@Sindayl what are you talking about? The adventure of Elliot is amazing and only a few months old.

So. Google Stadia all over again. That worked so well the first time, let’s try again.

Stupid decision…

This really feels like the first episode of black mirror. Everybody is in a box cycling for some credit to watch advertisements.

@RTGX 2nd job

This is just an AI lab with a different name.

@AI-Generation all these games were greenlighted by Spencer. Asha gets the credits. But all forced reforms of last and this year and studio sales will ensure another long drought…

On the roadmap there’s Senua, OD, State of Decay and Blade. Not sure which of those games survives, but that’s all the announced games they have on the roadmap at the moment.

@AI-Generation pokopia is there and so is Fire Emblem fortune’s weave.

But yes, xbox studios are performing well lately. If only they are allowed the time to continue to do so and keep their teams intact.

I’ve used it to play through FF I-VI when i was subscribed to gpu. Zero issues with a turn based rpg during my daily commute.

If it is such a small userbase, why does xbox decide to screw over this small percentage of players? It hasn’t even been a year after their ‘this is an xbox’ advertisements.

Such a self-own. Again…

Xbox is back at it again.

They present a good idea (disc to digital in this case) and then they pr-crap themselves within the same week.

Can xbox focus on the essentials first plz.

Games. Service clarity. Affordability. And fridges

Then again i’m just a cynical grumpy old person, I admit

@Qozmyk 1% equals 900.000, not 9 million

It might be so that they don’t have to produce PS5 discs

Switch 2 release please. I just want to experience this franchise on a Nintendo platform just for the sake of it.

What a Macro Mess

@TrollOfWar yeah, those two days of early access are a scam, aren’t they?

@NeoRatt yes, but I still don’t get it. Why do you like xbox going back to exclusives?

@NeoRatt not sure if those bargains will be as severe once there is only one store to go to on a platform

@NeoRatt sure, i agree that that might be best from an xbox user point of view. But you mentioned that you’d like them go back to exclusives. That doesn’t help you in any way, right? So why’d you still like them to go back to it?

@NeoRatt why would you like less people to be able to access certain games? How does that benefit you as a consumer in any way?

@NeoRatt sure, multiple digital storefronts which are mostly locked to a specific system.

Meanwhile, by removing physical storefronts they still reduce competition astronomically. Bargain bins will be something of the past.

I hope they’ll stick to some sort of physical media.

@NeoRatt you do understand that with only one store everything will be more expensive, also for you?

Funny that Halo is actually one of the last physical releases on a Playstation console.

@MrStark Your comment stinks.

It’s not ‘what they deserve’. Arkane had two studios (Lyon and Austin), the one that created Redfall (Austin) has already been shuttered.

So no, they ‘dont deserve it’.

Shall I tell you that you deserve it when you lose your job? If you have one, that is.

@Lanmanna yes, she’s making the decision together with Nadella to cancel all current projects.

@DennisReynolds what bs is that. Sony’s a scumbag corporation pleasing only shareholders all the same.

‘We’re investing in AI however we can, say that that’s ‘investing in gaming’ and therefore have to shut down more and more studios where real people work as we go’

I hate the ‘queen in green’. Empress in green is more like it. She will not bring anything good to Xbox. She makes Microsoft and Xbox so incredibly untrustworthy. No company will ever sign a deal with them ever again.

It’s dead and will be dead for years. And we’ll get AI slop into every big franchise. And we will have to like it because it’s the only thing we’ll get. And if we don’t, Xbox gets shut down - officially this time.

@Lightbubulz Deathloop was amazing! It fell flat because of marketing, but the game was incredible imo.

Sad response from microsoft….

But please can they give the CEO of Sony another bonus? He deserves it.

https://newspotify.oye.mlga.ek.gov.ng/former-sony-ceo-kaz-hirai-s-annual-pay-rose-to-18-7m-thanks-to-10-7m-r.html

@Banjo- not saying its expensive. I’m saying its a weird subscription with all the options, things moving in and out, prices changing, options changing, marketing around it, etc. ‘Playing it day one on gamepass and lose it a year after’ is just a weird sell for casual gamers for games that take 30+ hours. So i can see that it did not take any steam once all hardcore gamers got in. Just lacking appeal.

Regarding appeals: Which microsoft games of the last 3-5 years do you consider masterpieces? Forza, flight simulator, … halo infinite? I like gamepass. But for 9 years of gamepass, that’s just too little and far between i’d say and not the games that hook casual gamers.

And yes, i agree, fable is coming. Lets see how that one goes but fear its too little too late… hope Nadella wants to sit tight a little longer.

@Banjo- are you referring to me with the first sentence?

I have 60 games on xbox 360 and 25 on series x. Cant really call me an xbox hater. You should see my comments and reactions on pushsquare where i defended xbox (actually called out hypocrisy) when they were in the process of buying acti-blizz.

Anyway, i think the lack of sales of that one game you mentioned is a perfect example. Gamepass devalues games. As is mentioned, there has not been a single masterpiece released on gamepass that you cant also buy somewhere else. And for all the 8’s and 8.5’s i had the mindset of ‘i’ll play them later on gamepass’ instead of going all hyped on a buying spree.

Also, the marketing has been horrendous this and last gen for xbox. They had good shows and good games but almost every time it got overshadowed with bad press. For instance: hi-fi rush winning lots of prices, doing well according to Microsoft’s metrics, then a few weeks later: shutdown. Then what are these metrics?

Same now with south of midnight. The game almost did not receive any proper advertisement, especially not on other consoles. That the game then fails to sell, is not on them. It’s the weird release schedule, weird marketing around xbox and the game, and devaluation in the mind of consumers because of it.

That’s how i see it.

Gamepass was absolutely the best value for gaming if you play a lot. But it’s a weird sell with all options and for 25+ per month and therefore muddies the waters. Can’t ignore that tbh. I don’t want it to go away but it would make marketing for xbox much easier because you can go back to hypecycles again.

Can they please flip the phone in the streaming section 90 degrees... Nobody plays these games in portrait mode.

Phone should be thé standout from that section since with play anywhere that's the real benefit of cloud streaming, just play it wherever you are, on the one thing you always have with you.

It's how I played through all the Final Fantasies again. Just quick grabs and go's.

@Banjo- Even though he mentions he's 'clearly not an Xbox Hater'.

I'd say: This Xbox organisation needs all the guidance from veterans it can get. They've clearly lost their way multiple times over because of Microsoft's corporate structure. It's the chaos that has cost them all their credit (probably continuously losing them the faith of consumers and developers these days).

@Banjo- why does it seem as if people criticizing current Xbox are resenting Xbox as a whole in your opinion?…. You do it to him, you did it to me.

It’s not as if current Xbox couldn’t use the criticism.

The term ‘developer sale’ gets a new meaning this summer…

Sorry. Too soon?

@fatpunkslim but they are in line with Satya Nadella’s current statements, who just seems he needed a different ceo executing whatever Satya thinks needs doing.

All studios going rogue clearly shows that this whole policy is just thought of in the last couple of weeks.

@Ken_Kaniff they probably received a check from Ninja Theory for the trailer they made.

@somnambulance you probably noticed in the last couple of years that indeed, Xbox is run in the moment by Nadella. He doesnt plan ahead. He just looks at the numbers once every 6 months, issues his expression that things have to drastically change, management implements drastic changes, alienating the player base further, things settle, but then Nadella looks at the numbers again.

Rinse and repeat every 6-12 months.

Yeah baby. Exclusivity coupled with the expression of the CEO to monetize games better.

No reason for me to be buying myself into the Xbox ecosystem again. Just as I have left Playstation’s ecosystem once their CEO expressed his addiction to growth.

The only reason you want to grow is to please shareholders. And I do not want to be the one getting milked to do so.

Yeah baby! Increase the monetisation!!!

Or just lower the bonuses of the management. Same effect. But guess that’s not an option that’s on the table.

@Banjo- i absolutely do not see the three companies having the same practices.

With Nadella, don’t you just love it when a guy who earns more than 100 million dollar per year (even without his bonuses or increase of the value of his shares) talks about xbox and that they should monetise their games better?

Just like that cfo of Sony who said that he’s addicted to growth of income.

You never hear that kind of talk from Nintendo’s management.

Nintendo CEO makes 1.8 million dollar per year. A fraction of what the other two are earning. But he apologises for raising the price 50 dollars from September onwards.

Sure, pr speech, but to me it shows who towards the outside they’re mainly concerned about: consumers or shareholders. Nintendo still has that humble Japanese spirit at its core. The other two don’t (as much, Xbox still has some of its original staff and felt like the better version of the two at the start of this generation - which is also why i defended the acti-blizz merger on PushSquare).

@somnambulance don’t you just love it when a guy who earns more than 100 million dollar per year (even without his bonuses or increase of the value of his shares) talks about xbox and that they should monetise their games better?

Just like that cfo of Sony who said that he’s addicted to growth of income.

@Banjo- can you at least acknowledge that i have nothing against the brand xbox? On the contrary, i think they made all the right pro consumer decisions at the start of this gen, was completely on board. Till Nadella took over.

Nintendo is a different story.

@Enriesto absolutely agree with your post! I was not referring to forced overtime but true optional overtime. Has to be democratic.

We also practice it, pizza sessions for whoever wants / is able to has helped us a few times get the product across the finish line in due time.

They’re also great for team building.

I think the writers here at PureXbox probably practice it as well around ‘E3’ showcases

@Banjo- why disproportionate?

Weird you say that in a post that’s about yet another 2 studio closures. And yet again hundreds if not thousands of people losing their jobs.

If you properly read my comments, my hate is towards Nadella. Not xbox. After Acti-blizz acquisition he took over and changed direction every 3-6 months. Nothing good came out of it thus far. Just 10.000+ people losing their jobs. While he received bonuses left and right. https://fortune.com/2025/10/22/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-pay-hits-a-record-96-5-million-dollars-usd-he-got-a-22-percent-pay-rise-mirroring-the-4-trillion-tech-giants-skyrocketing-shares/

He’s just as bad if not worse as all the other tech bosses around.

@Enriesto well. Nintendo did delay Animal Crossing to get better working conditions.

https://www.zeldadungeon.net/former-nintendo-graphic-designer-details-crunch-period-during-ocarina-of-times-development/

Also, crunch is not a bad thing per se. It’s called sprints or scrums in agile terms. Requires dedication of a team for a short period of time. As long as it’s short, with a reward at the end, its not a bad thing and can lead to amazing things. Creates a lot of value for a product in a short time, as the 99 metacritic score shows.

Most indie devs do sprints. Makes then way more effective than most AAA devs.

@MrStark switch 2 now gets almost the same 3rd party treatment as the other two.

God I hate Nadella and his shortsightness and his ability to destroy a brand within months.

He has found his bootlicker with Asha Sharma, the so called queen in green. With her, everything will go downhill even more rapidly because she’s just doing Nadella’s bidding with a smile, instead of Phil Spencer who pushed back a little.

When will the suits get the blame for once for their decisions, instead of the hard working teams at the bottom of the hierarchy?

Looking at you, Nadella, and your shortsighteness and change in direction every 6-12 months. You destroyed xbox’s brand.

How about not confusing your customers every year by changing your strategy and pricing for a start?