Grumblevolcano

@Shinato2024 Maybe FH6 revisits FH4 in some way like a new Lego expansion and the cover car appears there?

I think it's way too early to say, Xbox's worst news during a specific year mostly took place during the time window of May - July (close to Microsoft's end of fiscal year in June).

@ElectricWizard You can only skip the full screen notification by being put into offline mode though.

They should prevent the console from auto-updating while you're playing games then. Imagine playing online games and every 2 weeks you're forced out of a multiplayer match to download an Xbox console update resulting in being banned from the online game for "quitting".

@Fiendish-Beaver I think Xbox sticking with multiplatform needs them to commit to bringing the classics to other platforms rather than just bringing newer games day 1. Imagine trying to get into the Gears of War franchise when faced with the current situation:

• Available on PS5 - Gears of War, probably Gears of War E-Day day 1
• Xbox/PC only - Gears of War 4, Gears 5, Gears Tactics
• Xbox console only - Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, Gears of War Judgment

It's a mess and while E-Day is a prequel, I could see this setup result in softer E-Day sales on PS5/PC even if it releases same day as Xbox version.

I think the best tactic would be to bring back Xbox Live but a slight adjustment (in this scenario Xbox Live Bronze would be the free accounts):

• Xbox Live Silver - $20 a year (2 retro games a month)
• Xbox Live Gold - $60 a year (2 retro games + 2 newer games a month)

Scrap the concept of Game Pass completely and it would fit perfectly into the motto of "return of Xbox".

Even though Ultimate is way too expensive with its annual price hikes, I do wonder if this comment is more about the entry point than trying to make Ultimate cheaper. Game Pass and PS+ don't have an equivalent to base NSO, in fact the "Essential" tiers of GP/PS+ are double the price of the most expensive NSO tier.

@ILuvGames Doesn't make sense to officially announce a delay prior to Rockstar providing an update on GTA6 because if Rockstar chose to delay to 2027 then you've put yourself in a worse position. If a Fable delay is being considered, you'd make that announcement at some point during the summer once the GTA6 situation is more clear.

@BIG3 Unless GTA Online 2 is FTP, you'd need Game Pass on Xbox to play the online.

@Fiendish-Beaver Your streak continues to be spot on, there's now rumours of Fable being delayed because of GTA6.

The timing is weird unless the proper reveal is soon like if in the next few months we saw the equivalent to the December 2019 Series X reveal/May 2013 XB1 reveal.

A lot of that showcase was very far away:

• State of Decay 3 - TBA
• Forza Motorsport - October 2023
• Everwild - Cancelled
• Avowed - February 2025
• Hellblade 2 - May 2024
• Fable - Fall 2026

Wouldn't this be preparation for the Xbox mode coming to PC this month?

@darylb24 There's also the PS5 version of FH6 to fit in there, we know that's releasing later this year.

@Elbow I doubt Xbox minds whether some features are exclusive to keyboard + mouse considering their heavy push into the PC space with Helix.

@Questionable_Duck My guess would be Sony doesn't allow games to be released on PS if they can't be fully played with a normal controller. The Switch 2 remaster has mouse mode exclusive minigames.

I have a bad feeling this is about the Muse AI thing revealed in February 2025.

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2025/02/xbox-is-exploring-ai-to-make-its-older-games-playable-on-modern-hardware

@themightyant The sudden pivots from both companies so close together makes me think it's possible GTA6 comes day 1 to Steam. If such a thing happened it would hurt both Sony and Microsoft as you have the option to skip both PS and Xbox completely meaning reduced console sales (though less important for Xbox as they already abandoned selling Series X|S), reduced subscription numbers and loss of the 30% cut.

In Microsoft's case, I wonder if their pivot is about backtracking support for alternate PC stores. For example, @Fiendish-Beaver has already talked plenty about how Steam on Xbox makes no sense financially.

@Fiendish-Beaver @Millionski I think the lesson to learn would be not to cram everything into a small timeframe. Look at the list of Xbox games brought to PS5 during March - May 2025 for example:

• March 4th - Age of Mythology
• April 17th - Indiana Jones
• April 22nd - Oblivion
• April 29th - Forza Horizon 5
• May 6th - Age of Empires 2
• May 15th - DOOM The Dark Ages

Some games are naturally going to be overshadowed when you release them so close together.

@Fiendish-Beaver As long as Satya Nadella is obsessed with AI and Amy Hood wants obscenely high profit margins, I don’t think there’s any saving Xbox as a whole.

I saw on the Xbox subreddit that lots of people are getting repeated spam notifications from Xbox which is connected to an AI thing called “braze”.

@Fiendish-Beaver If they went back to exclusives, I don’t think people would actually believe they’re exclusive and just wait for a multiplatform port instead.

So like @Cakefish says, I think the more effective tactic if they wanted to push consoles would be to get rid of the online paywall and aggressively price consoles instead.

@OldKingCrowley AMD were fine with Microsoft repurposing the Series X|S chips for cloud server blades, creating shortages for the actual consoles themselves in the process. As the rumour said about going all in with cloud gaming, cancelling next gen and turning Game Pass into a GeForce Now type service sounds like a possibility.

@Fiendish-Beaver The impression I got from current events was that the big October rumour was true in the end. Some of the rumour was already confirmed in the form of an increasing number of retailers no longer selling Series X|S but I think the rest of the rumour is true and that caused them to leave.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2025/10/ps6-may-go-uncontested-as-rumours-of-next-gen-xbox-cancellation-force-microsoft-to-comment

@Fiendish-Beaver Regarding 2 and 3, I think Microsoft may be saving them to fill the large gap between E-Day and Gears 6.

@FraserG Rockstar may stagger online's release again which this time would cause chaos for Early 2027 releases as well.

Fable being Fall 2026 makes me wonder if Gears is being delayed to 2027. They’d naturally want to avoid November because GTA6 so that leaves Fable for September and CoD for October.

Seeing everything unfold over the past 4 years, I wish I did stick with my XB1 instead of upgrading to Series X in November 2021. Sure, it would’ve been a risk considering my XB1 fan didn’t sound healthy but for what I used Series X for in the end I think I’d have been better off sticking with XB1.

Surprise > Fable > Forza > Beast

@Dm9982 It’s been widely reported that Nintendo were stingy about Switch 2 devkits which would affect the rate of 3rd party support.

@Fiendish-Beaver With Flight Sim at State of Play last year and Switch 2 being able to run current gen games, it’s possible they have E-Day at State of Play/Nintendo Direct to announce it for PS5/Switch 2. Though June showcase is the safest guess with it announced multiplatform there.

I’m guessing Beast of Reincarnation is April, FH6 is May and Fable is June. Developer Direct in the past has focused on the 1st half of the year where possible (2024 being the exception).

@somnambulance Fallout 3 remaster was in the FTC trial but I don't think it would happen this year, instead opting for tactically releasing Fallout remasters close to seasons of the TV show (season 2 gets Fallout 4 remaster, season 3 gets Fallout 3 remaster, season 4 gets Fallout New Vegas remaster) to take account of Fallout 5 being so far away.

I'm guessing Starfield. Make a big splash by announcing expansion 2 and the PS5/Switch 2 port with a release of March/April.

I think May with January - April being focused on DLC and PS5/Switch 2 ports.

I don't think so. Resident Evil Requiem, Control Resonant and Wolverine seem like pretty much guaranteed nominees, GTA6 is a guaranteed nominee if it doesn't get delayed again, usually an indie game gets nominated, maybe Fire Emblem for the 6th nominee?

@Fiendish-Beaver Sony didn't want it for FTP games either and their strategy was going well until Fortnite got announced for Switch and had crossplay with XB1. Sony effectively got bullied into making their platform a bit more open.

I don't see Nintendo wanting Xbox Play Anywhere on their systems as it would reduce software sales so the only I see it happening on Nintendo or Sony hardware is if the EU forces it.

I think #14 could be Mina the Hollower judging by the length of the spaces provided for 007: First Light (#1) and Reanimal (#10).

I messed up the poll picks but I think it's going to be something like:

• February - Fable
• March - Halo Campaign Evolved
• April - Gears of War E-Day
• May - Forza Horizon 6

Maybe it's because Microsoft's fiscal year ends in June but during the multiplatform era of Xbox, they've been cramming lots of releases into February - May. There aren't many feasible legacy PS ports left from the current generation (Starfield, Avowed, South of Midnight, Grounded 2, Keeper) so I think they'll lean more into day 1 on PS5 stuff this time.

As for the Xbox 25th anniversary celebrations, I think it'll be a tone deaf focus on CoD much like how they hyped up "one more thing" in the June showcase this year just for it to turn out to be Black Ops 7.

@Cakefish It's about trust. The common trend since the infamous "4 games" business update has been:

• Step 1 - Rumours/leaks swirl about the state of Xbox
• Step 2 - Microsoft sends out a message refuting said rumours/leaks
• Step 3 - Rumours/leaks turn out to be true

Was a bit surprising that it wasn't same day but considering the news timeline (announce in September 2025, next news in 2026), I get the feeling the game releases on PC and Series X|S in May/June 2026.

Then the PS5 version comes in Fall/Holiday 2026 to avoid GTA6.

That sounds like a scam, maybe someone hacked the Microsoft Store?

I'm hoping that the holiday season is filled out more, it feels as though Microsoft withholding the Black Ops 7 release date is preventing studios from announcing their holiday season lineups.

@Fiendish-Beaver I could see Sony's strategy be that because of the next gen Xbox having Steam, any damage done by putting PS exclusives on Xbox is already done because of the PC strategy so porting games to Series X|S becomes solely a question of whether it can make Sony more money.

I don't see ES6 being shown off until after Starfield's PS5 release has gotten time in the spotlight.

I think they’ll show off Black Ops 7 campaign gameplay (CoD campaign gameplay happens every Gamescom) and the PS5 reveal of Fable (early 2026) at Opening Night Live. Considering Gears of War Reloaded releases the week after Gamescom, I think Microsoft’s going to be careful of what they show off to not overshadow that.

The message I’ve taken especially from the past 1.5 years is that generally if you wait long enough, you’ll get to play the games you want to play on your hardware of choice. That theme continues like FF7 Remake and FF16 no longer being PS console exclusive, the vast majority of the Xbox showcase coming to PS5 and the teases about next gen Xbox having Steam.

So I think in the end regarding the next batch of consoles (Switch 2, PS6, next gen Xbox), I’ll only need a Switch 2.

Windows 10 came out 2015 and Windows 11 came out in 2021 so my guess is the next gen Xbox hardware coincides with Windows 12 launch in 2027 considering the talk was all about making Windows (PC) the place to play, not Xbox.

@Juanalf Might be about AMD wanting to reassure investors about commitment to gaming?

@TapeLoader @Cakefish My guess is that they remove the Game Pass requirement for online but that backwards compatibility is a mess due to licensing. Play Anywhere games are fine, games which aren’t but are part of the “stream your own game” program requires Ultimate and those not part of either can’t be played on the new system.