IllusiveMan

At $30/month is simply unjustifiable, unless you’re playing games 24/7 there’s simply no time to take advantage of the service plus if I’m being honest most new additions are not appealing to me, I’d rather spend those $30 buying games I actually want to play on some deals to keep them forever.

@FraserG An important note from both Windows Central and Insider Gaming is that backwards compatibility will most likely be reserved for the Microslop branded PC, meaning that our console games will not suddenly be able to play on the Rog Xbox Ally or any other Xbox branded OEM device.

For every new rumor this console/PC device sounds less attractive and poses more questions, I really don’t look forward on having to rely on the subpar Xbox PC app and endure Windows 11 bloatware with its updates and infinite popups for Microslop services such as OneDrive, Teams, Game Pass, Copilot, Office, etc.

Rather than dealing with Windows I’d keep my Series X for its legacy library and keep using PS5/PS6 as my main console until I can build a PC of my own with steamOS or wait for a more powerful Steam machine, buying a $1000+ Microslop branded Windows 11 PC is out of the question.

Just saying, in some deal you can buy to own forever both Outlaws and RE Village for the same price as 1 month of Game Pass Ultimate…

@fatpunkslim Lmao why are you trying to normalize giving up on a generation just 5 years after launch? It’s not even remotely normal, and any other failed consoles at this point such as the Wii U or Dreamcast at the very least tried to turn the ship around with bundles, deals and exclusive games, none of which Microslop has even attempted in the last year.

This is worse than abandoning the generation or the market as they want to squeeze every single penny out of the loyalists that are still on the “ecosystem” as you call it, an what exactly is this “ecosystem”? The few titles available in Cloud Gaming (only via subscription even if you own them)? The fewer titles being Play Anywhere on the terrible Xbox PC app? The games or players on other platforms? Or just a fancy word Microslop likes to throw around to make us think they actually have a plan?

Nothing at all, just waiting to see how the future of Xbox shapes out (if there’s any) before investing $1 cent in Microsoft’s store.

Nope. Forza Horizon 6 could be the best cars game ever made and will still be ignored and taken for granted, Gears of War will be good but it has never been an awards-seeking franchise, Halo Remake we just HOPE it can be good and isn’t plagued with a million issues at launch. I don’t see Fable or Clockwork releasing in 2026 at all but those are the best shots at getting a nomination.

In my opinion Doom The Dark Ages deserved much more praise and awards this year but most gaming journalists chose to outright ignore it.

This was the first good ad that I’ve seen for Xbox in a loooong time, but could’ve been even better if they focused on the games rather than the subscription as most people just finding out that the service is now $30 a month they immediately laugh it off.

Same reason why they now have the $1 deal back for new GP subscriptions and 50% discount for returning subscribers (the exact same price before the hike).

They know they have priced themselves too high and most people are not willing to pay that much.

The big 3. They have it so easy to start the 25th anniversary very strongly with Halo, Gears and Forza, I don’t think Fable is in this Direct or even coming out next year.

I do hope they provide solid dates and not end up saying just 2026 and release them all the same month.

Pretty obvious that subscribers dropped more than they were expecting since the major price hike…

First year that I don’t expect to even cross 100 hours on Xbox since more than a decade ago, been much busier and I have the whole platform in hiatus, not abandoning it but not investing in it either.

It’s smart as they’re showing people “PS5 has our tenpole exclusives plus all these third-party games including Xbox’s” while Xbox consoles are being outsold by the Switch 1 and even some Kinect-like startup…

Please don’t cancel this Microsoft…

I got goosebumps from nostalgia, man what a great time that whole generation was!

With the amount of consoles they’ve been selling in the last few months (less than half the Switch 1, yes Switch 1) I wouldn’t be surprised if they just stop producing them instead of raising prices yet again as it’d only result in even more bad press for the brand after a brutal 2025.

Good thing I missed it lol

@Questionable_Duck That device if it even ends up launching is already poised to be $1000+ and 2 years away with lots and lots of questions still up in the air, the Steam Machine is already a more tangible product and while not being able to play my Xbox library most old games are dirty cheap, newer ones are cheaper than on any console and you don’t need to pay a subscription to play online, so I would actually consider assuming the cost of switching platforms but saving so much more in the long term, all hanging in the actual price for this, if they can get it to around $499 I would personally have a big decision to make.

@themightyant Maybe not in the same level as Bungie, but it hasn’t been a success; YoY growth is minimal, just last quarter the overall gaming division went down 1% and sales/subscriptions only rose 1%.

Those are pretty abysmal numbers after spending nearly 80 billion dollars and why the entire division is in turmoil, not to mention the long-term damage for the brand and customer mistrust.

Forget about PlayStation, this is the Xbox killer.

It’s funny how both Activision-Blizzard and Bungie acquisitions for Microsoft and Sony respectively ended up being a complete disaster and perhaps the worst business decisions they’ve ever taken.

Halo: Finite

Lost count how many promises they broke with this one.

@fatpunkslim That’s the biggest mental cope I’ve read this week…

I already expected Microsoft to sabotage themselves their own games launching Halo CE and Forza Horizon 6 on the same month (very likely November as it happened back in 2021), now they can either rush games to market, put them against GTA 6 or delay them into 2027.

Can’t see Gears of War E-Day and Fable launching next year at all, so the big 4 games that we expect for next year might get pushed to 2027 in classic “next year is the year of Xbox” energy.

@Darylb88 That’s what we all thought about Perfect Dark just a few months ago…

Fable cancelled or delayed to 2027 in the best case scenario, Gears of War E-Day delayed to 2027 and somehow end up releasing both Halo and Forza Horizon 6 in the same month cannibalizing each other…

1% growth with Activision, King, Blizzard, Bethesda, Xbox Game Studios is more brutal than hardware down yet another 30%, I guess we can expect another studio closure within the next few months.

Next quarter will reflect if the price hike on Game Pass actually makes up for the lost subscribers, if it goes down it’d be significant.

You missed the best quote to come out of this interview “you innovate by having good [profit] margins” 💀

Jez Corden openly mocked people for speculating about Forza, Gears or Halo making its way to PlayStation just a year ago, I wouldn’t take anything he says seriously, his article states the same speculation that we’ve been hearing for months, at this point it’s an expectation but there’s still nothing clear at how Xbox consoles games will run on PCs or how will they handle other launchers’ updates and drivers, if they under deliver or over price that hybrid console device it will be the final blow to the brand, yet if they pull it off it can have an interesting future.

At this point, nothing as it was expected since they confirmed Forza Horizon 5 on PS5.

Many of us assumed since the “only 4 games” were announced that Xbox was stepping into a spiral of death and irrelevance and just look at the brand now less than 2 years later after that announcement, being the most overpriced of all the big 3 with no exclusive games planned and the worst PR image the brand has ever had, Xbox’ mascot jumping to PlayStation after all this decimation in the last few months doesn’t even hit anymore.

It’s been obvious, all those hardware price hikes due to “tariffs” and price hikes for games and subscriptions citing “market conditions” it’s all a big BS excuse to increase their profit margins and with those completely unrealistic out of touch expectations we’ll keep seeing cancellations and studio closures every few months.

And it’s specially infuriating as they want to squeeze out every penny out of longstanding fans of the brand, the ones that stood with Xbox One and have been waiting since 2013 for “the year of Xbox” that never came.

No, and reviews only confirmed my expectations, Windows 11 just sucks for handhelds even with the Xbox overlay, you can’t skip all the updates, ads for MS services, drivers, launcher updates, game updates and a million other popups that just aren’t there with any console, and if you really want a PC handheld there’s a ton of better priced options with little to no difference in performance.

Also, I think it’s a very poor first attempt to “merge” Xbox with Windows, and still don’t know if or how they’re gonna pull off merging Xbox consoles’ library with PC and having Steam available too, I just don’t trust Microsoft to actually deliver on that.

They really seem DESPERATE to gain at least some trust from fans… too little too late.

The timing of the video is certainly interesting…

This conversation repeats every 3 months because trust in the brand in at an all-time low deservedly so, also, even if the new hardware exists, are they actually going to care to distribute it and make an effort to sell it?
Because Series X and S are technically not cancelled but are nowhere near as available as they were just a year ago.

@Weebleman If that’s their 4D chess goal it’s gonna backfire epically, people will buy their games yes but elsewhere, whether on Steam, PS5 or even Switch 2.

I personally haven’t spent a dime since the “only 4 games” were announced, I won’t sell my Xbox since I still have many games not easily available elsewhere but I’m avoiding the Microsoft Store like a plague.

Literally pointless, all those games can be purchased for $10 or less.

What a sh1tshow man…

@SodaPop6548 Tariffs are an excuse, Microsoft seeks to turn profit out of everything under the Xbox division, raising hardware prices twice in 6 months, attempting to raise games to $80, cancelling multiple developments and shutting down studios, and of course raising Game Pass by 50%, the only thing for sure is that the bloodbath ain’t over.

It’s just nuts that now it’s better value to pay $60/$70 for a game at launch and be able to play it forever…

RIP Game Pass

LMAO $1000 they’re out of their goddamn minds.

Also, didn’t Phil complained that $1000 consoles wouldn’t grow the market just last year after Sony revealed the PS5 Pro?

Clockwork Revolution is by far my most anticipated game but I refuse to get hyped since it doesn’t even have a release year and Microsoft may wake up one day looking forward to cancel it, same situation with Fable and State of Decay 3 to be completely honest.

The only ones I take for granted are Gears of War E-Day and Forza Horizon 6.

I really have nothing else to say, we’re living through the last breath of this brand.

It was before they ramped up the price and stopped distributing consoles, now in my country you can get a 1 TB PS5 digital edition for around the same as a Series S…

A bit disappointing to be honest, it really is the same as the last remaster upscaled to 4K and slightly different color grading (more akin to the OG 360 version), was looking forward to 120hz mode but it’s currently a mess with big FPS drops, also had to disable the shaky cam while running as it made me dizzy.

Finished Act 1 but I don’t think I’ll keep playing as I’ve played it many, many times, would’ve appreciated the same treatment for Gears 2 and 3 that currently don’t have any remaster.

Another month with nothing for the actual Xbox.

Lmao reading some comments you’d think that PCs have never existed until Microsoft announced this thing.

Lmao, add $100 to the leaked prices.

I’m terrified the moment they ship Keeper they’ll be on Microsoft’s chopping block.