IOI

Great, more clutter that can’t be removed from the Home Screen…

F*ck you Microsoft, announce the closure of Xbox already.

January 2025 lmao

Not looking forward to 2 hours watching ads from Keighley’s events…

Seriously when can we stop giving attention to “reports and rumors” of attention seekers who call themselves “insiders”?

Have we learned nothing from the whole “Starfield, Halo and everything is imminently coming to PS5” fiasco back in January?

You have no idea how happy this makes me!

I really hope that the sequel and the franchise becomes such a runaway success that Microsoft will be left in ridicule for almost axing both the studio and the IP.

Isn’t it like the fifth time they stated the same thing?

But there goes the folks at GameIndustry.biz asking this again fully knowing the answer to capitalize yet again on some Xbox hate.

Such reassurance from the guy that killed Windows Phone…

@PsBoxSwitchOwner The problem is that when big corporations realize that one sector will never perform as the other ones their answer is to just get rid of the entire sector altogether, like MS already did with Windows Phone.

I refused to believe that Microsoft would get rid of Xbox is it wasn’t allowed to buy Activision-Blizzard, now I’m 100% certain it was true.

@Arcticpandapopz I honestly already accepted that Xbox will eventually cease to exist at least as the hardware we know today, I stopped buying anything on Xbox and moving forward I’ll buy every game on PS5, but I’ll keep an Xbox as long as it exists to be able to play my digital library.

And then corporate MS acts so “worried” that Xbox hardware sales have gone down 42% compared to the same quarter last year.

Their play of slowly getting rid of hardware is so obvious and deceitful…

@PsBoxSwitchOwner It’s equally complicated on PS5 and PC, this is Activision’s fault for pushing the HQ instead of individual games.

@themightyant They do with devices like Surface, it just baffling how consistently bad they are at naming their Xbox hardware.

Honestly they shouldn’t even set a date, just release the game when it’s ready, we understand.

That Call of Duty HQ can rot in hell, I seriously wish we could go back to having individual games and not having to install 100GB just to allow me to install the game I want to play for another 100GB.

And I’m sure that whatever they do somehow will end up with us console users getting screwed over again.

And it probably won’t be enough…

I’m with the FTC here, Microsoft outright lied to the regulator, and I mean, we all knew that if CoD made its way to Game Pass the price was inevitably going to go up, but they literally said they wouldn’t do it, not once but many times.

It’s crazy how just last year almost all of us were rooting for Microsoft excited for the possibilities of expanding Xbox with Activision, little did we know this would push Microsoft to get rid of Xbox and just be Microsoft Gaming.

My most anticipated game this year definitely, but I’m honestly expecting it to be delayed to Q1 2025.

Wouldn’t you know, another day, another disappointing news for Xbox fans.

@Kloppo Screwing over loyal fans and straight up alienating everyone who is looking to buy a console right now, a friend recently asked me a recommendation to buy a console and having both I just said to get a PS5 or wait for the Pro, even tho Sony has also been a bit disappointing this generation but at least it isn’t trying to kill PlayStation as Microsoft is with Xbox.

@Sol76 They will have a final sale that will last until it gets discontinued, I’m gonna wait until almost the very last day to get my code but if I don’t I’m just gonna buy it.

@NEStalgia I’d say the last great year for Xbox maybe ever was in 2021, Series X|S was selling almost on par with PS5, Game Pass was growing and most importantly we got great games with Psychonauts 2, Forza Horizon 5 and more or less Halo Infinite.

2022 was when the downfall started as they announced the ABK acquisition and quite literally forgot about everything else, they didn’t release a single game, understandably Game Pass and consoles sales got stale, Cloud gaming got straight-up abandoned and we haven’t seen a single improvement since, 2023 wasn’t much better with Redfall being a disaster and Starfield disappointing (I don’t hate it but I did have higher expectations) and the little tiny ray of hope with Hi-Fi Rush turned out to be such a “break-out hit” (Aaron Greenberg’s words) that awarded them a studio closure lmfao…

For a multi-trillion company that controls a good chunk of the entire internet it’s honestly not great at all, even mostly bad I’d say.

I’ve had the chance to test Amazon Luna, Nvidia GeForce Now and Google Stadia (back when it existed) and they all have a much better experience, same thing I heard with the new PS+ streaming tho I haven’t been able to test it myself.

@Markatron84 If by October I haven’t received my code I’m gonna start asking around in support so that I can have time to buy it if Microsoft tells us yet another “f*ck you” and doesn’t deliver the codes.

@Ricky-Spanish We need another price hike so that they can add those games /s

And what about the rumor of MW3 dropping to sort of justify the price hike? They couldn’t even bother to do that?

It’s ridiculously nothing from Activision has made its way to the service other than Diablo IV, but I guess it’s part of the “Game Pass ain’t it” strategy currently being implemented.

@FraserG That’s quite important, it means that more than half of the audience seems already trained to expect X game in Game Pass, otherwise to not care in the slightest.

This is a big problem since it indicates that basically half the users on the Xbox platform solely care about games coming to Game Pass, which is what Microsoft actually wanted a few years ago, but what incentive remains for third-parties to port a game to Xbox if it ain’t gonna sell at all whether it arrives the service or not?

Yeah Microsoft, keep the f*ck you’s coming to your most dedicated user base…

So 3 days after the price hike and they haven’t even bothered to justify it?

And btw they announced they’ll be removing Game Pass from MS Rewards meaning you can’t use your points to get the sub, just a fantastic week for Xbox gamers, again.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Even here on Mexico, which is one of the very few markets where Xbox has the lead (and quite substantially above both Sony and Nintendo), I haven’t seen ONE single piece of marketing in any type of media, seriously, not even a single poster, billboard, advertisement, nada.

Why stop at certain markets? Give up on Xbox altogether as Microsoft seems literally in a hurry to get rid of it.

I won’t sell my console right away as I’ve invested quite heavily on my digital library, but sure as hell I’m not investing one more cent on the platform.

@PKDuckman Who said anything about Sony? I already cancelled PS+ since the last price hike was too much and I’ve been quite outspoken about some baffling moves they’ve made.

But you know, Sony’s screwups doesn’t invalidate Microsoft one’s, the difference is that Sony is currently successful and can afford to have some misses, Xbox is trailing even behind Xbox One and yet they kick their console users in the balls every 3-6 months.

Honestly, being an Xbox customer this generation has been exhausting, console users are being treated like third-class citizens by Microsoft, we have to pay to play online, and now we have to pay more to have any version of Game Pass and waaay more to get games day one compared to PC, and this comes after the shift in strategy where most if not all Xbox exclusives are heading to PS5 or Switch.

Funny how literally just yesterday I was just thinking to myself, “Xbox has been on a streak lately, maybe they are finally done with screw ups” and hours later they announced this, next generation I’m out of Xbox, if it still exists anyway.

@NEStalgia Lmao I agree, but from what we can see they seem to not only don’t care about console users, but actively despise us and wish we rather play on PC or competing consoles, at this rate next gen I think I’m gonna grant them their wish.

@NEStalgia I had the opportunity to stack up 3 years of Ultimate but I kinda regret it now, I don’t want to support the service, ever since Tango’s closure I really really don’t like the direction Xbox is heading.

Also $20 bucks a month is just ridiculous, I’d rather buy a game on a sale upfront and own it forever.

Yet again us console users get the short end of the stick, now gamers on PC only have to pay $11.99 USD to play day one games, while console users need to pay almost double, plus the paid online requirement, it’s a triple spit to console users.

It’s good, sure it might not be as generous as a few years ago but it’s still the best Rewards program out there, no one gives me $5-10 bucks a month to spend on games.

It’s ridiculous it has taken this long to add ABK games to Game Pass, I’m okay with them drip feeding those games but they should’ve started since closing the acquisition imo.

First game that came up to mind was Indiana Jones, and upon further inspection of the entire list it’s definitely Indy, looks amazing in every way plus it comes out this year.

Even tho they look great is harder to be hyped about games that don’t even have a release year like Gears of War or Perfect Dark, otherwise both would’ve been my choices.

Tango’s closure will forever be a stain in Microsoft/Xbox history, the biggest most unpleasant stain imo as it screams mismanagement and corporate greed.

We’ve heard Phil saying for more than a decade that he wants Xbox to have a foothold on Japan, for that they need to have relations with Japanese devs or having a Japanese team.
They finally got it in 2021 with Tango being included with Zenimax, they made 2 current-gen only titles (not many studios can say this currently), with one, Hi-Fi Rush being a “smash hit” (MS’ words) with both critics and public alike, personally becoming my favorite Xbox game of the last decade.

A few months later Xbox announces they’re taking the games to other platforms with all the excuses they gave but supposedly to “nurture the IP” but literally a month after launching on PS5 they closed down the studio entirely, it’s been a month, they showcase has passed but they still haven’t gave a good reason on why the studio deserved to be closed down, we’re only left with the rumors that it was just bad timing, the fact they weren’t in active development made them more disposable, which is just infuriating to me, talent means nothing, awards mean nothing, appraisal means nothing, being a ‘smash hit’ means nothing.

The showcase was great, really great, but this will always make me wary of Xbox and Microsoft moving forward.

@JayJ That rumor was debunked by people still working on the studio, don’t spread misinformation.

Nonsense PR we saw a mile coming the day this was announced, it’s sad that even though today’s showcase was great the stain of Tango’s closure is still there lingering and tbh stops me from being fully excited about Xbox’ future.

The story got very convoluted at the end of 5 so I guess not even them were sure how to continue it and they rather went back, but honestly this I what I wanted to see from Gears ever since the very first one so this is incredibly exciting.

The fact it’s called Gears OF WAR made me way more excited than it should have lol

Lmao these are priced to scare players out, the 1TB Series S is $349, all-digital Series X is $449 and 2TB Series X with Disc Drive is $599.

Microsoft really doesn’t want to sell consoles…

Except for the ones who were shown the door a month ago…

(Still very bitter about Tango’s closure).

@NEStalgia Exactly this, if there’s something that can move the needle in terms of Xbox’ popularity is Call of Duty, the game will be a financial success either way but where and how users play it will ultimately determine the future of the platform.

In terms of gameplay I’ll never shut up about how they NAILED it in Infinite, the lack of content and lackluster campaign killed the game but the gameplay was at its best imo, keep that gameplay, take your time to build up significant content for the next release and you already got a solid ‘Halo 7’ multiplayer.

However for the campaign… it’s got sooooo convoluted that I honestly have no idea where to go from here, they could follow-up Infinite’s story for the
Endless and all that but honestly I’d want a soft-reboot or just pretend 4/5/Infinite never existed lol.