers of management and that platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, so that would explain the staff reduction across the board.

Obsidian is a studio that manages budgets and development time well and their games meet good reception, so I don't think that they'll stop doing their own projects.

Asha is doing a very difficult job very well so far. None of the studios have been closed and no games have been cancelled. I wish these studios the best and, as a gamer, I will purchase the games I'm interested in. In this case, State of Decay 3.

Do they also own the games (not IPs) that they released while owned by Xbox or do those titles belong to Xbox? Examples: Hellblade II, Psychonauts 2... My understanding is that they own the games they are currently working on and the IPs to make more entries, but I am not completely sure.

@CallMeDuraSouka State of Decay 3 looks almost finished to me. I think that Xbox should have kept the studio until the game was released, but they probably rushed the reset for the FY27. Whoever buys them, they have at least one hit. I also hope that they don't ruin the concept. Same for Ninja Theory, I think that they have also purchased the studio's best game yet.

@Jaxx420 To be totally honest with you, from now on, I see Sony doing mainstream and commercial stuff more than Xbox. I think that Xbox still has enough IPs and studios to make different kind of stuff and Obsidian is a great example. Yes, Double Fine's games aren't bad, but they were not selling and the last two were certainly questionable: Keeper and Kiln. Ninja Theory and Compulsion's games flopped on PS5 and Switch 2, so it wasn't because of Game Pass. Ninja Theory just took to long to make a short awesome-looking but short, simple and linear game. I like Undead Labs, but it took them forever to fix State of Decay 2 and develop the third entry, which is not even finished. All these studios are surviving, the only difference is that we might not see their games on Game Pass, but we'll be able to buy their games for Xbox, anyway. Most of this stuff was not selling well and was way too expensive for what it was. Seven or eight years was way too long for games that most people didn't care about. They just spent way too much and almost dragged the whole division down.

@Kilamanjaro Phil Spencer was a genuine player but didn't know how to run a gaming business. I've read all of Asha's statements and she sounds like an accountant that takes into account what the players really want to play, which is the combination that Xbox needs right now.

Regarding the layoffs at Zenimax, I don't believe for a second that they are getting rid of Id Tech nor its programmers... unless they are replacing Id Tech with IW Engine being that both are based on the same source?

@ilyn They don't need to beat Steam and it would not be a locked platform being available on console and PC. Xbox has 50m+ active console players (Series & Xbox One) and Steam has 132m monthly active users. I don't see why the Xbox store would fail. I'd even argue that some Steam users would also become Xbox users if they are able to play their Steam games on the Xbox ecosystem and see their whole PC library together. However, releasing their first-party content on Steam on day one might kill their own PC store, because right now the PC market is dominated by Steam.

@Coletrain

@Millionski

Would be sad to have folks launching into Helix in 2030 only to go to steam big picture. As they are pulling from consoles, this will mean losing on PC as well.

They should extend the exclusivity to their own PC store. At the end of the day, their store will be on every PC, not just Helix. Releasing games on competing PC stores does not make much sense. Yes, I know Steam is the most popular PC store, but that's also the reason why they should favour their own platform for long-term stability.

@Millionski I'm convinced of Helix being the best choice for the next generation, especially for those of us that already have an Xbox library, that will survive the hypothetical death of consoles, since Xbox games will be PC games next generation, and previous Xbox will be playable on PC's Xbox Mode, with the latest hints pointing at, as we suspected, Xbox and Xbox 360 backwards compatible games.

Id Tech is an amazing engine. Indiana Jones, not developed by Id for a shooter but by Machine for an adventure, is one of the best games of the generation. I know that what Bethesda does involves moving hundreds of items freely, so why not update their engine like everybody does, Epic included? They don't need Unreal Engine. Starfield is a very solid game in my experience (on Series X).

It seems that this is related to this:

We know that great technology gets better when it gets simpler, not bigger. Today, in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, even as our player base and playtime have declined. That complexity has slowed decisions, blurred accountability, and made it harder to deliver for players.

They might also get rid of some leading roles if they consider that they have not been doing a good job this generation.

@Millionski Plus, they can always sign third-party deals to include a different kind of content in Game Pass without risking eight years of in-house development.

@cragis0001 Yes, State of Decay 2 became an awesome game after the patches. It took a long time, but State of Decay 3 is almost finished. I thought that, because it took so long, it would be their last chance as an Xbox studio, so I was not expecting the studio to be sold before releasing this game.

I don't know if Hellblade III is in an advanced stage of development, but it looks like they are focusing more on the gameplay and that's good. I suspect that all these studios received a warning because, after seven years of development, the last part of South of Midnight seems a bit rushed, and Double Fine, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs all picked up the pace recently, Double Fine choosing to make small games like Keeper and Kiln, Ninja Theory overhauling the gameplay and Undead Labs speeding development up.

@BLKxHER0 This is just a report. Starfield 2 could happen.

@darylb24 It also explains why Hellblade III and State of Decay 3 were not chosen as console exclusives.

I posted that the rumours about Obsidian closing were false before they were shut down by Bloomberg. The affected studios kind of make sense from a business and performance point of view, but I'm happy that they are not closed, especially Undead Labs, because I'm looking forward to State of Decay 3. I wish the best to the four of them and to Arkane.

@MinervaX76 Yes. Another bit in that direction:

We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses.

@CallMeDuraSouka As you know, I didn't believe that State of Decay 3 was going to be cancelled because it was almost finished. It is the only game affected by the rumours that I was looking forward to playing. Anyway, you were right when you believed that they were looking for a buyer. I'm just glad that the studio is not closed and the game is not cancelled.

Today's statement is revealing.

By the way, Asha should visit Rare soon and make them work on the most-requested IPs besides Sea of Thieves DLC and new artistic projects that do not "Ever" become games.

@CoolDadTx She says nothing about rushing, but investing more in the key IPs. The difference with Ubisoft is that, for a time, Ubisoft relied almost exclusively on one IP, Assassin's Creed, while Microsoft owns dozens of popular IPs. They don't need to output yearly releases.

The statement is very worth reading. It clears most of the questions and doubts on this very thread about the expenses and positions that are being eliminated. Example:

We know that great technology gets better when it gets simpler, not bigger. Today, in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, even as our player base and playtime have declined. That complexity has slowed decisions, blurred accountability, and made it harder to deliver for players. As we reset XBOX, we will simplify.

We will reduce management layers to no more than 5, and where possible, 3. We will deliver success through a flatter organization that is built around makers (individual contributors focused on building), player-coaches (leaders who remain deeply involved in the work while developing their teams), and directly responsible individuals (DRIs) who own key decisions and outcomes. And we will streamline how we work across our tools, with a cleaner code base, shared services, and 50% reduced vendor spend.

This year, we’ll invest as much in XBOX as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making XBOX where the world plays and creates.

I thought we all agreed that Bethesda needed an overhaul. I would love a studio to work on The Evil Within 3 (IP owned by Microsoft), though. It's more "classic" than modern Resident Evil, in some ways.

I love Bethesda and I love Machine Games, that made one of the best games of the generation, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

At the end of the day, I'm sure that most of us feel relieved to learn that none of the announced games are being cancelled and that none of the rumoured studio closures have happened despite the rumours. The only studio whose future is not defined is Arkane, and I guess it's because they didn't want to become independent nor found a new parent company.

@NeoRatt She also confirmed that the "other" platforms all have exclusive content and that they need to invest more in their key IPs and studios before this statement, so I expect more exclusives and a better received first-party output.

@LaurenceJ1987 Good point about Game Pass content, but from their point of view, it's infinitely cheaper to sign Game Pass deals with Double Fine and Compulsion, both becoming independent now, than paying 8 years of development for short games.

@NeoRatt Right. Some people tend to forget that the infrastructure had to be simplified after the ABK acquisition because there were many duplicated departments and positions. In this case, not only these acquisitions didn't work out as expected, but the infrastructure was still bloated unnecessarily. It's unfortunate when people are made redundant, but it happens in every big business, including Sony, Ubisoft, Tencent, Embracer...

In addition, Compulsion Games (We Happy Few, South of Midnight) and Double Fine Productions (Psychonauts 2, Kiln) are transitioning to independent studios, while Ninja Theory (Hellblade) and Undead Labs (State of Decay 3) are being sold off. Arkane Studios (Marvel's Blade) is also reviewing strategic options.

So not as bad as expected. Compulsion Games was rumoured to be closed down. Some "leakers" even included Obsidian on their list, not to mention the cancellation of many announced games. There have been so many sponsored Youtubers and "journalists", lies and toxicity surrounding Xbox lately.

Asha had previously said that they'd like to invest more resources in their key IPs and studios, so hopefully it means a better performing business. And no, Game Pass is not the culprit because South of Midnight flopped on Xbox, PS5 and Switch 2.

My favourite of all the affected studios is Undead Labs, so I will still support their releases whoever the new parent company is.

It would be funny if Helix had a disc reader and Sony's console did not, being that Sony co-owns Blu-ray and doesn't pay for the licence. Xbox should release an external disc drive and solve both problems — cost and controversy — at the same time. It could be used to market their backwards compatibility and to please physical collectors. At this point, it's a no-brainer. Moreover, it would be one of the few devices available for playing CDs, DVD and BDs.

Fable III. It's the one that looks and plays the best on Series X (4K and perfect 60fps), but I'm happy I played the other two. The first one really impressed me. It's one of those games that I'll never forget. I will also enjoy a bit of swimming and sunshine, not too much because of my fair skin. 😁

Happy weekend.

@Llamageddon To be fair, the Elite Series 3 photos were leaked. I love Xbox controllers, but my Xbox Elite Series 1 and 2 died earlier than expected. I have one but don't like Gamesir controllers. I tried 8BitDo Ultimate 3-mode Controller - Rare 40th Anniversary Edition but it's too small for my hands. I just pre-ordered 8BitDo Ultimate 3E Controller which looks awesome and it's almost the same size as the Xbox One/Elite Series 1 controller which is the perfect size and shape in my opinion. If the Elite Series 3 is good quality and has features like TMR sticks, I'm getting it. I love the d-pad and triggers of the regular Series X controller, but my 2020 controller is a bit worn-down.

I haven't hunted points like others, but still my lifetime is 702,248, which equals a considerable amount of money. I always use them for Xbox credit, so I turned auto-redeem on, because for a little while it was a better deal. Now it's the same deal, I think. I haven't paid for many games, so I can't complain! Balance now is 7,688, so I have redeemed 694,560 points.

It looks great for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Where is the leaked Xbox Elite Series 3? I really need a new controller.

@Questionable_Duck Yep, besides being able to play on future hardware and with free upgrades, you get the PC version with Play Anywhere and the Cloud version with Game Pass. Moreover, if the report is true, you will be able to play Xbox One and Series X discs without inserting them — but once — on any Xbox console.

@Fishmasterflex96 I believe that Xbox will keep preserving our digital libraries and if they do not, I will be the first to complain and you won't hear the end of it.

@Fishmasterflex96 I think that Xbox users are not as worried about digital because of how well Xbox preserves the digital libraries. Not just that, but next-gen versions are released at no additional cost. It doesn't make you feel like you are being screwed.