Kaloudz

@BacklogBrad I used to work alongside them as a mod for the official Xbox forums. They were good back then. Now, not so much.

Correct me if I am wrong, but this is the first time in a long time that we've seen a MS studio being told what to work on, right? Rather than being given free reign to do and create what they please? I wonder if we see more of this in the near future.

@IllusiveMan If it wasn't about following the masses, why did you clearly get triggered in your first comment to me (and others) about being a loyalist...

Are you joking? I have made my stance clear, consistently and religiously here for years. The market is volatile and it is only getting worse. That's the bigger picture, and you are right, you can't make it up. Why? Because it's fact. Developers and publishers have been saying this for years.

I am not targeting one platform for a mass-issue that affects the whole market. That's for the sheep and they're plentiful as is. There are bigger things happening in the world for me to care too deeply about job losses...

@IllusiveMan Dude... you DO know that I sold my Xbox months ago due to the state of the platform? A reshuffle in leadership is what has pulled me back. It ain't about championing anything. It's about having a firm understanding that I do not have a clue about what happens behind corporate closed doors. We do not know all the facts. We know only what the public knows. I won't join the masses and blindly hate on something that has happened for nearing a decade now, whether or not that pleases the foot stompers.

Oh and for the record. My problem is with the state of the market. Not a single platform. That is where the real issues lie.

If you really have been following my comments for years, you will know first hand I dont play into console war crap. So it has less to do with being a champion and lacking criteria, whatever that means, and has more to do with the bigger picture.

@Millionski Exactly. You hit the nail on the head. I do not have a problem with other people sharing their views, but I draw the line at people that point fingers at other people as if they know what goes on behind closed doors.

I also take no notice of people over the years ridiculing me for lacking empathy. If they care that much, go buy a lute and write a song for the dearly departed...

Facts are facts and it goes without saying that MS are not trimming away success. They're downsizing and trimming excess, and they're not the only ones doing it. Frankly I find it hilarious how much MS gets grilled for it, when other platform fans forget after one day when it happens elsewhere. 🤔

@IllusiveMan Loyalist? Try realist. Unlike the loud crowd, I can appreciate that we are not privy to the same data that Asha sees. We do not know the ins and outs of how things look from within the corp. We only know what is publicly shared.

I am certainly not going to blindly throw stones because it makes others feel better and more validated. That is not gunna happen. Nor am I a sheep. I am also not going to pretend, like the loud crowd, that I care so deeply about strangers (that I have never met) losing their jobs that I will protest on the internet, and act like it makes a difference.

Mismanagement is what many have cited here as an Xbox issue for years now. There is a new boss installed now. This is what management looks like after mismanagement. Like it or lump it, change doesn't care about anyone's emotions. Would I fix layoffs if I had a magic wand? Yes. But to pretend I care? Nope. Sorry. Let us also not pretend layoffs of the last decade are exclusive to MS.

@Millionski We should not have cases like undead labs doing SOD3 for 7-9 years at this point. Or SoM for like 7 years.

That is the problem. Too long in development. Said it before but when you have Sandfall making Expedition 33 in 5 years with 30 people on not even a fraction of a AAA budget... it says a lot.

@ILuvGames I dont know. I kinda feel like id needs a go. Their Doom experience with Halo? God yes.

@Ooccoo_Jr You kid, but that is essentially what this is about lol.

I think id software needs to be given Halo, and just shut down 343.

IMO Bethesda needs a kick up the behind.

"First, we will reset our content portfolio."

"Second, we will reset our platform."

"Third, we are resetting how we operate."

It's unfortunate, but necessary. Fat needs to trimmed and much as it sucks, at least Asha is openly admitting that Xbox isnt in a great state right now. You cant force change and expect zero friction.

This is the way things are headed. Music did it. Movies did it. If you ask me, gaming held on to physical for long enough. We live in a digital age and change does not care about anyone's feelings.

@Sol4ris I imagine the lack of 360 and OG has something to do with how those discs are written? Or due to not all of them being BC?

Can you imagine if THIS was in place of the DRM announcement for Xbox One at launch.

@giovanealex I'm with you on this. The cull is necessary given the state of the market and it is certainly not exclusive to MS.

If they channel The Goonies-esque vibes, it could be pretty cool.

Best game in the series IMO. I wonder if they cover Code Veronica X, or just Code Veronica. Either way, I am interested to see how they tackle Steve, arguably the most annoying character in RE history. I got a heavy impression that he was based off child John Conner from T2.

Lots of people acting like this 'bloodbath' is exclusive to Microsoft / Xbox 🥱

@Weebleman ID should be given Halo imo.

Perhaps another Toys for Bob scenario?

@Xbox-Memory @Toecutter Precisely. That's why I used Sandfall as an example. A team of 30+ developers, in five years, on a budget of $10 million, made one of the best RPG games of all time and it took the world by storm.

@papahefe I agree. Hopefully moving forward, teams have a heavier hand dealing with them. There's nothing wrong with some breathing space, but what is the point of management if you're not laying down deadlines and time frames.

I think MS saying the other day that they want games like Skyrim and Halo shipped quicker is a step in that very direction. Time will tell.

@Elbow I have a feeling that SoD has been worked on for that long as, much like Playground with Fable, the devs have laid some foundation down for sequels and spin-offs down the road. I don't think SoD 4 will be anywhere near as long a wait as a result. Same as Fable 2. I could be wrong, but that's the impression I get.

As for Phil, I totally agree. He was a good guy IMO, but the whole hands-off thing has not paid off. It's nice to give teams creative freedom, but what they really need are deadlines too. I recall an article in which it took Rare one whole year just to develop a ship for SoT. I'd have been livid.

@Ooccoo_Jr @datamonkey I'm not sure what you're getting at. This is not new, in fact, closures have been happening from top to bottom, across the whole world, for the last 5-10 years due to the state of the market. People here having a constructive input does not make anyone blind nor ignorant. It's just a universal truth, and truth doesn't much care for how anyone feels.

@Elbow I think SoD 3 is safe, but I agree, Phil and the whole "let the teams do what they hell they like" is something that has needed to change for a while now.

@Cakefish I cant speak for psychonauts 2, but didn't both Keeper and Kiln underperform? Like, wasn't Keeper only hitting 200 concurrent players on Steam at launch? I might be off there, but their last two games are niche, and niche (even if you like it) isn't for the masses, which is where I expect MS wants to focus on.

Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against them, but if MS are doing a shakeup, I suspect teams not capable of dishing out heavy hitters are on the chopping block. Compulsion, niche too. Ninja Theory, well, Senua 1 was a breakout hit, but I think NT let that get to their head. We all know 2 didn't do as well as 1, and they're about to release another (albeit different genre) that may go the same way.

Like I said, there's a reason the likes of Playground are safe. They dish out system sellers, service sellers, and heavy hitters. I mentioned above, but if a very small team like Sandfall can make a global hitting masterpiece on a mere 10 million budget in just 5 years, it shows that stupid amounts of money and overly long dev time, isn't always the right way to dev.

Ninja Theory, Compulsion, Double Fine, I get. They've not really been pulling their weight. Arkane surprised me, but perhaps the top brass aint happy with slow progress? It's a guess for anyone as to where they're even at with their project.

A lot of this is poor management on MS part, but a lot of it is on heel dragging studios too, that cost hundreds and hundreds of millions to run, and then you have small teams like (for example) Sandfall, a 30+ team that pulled off a game like Expedition 33 in 5 years, on a $10 million budget, it shows a lot.

Compulsion makes sense, but Arkane feels a bit heavy handed, no? Either way, it's a necessary evil, I'm afraid. There's a reason the likes of Playground are safe, they're consistent and deliver the goods.

This is gunna be a hit no matter where it lands, Playground are top quality and this is one much loved IP. I have total faith in them.

Big changes afoot, but necessary changes. Sure, it will suck (mostly for them) but it is what it is. There'll be a couple of studios along the way that get shuttered too I imagine, or downsized, but that's just the nature of the biz. Interested to see what's what in the months to come.

@Jaxx420 Just edited my posts, lol. I always get Ninja Theory mixed up with Team Ninja. Yeah I completely agree. I don't blame them either. I was worried they'd be shuttered after Sauna 2 and how it didn't break out like the first one did, but it must have done pretty well for them to stay put and make another game in the universe. Excited to see what they do after this. Surely not another Sauna?

@Fiendish-Beaver I don't think it was Spencer. The guy looked beat towards the last few months of his tenure. I'd wager that most of that was Satya, and I'd argue that community morale was at an all time low, and so a change in leadership was struck up to cover a 180 turnaround.

I'm gunna guess that Satya and the high-ups wont mess around with the division too much again if their influence has caused these issues, but it's a guess for anyone as to how this turns out. I personally think charging more for Ultimate and forcing Fortnite and Ubi on us was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Fortnite, of all games. A F2P game that requires heaps of time to max out, is hardly the target demographic for GP. Still, removing CoD is a wise move if it lessens the cost for the rest of the service. I also wouldn't mind a choice in having to have EA Access there too.

@Froggyman1 Sammy? You mean Beaver? No bud, Beaver has been here for years and years. I'm not sure who Sammy is as I don't go to Push-S, but Beaver's a good dude.

@Fiendish-Beaver None of that takes away from the fact that we have the clarity in knowing that Gears E is console exclusive to Xbox. Trying to split hairs over what a live-service game is (and isn't) is bonkers.

One of the biggest community feedbacks was "make Xbox games exclusive" and they do that with Gears E and now people are baby-crying over a freakin' logo... Demanding to know whether it was a last minute decision or not.

Does that even matter? Does it matter that they were supposedly vague? If, or if not that is true, is doesn't change the outcome. Gears E is exclusive. People just like to look for something to complain about. No matter how unimportant, nor how tedious that complaint is.

@Jaxx420 Totally agree. It didn't help that NT included a scene in which Dante has a white wig land on his head, to which he says "not a chance" lol... That didn't go down too well either. But yeah, I think it was down to the fanbase wanting more OG Dante like you said.

The game itself I thought was really well done. I'd love for NT to try their hand at another hack and slash, via a new IP. I'm not sure Capcom would ever outsource to other devs again (DmC, Operation Raccoon City) now that they have found massive success.

Hence the 180, with Asha taking the helm. If anything smacked Satya, it was the loss of millions of subs. Personally, I think Asha is doing a solid job since taking over from Spencer - and props to them for admitting they need a reset.

@Skinny-Pete Exactly. It's becoming a running joke at the minute isn't it? Lol. They literally cannot win when it comes to a certain type of crowd. Damned if they do and damned if they don't.

The same crowd that moaned about multiplatform, are the same crowd moaning about a freakin' logo, on a game that is now exclusive to the console. Make sense of that...

People sit on the internet demanding MS owns up to an error / mistake (that may or may not be the case) as if it's going to inherit them some honour. Does it really matter, I mean does it really really matter whether or not it was a last minute pull or not? The fact is that we now know it's exclusive. Are we really going to shed tears and cradle one another because it may or may not have been a multiplatform game up until recently?...

I just don't get it lol. If it was a mistake, fine. If it wasn't a mistake, fine. The end result is the same no matter what. What on earth is with the outcry. You cant make this crap up lol...

Said it for a while, but I hope Ninja Theory move back to hack and slash. The market for hack and slash is wide open, and I personally thought their take on DmC was really good.

I mean, is this, in 2026, what we have come to? It's a platform logo. Whether or not it was a mistake, and whether or not it was pulled at last minute is besides the point.

People complain about lack of clarity, Microsoft gives them clarity by announcing exclusivity, and now the same people are moaning because they don't like the lack of clarity behind the clarity?...

Why not ask for a permanent seat at the board whilst you're at it? C'mon, this isn't that deep. Gamers know that the game is console exclusive to Xbox. That's it. End of story. Accept it and move on.

@Fiendish-Beaver Can positive vibes not just be positive vibes? Any entertainment media is run on good PR. That's not a spin, that is how it has always worked.

The energy in that room! Big respect to Asha!

Amazing showcase with heaps of variety, most of which looks incredible. Best show so far imo.

Outstanding showcase if you ask me. You know when Xbox nails it, because the trolls come out of hiding lol. Strongest show so far imo.

@FraserG I am very surprised no one has put forward a "moderate user reviews / review bombing" or "show playtime for profiles leaving feedback on games" or "prevent reviews with less than 90 minutes of playtime" for the Xbox store, to weed out the daft reviews.

@Skinny-Pete Totally agree. 110%. I said a while back that Asha is Microsoft's way of doing a 180, and nothing covers up a 180 better than a change of leadership - like when Phil took over from Don(key). If they listen to feedback, and give fans what they want, they can only go uphill.

@Skinny-Pete Right back at you my friend. Really appreciate your kindness. That is a gift society (especially online) lacks these days. Never change brother ❤️

I think Xbox 1P should be exclusive (save Forza) and anything ABK / Zenimax should be multiplatform. Just my thoughts. You get the best of both worlds then. I also think Asha needs to encourage her studios to try looking more at the market.

Team Ninja on a new hack and slash or slap them on a revisit to Lost Oddysey or Blue Dragon. Get another team on a new Crash / Spyro / Banjo game. Get another team making a new action IP (like Sony did with Ghost of).

The sooner they look at the demand the sooner they start making solid changes.

She's doing well. Totally respect her openly admitting that a reset is needed and she seems to have a very robust and very solid head on her shoulders. I am keen to see how she operates at the game show in a few days. Like I said elsewhere, this is as much her time as it is XBOX's time.