EvenStephen7

“Game engineer is harder than being a rocket scientist.”

I bet it’s not.

But I still don’t envy it regardless. A surprisingly transparent conversation between an exec producer and fans. I wish the gaming industry could get more of this type of correspondence back (it seemed to be more common years ago when gaming was much smaller).

I wish Gears could return to its 1-3 heyday. But I don’t know if Cliffy B is still the guy who could do it.

An OEM expert promoted to CVP is interesting...

It’s telling that he said these decisions are “for the better of Xbox” not “for the better of Xbox fans.”

This game seemed to fly under radar at release, but between being on PS+ a few months ago and Gamepass now, it’s great to see it finally get an audience.

Highly reccomend checking it out. I know it’s a game I wasn’t interested in but everything changed once I started playing.

@Grumblevolcano …..holy cow. I never thought about this before but you may be right.

https://youtu.be/Va5_rn3vG3A?si=ZA-UaFpnAPMYkU-w

So he’s gone from writing music about fighting the Covenant to…..joining the Covenant.

How far the mighty have fallen.

I don’t know if it’s my location or what, but Series X and PS5 both run fantastically on the cloud — I sometimes forget I’m even streaming the game. A great way to test games out before downloading.

And even better, Xcloud on my phone is a great way to play in bed.

@OldGamer999 Conversely, working from home benefits businesses by giving them the widest pool of applicants and building a dream team. Not great for less talented applicants or people without a big track record of success though.

But agreed, it has to be something that still benefits the business too. High employee morale means a lot, but not if it comes at inefficiencies or the business is unable to navigate remote work.

@GuyinPA75 Also sales, marketing, and programming jobs are great for WFH. I work for one of the fastest-growing tech unicorns, and we couldn't have scaled efficiently without being spread out across the country. It also enabled us to hire the best of the best, instead of relying on everyone being in one city.

I think there's certainly an argument for a lack of spontaneous ideas in hallways, but I don't think you can support studies that back that up while also handwaving away studies that show just how efficient and productive remote work is too.

And I get it — remote work isn't for everyone. Some people just don't have the discipline, some want to socialize more. People should be able to choose the culture that works best for them and their needs, and not every company has the tools or is capable of bringing people together remotely. But "playtime is over" is a comically inaccurate and dismissive way of looking at it. We wouldn't be the success story we are without it. And good Lord, the number of offices where I worked and people just socialized all day and got nothing done; the boss may have demanded "butts in seats" like grade school, but people weren't producing. Lazy employees will find ways to skirt by, regardless of they're in the office or at home.

The world of technology and work is always evolving. Every company should be able to decide what kind of culture they want and talent they want to pull from. But there isn't a wrong way. Especially when employees have choice.

That said, I get why Rockstar is doing this to get a big project across the finish line. But I can't blame anyone for being disappointed either. And there might be a talent drain as people head out to find other companies that succeed remotely.

I mean, it’s a cool idea. But this reminds me of when people would make Halo or Sonic in Dreams: a novelty at best that feels like a pale imitation of the real thing.

I’m actually really curious how Hi—Fi Rush will use the PS5 Dualsense. There’s a lot of opportunity for that game to leverage haptics. It’d make a second playthrough worth it for me.

Why is Halo not on PS5? Why is Mario not on Xbox?

Sony funded Helldivers and they own the IP. Xbox isn’t bringing over its exclusives day one to PS5, why the expectation that it happens in the other direction? Especially when Helldivers 2 became a huge breakout hit and there are already multiple ways to play (PC and PS5).

Exclusives aren’t going anywhere for now. I understand not everyone has the money, but if you do you there’s so much benefit to getting all the consoles. Especially if not getting to play a game is this upsetting.

"I’m not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox."

"But I get it....we do the same thing."

NGL, I like this stance that the goal is to "not make everyone a Gamepass subscriber." That feels like a little bit of a massaging of previous messaging.

I get that there's value in Gamepass. I understand how it's very valuable for some. But it just isn't for me. I tried a year back in the One days and let it lapse. Got three years when I got my Series X, and will let it lapse next month when it's up.

Who knows, maybe I'll resubscribe here and there down the road. But people have gotten overly aggressive with me in the past that I'm daring to play my Xbox with the digital library I own and not Gamepass. I've always felt that Xbox is a valuable console on its own without the near-$200 annual subscription fee on top — it's just another way to play.

With all the leaks around an Xbox portable (and Philly Spence liking tweets about it), that seems like a safe bet.

That and the Dualsense-esque Xbox controller.

@HonestHick Couldn't agree more with all of this. Also so nice to occasionally hear I'm not crazy for not loving Gears 4 and 5, despite being a huge fan of the 360 games.

(My hottest of takes since we're on the topic: I preferred Halo 5's campaign to Halo Infinite, though to be fair I didn't play H5 until 2021 — well after all the drama subsided)

Master Chief Collection for my refrigerator screen confirmed.

The Master Chief Collection is the only game to permanently live on my Series X (I even snatched it on sale recently to I'll always have a copy, regardless of my Gamepass status).

No Man's Sky gets all the attention for turning around a disaster, but MCC is equally as impressive in my book. This collection is borderline-necessary now for anyone interested in gaming (and Xbox) history. So glad to hear 343 continues to monitor and tweak.

Every update on this is a dagger through the heart. So many of my favorite IPs and great teams, shuttered.

It's clear Embracer is morally bankrupt for gambling with peoples' livelihoods and doing business with the Saudis. They thought they could make an easy flip and get the hell out, without understanding the industry (and basic business sense with how fast they went on a buying spree). Gaming is probably more top-heavy than a lot of outsiders suspect — they see the Fortnights and Zeldas and Grand Theft Autos of the world and think they can get a piece of that pie too. But for every major gaming franchise making billions, there are hundreds more not even hitting sales expectations. Just having a portfolio of a bunch of game IPs doesn't mean anything.

Adding Calm the week off the Xbox business update is pretty funny timing.

@Banjo- Have a great day!

@Banjo- No, I’m not going to hold your hand and walk through each comment here, then cross-reference them against the original story (where at least one of the above posters had comments removed for their views on women in the workforce).

But judging by how many people hearted my comment, many people here saw the same thing I did and agree. So many it’s a you problem?

Instead of attempts to lecture through failed attempts at false equivalence and slippery slope fallacy (btw it’s called a “fallacy” for a reason), maybe time would be better spent on reflecting on how it’s obvious you’re playing the willfull ignorance card and how that’s never a good look.

No one’s afraid of saying anything because she’s a woman. Clearly.

I see some people are confused. I see some comments that are dismissive because she's a woman. I also see a comment from a user who has shared cringy sexist comments on PX before.

I'm not sure what the issue here is. Johanna is a rare hire who actually comes from within the industry, and was GM of one of the biggest brands in gaming. A VP in the NFL before that is equally impressive — and shows a record of success outside of gaming (remember, like every other business, some of gaming's most foward-thinking execs came from other industries, like Peter Moore from Reebock).

Sounds to me like a talented exec with a track record of success. Microsoft knows what they're doing.

I'm sure she'll do great.

It’s going to be Spence Philler, who looks suspiciously like Phil Spencer with a flimsy fake mustache.

@Kaloudz I'm thinking so too. But I'm still a little nervous until we get confirmation. Surely there will be SOME kind of solution.

As long as I can keep my old Xbox games like Mortal Kombat 9!

I'm like 95% digital but I do have a handful of physical games — and they're mostly BC ones. There are a few that are insanely expensive to buy digitally (or delisted from the store altogether) but you can still get more affordably physically used.

I hope there's some way to convert my physical copies to digital — even if it's a few bucks. Or maybe a detachable disc drive. Otherwise, this undercuts their whole argument about Xbox allowing your "libraries to carry with you."

@Adol-Bannings That sucks you went through that, and I'm sorry you weren’t liked and respected enough by your old coworkers. Hopefully that’s changed.

@Banjo- I understand. And obviously Microsoft is a megacorp in a capitalistic society; they're (understandably) not a charity. Like I said, I get it. All I was trying to do was offer a show of support to those affected and a reminder that there are bigger things at stake than games.

@Banjo- I say this with all respect: I think you might be reading a little too much into my comment.

I'm not arguing against most of what you throughout those paragraphs. I'm saying: getting laid off is awful. I think people need to take a beat and recognize that peoples' lives are being upended, and that's more important than toys and games (just look at some of these comments!).

It was just a call for civility. Which I guess was my fault, this is the internet.

That said, going through your comments: I agree Xbox needs to be restructured and crunch sucks regardless of who is doing it.

But layoffs are sad, and I don't know how you can look at it anything else at the moment — even if it's an unfortunate side of doing business. There are nearly 2K people (more, considering those left but still affected and demoralized) who are feeling VERY sad today.

@Banjo- …… I’m not blaming Gamepass users? I’m saying too many people always attack or get horribly dismissive because they’re only interested in their own wants.

But yea, I’ll always roll my eyes and mock fanboys, regardless of their console.

This sucks for those affected and I wish people wouldn’t wave it away because of brand loyalty. If you’ve never been through a layoff, you have no idea how awful it can be.

Not sure why having a 3 console avatar is a problem though. I’m an adult who makes good money and play across all consoles. Many users on PureXbox are the same.

This screengrab would be auto-uploaded and get you banned from Xbox.

@GhanaViking That's a good point about the Activision purchase, and agreed. But yea, this feels weirdly like a closing of the book. Here's hoping to brighter days ahead again.

Wow. Bombshell after bombshell today.

I figured if anyone was going to stick around, it was an ex-Microsoft guy like Yara. Unless he wasn't happy to be back under his old employer and hit the exit (his exit statement seems to suggest this).

This weirdly feels like the death of the old Blizzard and the end of an era. Going to be curious to see what the next chapter holds.

@Fishticon (presumably) at some point. But it has been radio silence.

Holy *****, that’s a huge number.

Unfortunately, too many gamers won’t even care about the families and the stress and the horrible ripple effects that come from this — because they get Activision games on Gamepass.

I get this kind of thing happens in business and everyone knew people were going to lose their jobs (though not to this degree). I just wish people wouldn’t wave it off either. Being laid off is a horrible, stressful situation. It's not the time for console wars or fanboying BS.

Sincerely wishing everyone affected the best and that they get on their feet fast. And really hope this is the last round of layoffs in MS and gaming in general (but I sadly won’t hold my breath for either).

I also realized that Xbox following the Dualsense would benefit gamers across both consoles. 3rd-party devs are less likely to implement unique gameplay mechanics involving haptics just for PS5 (like the touchpad on PS4 was underutilized outside of first-party), but if there’s parity across both they’ll be more incentivized.

Kind of like how having a SSD on both has benefited 3rd-party games that want to use it for unique gameplay moments.

I’d love for the Xbox controller to copy the Dualsense.

Honestly, I’m not a fan of my Series X controller in general compared to the Switch Pro or Dualsense — the SX just feels cheap and has those loud clickity-clacky buttons. A sturdier update would be welcomed.

Indy looked great, which is exciting since Uncharted has ended for now and I'm eager for something to play in that space (plus I'm a huge Indy fan). This might be most most anticipated Xbox game of the entire Series gen so far.

But I have to be honest, the rest of the show did nothing for me.

Does this mean we can stop with the persecution complex that "Square hates Xbox?"

Welp, grabbing Hellblade finally. Still haven't played it yet but at that price it's too hard to pass up.

Infinite has long been deleted from my Series X, but MCC is a permanent fixture.

I'm going to repeat myself from the last story on this, but there have been plenty of times that I've accidentally hit that little share button on the controller — and knowing doing that can get me banned makes me nervous about playing ANY M-rated games on my Xbox.

I get the need for enforcement for Xbox shares, but if they're this upset about content on M-rated games then maybe these games shouldn't be on Xbox in the first place.

Get rid of the auto uploading and stop placing all the onus on your consumers. This is the crappy, mindless anti-consumer attitude that Microsoft has always been accused of having. You're better than this, team Xbox.

That could be — I can't speak to Starfield's complexity since I never bothered. I was just playfully teasing, since NMS does all those things you listed (again, just perhaps not as well or as complex).

First the fridge, now this.

Pundits were right: Xbox is leaving the console game. They're clearly getting into kitchen appliances.

@Kezelpaso It definitely feels like it owes a lot to Bioshock's aesthetic/setting and gameplay — I think anyone would took one look at this trailer and have the same reaction. I think you're spot on and didn't need to tweak anything personally.

That said this looks interesting! Very excited to check this out and a great example of Gamepass giving a game exposure that I'd normally skip over.

The discourse around this game is getting predictable. Some people hate it and act like it's the worst game ever. Others, sometimes in a need to rush to team Xbox's defense, act like it's the best game that ever came out (let alone GoTY in one of the best gaming years ever).

Like most things, the vast silent majority seems to be in the middle: lukewarm at best, mildly disappointed at worst.

(Me? As soon as Todd Howard said you need to play this game for 100 hours before it "really starts," I knew it wasn't for me and uninstalled before starting — but I get how that's different for everyone)

I'm really looking forward to a new year and a new divisive topic that everyone can split into warring factions over.

@J_Mo_Money “What other game can you have multiple guns with modding, visit multiple planets, have tons of side quest, a base building game on planets, extract minerals, build/steal ships, and have a new game plus where each one can feel different the last?”

….not to be a jerk, but No Man’s Sky?