Markatron84

Never good to see a studio struggling. I havent gotten around to Wreckreation yet, but I've watched a fair bit of gameplay, (including the quick look from Jeff Gerstmann, who was quite positive on it) and it looks cool, like a lower budget Burnout Paradise. Hopefully another publisher sees the potential and steps in.

@Jonnybekeww unfortunately, nobody's heard of due diligence these days. If I buy a game that I don't like or is buggy, it's nobody's fault but mine. Reviews exist. YouTube exists. Reddit exists. My ability to do my own research into whether or not a game is right for me, or good, exists. My ability to not impulsively buy something without doing said research exists.

Sadly, a lot of people are impulsive, uninformed, immature idiots and get butthurt when they make an impulsive, uninformed, immature, idiotic purchase and later regret it. Then it's "BOOOOO, LOSE YOUR JOBS".

I wonder if sales of Helldivers 2 on Xbox will have any influence on whether or not Sony releases this game on Xbox day one. I don't know specifics but from what I've seen/read at least Arrowhead was happy.

You can get MCC looking pretty damn good and running at a smooth 60fps on Steam Deck, and it's a great way to play it. And because you can pick and choose what components you want installed, it doesn't need to take up a ridiculous amount of space.

Y'all see they put Nuketown in Black Ops 7? Wild.

How's that working out?

@FraserG maybe I'll have a look at getting it running on Steam Deck. I had a lot of fun playing T2 and T3 multiplayer back in the 2000s, as I'm sure many people did.

@FraserG I know it's not strictly Xbox related and thus maybe not feasible, but I'd be interested to read a piece that goes in-depth on this project.

If Destiny 3 is real, comes out and is free-to-play, I'll check it out; I've played enough D1 and D2 (a combined 2,500+ hours) and have enough good memories that I feel like I owe Bungie that much.

But I can't help but agree with the above comments. Bungie has dropped the ball so many times in oh so many different ways, especially with D2, that I'm pretty sure the damage to the brand at this point is not only done but also irreparable, and I'm doubtful that a D3 flavoured reset would result in some kind of miraculous comeback.

Splitgate and Splitgate 2 both had good bones, and I had some fun with them, but I don't have a lot of faith in 1047 at this point. They've bungled the release and post-launch support of two games in four years.

Plus, for all their bravado and big talk about how "FPS sucks now" and "we're going to make FPS great again", they sure were quick to stuff Splitgate 2 with microtransactions (which 1047 egregiously overpriced and mislead customers in the way they marketed them) and chuck in a battle royale mode.

@TuscanUK

I've never understood review scores with a dot. How is 7.9 better then 7.8?

A 7.8 game has too much water, while a 7.9 game does not.

One day Game Pass isn't eating into game sales, the next day it is. I can't keep up.

@Striker21 I stopped reading at "indie slop". 🙄

Why aren't these called Xcrox?

Project Gotham Racing 3, then Kameo, then Call of Duty 2.

@FraserG Be honest: how much does potentially seeing me cry factor into those plans? It's ok, I can take it.

Thank Goodness You're Here is one of the absolute best indie games; not just of 2024, but ever.

Oooh, do Kameo next. If that game doesn't hold up, I might cry.

If it's Beyond Good & Evil 2, I'll not only eat my hat, but I'll eat the hats of everyone with a Hookshot account. Don't own a hat? Buy one and I'll eat it. Don't have a Hookshot account? Make one and I'll add you to my hat-eating itinerary.

@Chip-Douglas maybe you'll get something at the Game Awards, or in Xbox's yearly Developer Direct in January. A Partner Showcase is - as the name says - a showcase for third-party publishing partners, though.

@themightyant I've never understood why PC GOTY and Console GOTY are a thing either. Clair Obscur is Ultimate GOTY? Fine. I haven't played it but from what I've heard it's well deserved. But it's on both PC and consoles, so shouldn't it automatically be PC GOTY and Console GOTY?

@Chip-Douglas if you came in to a Partner Showcase looking for new info on Fable, any disappointment was self-inflicted.

Frtcicsharetdolz! Can't wait!

@themightyant it sure does sound like this interview treads the same old ground as past interviews pertaining to the history of Xbox.

£86.27?!?! That's ridiculous.

I still want one, though.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner no chance. They'll release it right at the tail end of the PS5/Series X generation, so when the next consoles come around they can sell it to us again.

What about not on Xbox Game Pass?

Look:

I know we've been here before. I know I'm not the only person who has (on more than one occasion) pointed out Pure Xbox's rampant and aggressive SEO... ness that consistently and messily gunks up every headline on the website. I even know that you're probably sick of hearing it (although I have a specific answer to anyone who ever has reason to say that to me)...

But come on. Assassin's Creed Mirage Gets Massive Xbox Game Pass Update? What is that? Are you saying that Mirage is only getting an update on Game Pass? What about for non-subscribers? Or owners of the game on other platforms? It's a misleading and not entirely informative headline.

How about Assassin's Creed Mirage (Available on Game Pass) Gets Massive Update? That way, you get a headline that isn't misleading and fills the SEO keyword quota. Everybody wins.

I'll spare everyone the indignity of me going through the content of the article itself; I have several issues with that as well, though.

Is Andrew Wilson OK? Has anyone checked his temperature?

@Tasuki all executives are corporate puppets. No company is going to pay somebody that high up to not tow the company line.

@Medic_alert I agree. I haven't played it, but everything I've seen of it looks absolutely stunning.

@EdgarTheBug They could always raise the price of Game Pass Ultimate again and have the gameplay of anyone with a lower tier be interrupted by unskippable ads every 15 minutes. That'd be rad.

• Halo: Campaign Evolved will be pretty wonky.
• Gears E-Day will be good but ultimately forgotten about within a few months.
• Fable will be delayed into 2027 or cancelled entirely.
• Forza Horizon 6 will be banging; more of the same, but banging.
• Game Pass prices will go up again.
• A new dynamic background for your Xbox Series X and/or S! Happy 25th anniversary!
• Use your reward points for a chance to win a non-functioning and likely very ugly extremely limited edition console! Happy 25th anniversary!!!!
• Another controller design? Why not?! HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY!!!!
• "We couldn't have got this far without you, the players." It's not our fault you are where you are, Phil.

@darkswabber English Wikipedia says 22nd. Get on Wikipedia NL and get editing!

@fatpunkslim

It’s funny, if Phil Spencer had come out with this kind of phrases—nonsensical and full of bad faith—some people would have laughed in his face.

That's a moot point though. Phil Spencer would never say that because Xbox isn't succeeding enough at anything worth copying. 👀

This is the worst thing I've ever seen. And I've seen Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

Neato! 👍

Just ditch the campaign. Hardly anyone plays them, even fewer people finish them, and I've never played a COD campaign that left me feeling fulfilled.

And make the COD multilayer and Zombies free to play. It's not like it's not already microtransactioned to f**k.

Five years into any other generation and you could pick up a then current-gen console for like £150-200 below the launch RRP. We're in wild times.

@Tyrant_T103 I'll accept "new gen" for the first year or so but yeah if it's out it's current gen. And let's face it, Series S was stretching the definition to begin with.

Can we all agree that if a console has hit its fifth birthday, calling it next-gen is slap worthy?

Price permitting, getting the Steam Machine will be a no-brainer for my household.

They're lucky they're Bungie; Sony probably would have shut down most other studios with a track record this bad a long time ago.

"If we can't sell them GTA VI yet, maybe we can sell them GTA V Shark Cards..."- Strauss Zelnick

Twitter banners are the new Phil Spencer t-shirts.

@Balaam_ not the best of omens, is it?

Small indie developer Rockstar must be struggling right now, trying to develop a game and engage in union busting at the same time. 🙄

Markatron84's super accurate (terms and conditions apply) Xbox 2026 release schedule is as follows:

Gears of War: E-Day - May 2026
obligatory Elder Scrolls Online expansion - June 2026
Forza Horizon 6 - September 2026
Call of Duty - October 2026
Halo: Campaign Evolved -15th November 2026
Fable - ????? 2026/2027
State of Decay 3 - ????????????

@TrollOfWar they could do that, but I imagine it'll go the same way for them as it did for other publishers who, for example, released games with a 12 month exclusivity window on Epic; the majority of players said "ew, Epic?" and snubbed the game until it released on Steam. There's a reason Ubisoft came crawling back to Steam.

Sony needs to cotton on quick that if it's going to continue to release its games on PC, it's going to have to bend to the whims of the audience, not the other way around. This isn't a closed ecosystem that Sony owns and can dictate where and how people play. Again, PC players won't stand for it.

Cool.

Unless, of course, Sony brings out its own PC launcher and makes all of its games exclusive to it. Are the PlayStation higher-ups that stupid? Time will tell. But what I can already tell you is that if they are that stupid, PC players won't stand for it.

I'll admit that I didn't know Viva La Dirt League had a YouTube channel; I've only ever seen them on Facebook reels. As I work in retail, I'm more a fan of their Techtown sketches. Can't say Nice Day for Fishing appeals to me, though I hope it's done well for them.

@RiverGenie yeah, I'd much rather see someone take another stab at something similar to The Simpsons Game, from 2007. That game was so close to being good. It nailed the writing, the humour, the animation... It was just horrible to play. A new game like that (but fun) would be cool.

I Hate This Place

I don't recall making a game 🤔