@Millionski Sorry to hear your experience with the pro. We have two in this house since launch and both have been rock solid. Its also extremely easy to see improvements over the base machine and we kept the base plugged in for a couple of months for easy comparisons. In several cases its a night and day difference, but if you cant spot 2k native over 1080p or notice additional RT AO then its clearly not a machine for you. Im suprised your not using a series S tbh, as your unlikely to notice softer output or jankier frame rates there either?
Only machine I have with any issues this gen is my series X, which for the last year has not been able to connect to controllers wirelessly with any regularity, to the point where I have to play it wired. It seems to be 'load' problem as the fault is constant if the machine is set to 120hz, and more intermittent if its set back to 60hz. Not the end of the world for me, particularly as its not my favoured place to play.
I hope you dont think this post is trying to invalidate your experience as thats not my intent. I just wanted to share that some of us appear to have a wildly different experience to the experience you shared.
I must admit its a bit of a meme for xbox to always say 'next year', but I hope its true. My own issues aside, its a powerful machine that I feel has not been fully utilised up till now and I'd love to see it pushed hard. Im hopefull that the Gears game will really shine as the collective normally do really competent work. Fingers crossed eh?
Have a good one 👍
Robocop is fun, but it was £3.49 in a recent sale, so its not adding a lot of value. I'd still advise anyone to try it, particularly if they grew up with the original film, its more fun than I thought it would be I'd try fallen feathers, but I suspect I'll fall of it hard, old man reflexes letting me down an all..lol
Only Keeper interests me - and that's based on zany concept and the Devs previous output, no idea if the game will appeal really. The rest I simply have no interest in playing, though I guess NG4 might turn out to be better than previous iterations.
There is Zero excitement for me in what GP has in store, or indeed what it's delivered in the last 2 months, so I'll remain unsubbed until there's something that's exciting for me, then I can jump in. As Microsoft only offer monthly payments to me, it's easy to cancel till they have games I want.
Hope those that have excitement for the above games enjoy them.. its till great value if you like those those games.
I don't either game is going to set a new graphical benchmark tbh.
But it's clear to see that the Series X produces a sharper image - I guess if you are running a series S you're probably used to that by now. I'm not so sure that the frame rates on S are acceptable but it's always a balance and it's not easy to judge tech performance on a youtube video.
I think it's clear that series X in performance mode would be the sweet spot, but would be nice to hear from anyone who is playing the game. There's early talk from many that they are really enjoying the game...
I don't really understand why this premium game sub is adding titles that have been on it before - it's certainly of no value to longer term subscribers. It's pretty in places, and the humour can definitely hit the mark if you like stupidity (I usually do), but the gameplay feels pretty rudimentary. At least they introduce new moves and guns throughout the run time so it doesn't get too boring. It's one of those solid 6/10 titles that you are glad you experienced through a sub service. I liked it enough that I completed it, but I wouldn't play it again!
Good concept, but I would say that as I like PS5 dash! Less Ads is always good but I expect them to double down on adverts for the future unfortunately. I hope all their effort is going into the Windows 11 dash for their future machines, as this will determine if it will appeal to console players or not..I'd rather it succeeded.
As an introduction to how Xbox will be once its Windows 11, I'm really interested in the software and front end for these. But it seems like a very high price to be paying for what you get, so I'd be surprised if it sells much.
I tried through over 90 hours of playing, but ultimately it was not a game that warrants returning to in any way and imo is very far away from being a bethusda classic like Id hoped for. Im glad I played it on game pass, it was not the AAA experience Id expect for full price and ultimately felt hampered by legacy engine limitations and old fashioned design thinking. It left me very concerned for ES6.
@somnambulance Hmm, I have two pros, one horozontal, but one vertical, I'll keep my eyes on the vertical one! Hope you have no further issues You've got some great games to play.
I've been playing Dragons Dogma 2 since last week. I fell off it hard the first time I tried it, but once you overcome the initial difficulties and accept it for what it is, its actually a deeply satisfying experience and it looks great and maintains smooth framerates on a ps5 pro with a vrr tv..(balanced mode, raytracing on, unlocked frame rate). Im a little captivated by it, so I might not even manage any FH5 racing this weekend 😀
Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you're having a blast!
I always thought this deal would be really bad for Xbox and was roundly criticized and chastised by many on this site for having that view. It brings no satisfaction at all to see it unfolding as it is. The deal was the end for Xbox as far as I'm concerned.. those who wish to claim its alive by buying badged PC's are welcome to do so, but everything I loved about xbox is dead or dying.
What's with recycled titles on game pass? If the games been on already then surely it makes sense to put new games on, not ones people have already tried?
@Ooccoo_Jr
News story today where the head of Arcam is basically saying exactly what you are saying and stating that Game pass is killing studios and games, people in the industry and starting to talk freely about this..
@DeadSpace Hello mate. I dont seem to experience that issue in the game at all, though obviously some vehicles are better than others and some surfaces premote better grip. Id suggest you ensure you have the driving line switched on and pay attention to the colour of the line. As you are approaching a section which turns yellow and then red, start hitting the brakes so the line goes blue and you can then follow the line round the corner with no issues. Some cars you can push so you can take corners on yellow/red, but until your comfortable, just brake enough that the line turns blue and dont give it full acceleration until your round the corner. I dont know your garage, but you start the games with a ford 'hoonan' car which grips fine, so prctice with that. That car is also fine off road, so if you're missing tarmac or racing off road it will still turn and its also a good car compared with others at its rating, so winning races on normal settings should be pretty easy. Remember you have ' rewind' on by default, so if you do go thrashing into a corner too fast hit that rewind button and try the corner again. Most cars are pretty easy to control once you get you head round them, just avoid any drift cars they can be a struggle to get going straight, never mind corners. I hope the above helps you, you'll have a great time once you get it! Good luck Superstar! 👍
Still putting more hours in on my replay of Forza Horizon 5, endless fun. Same with Fantasy Life i. Thinking of starting dargons dogma 2, its been in my backlog too long! Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you have fun!
Switch 2 titles appear to be a huge mess. Not even mentioning the awful screen blur and poor hdr, its just not a machine to run demanding titles. Given how underwhelming Switch 2 is, youd have to expect a series S to be much better running such games and a comparison with a ps4 would be a fairer comparison imo.
Just another huge mis-management from Microsoft. If you ' set a studio up' then you manage it properly to ensure it makes progress and on the way to producing a product. Other than hirring a couple of key high cost personal and puttting them in an office, it appears no other actions were taken. No wonder anyone talked into joining would turn right round and walk off again once they saw there was no proper structure. What a waste.
@Fiendish-Beaver Highly recommend it my friend - if you are a PC player with twitch KB/mouse skills then thats the best place, but I suspect you are a console gamer like myself (I have a £4K pc rig, but try not to play games on it), so Xbox would be good for you as you tend to keep your games here, but I'd choose a PS5 pro every day for superior performance, but it really doesn't matter. You can play as a couple of mates and simply have a couple of randoms - I often played with my wife who would use the PS5 behind me while I used the main one. I found some really helpful players who taught me a lot playing with rando's. You can also solo drop in the early sessions to get some experience, but you miss a lot of fun this way. I hope you choose to play, its really good fun!
Well this is good news in an otherwise ***** week. If Sony confirm that Xbox are all in on making a PC, then suddenly this doesn't matter any more - Xbox simply are not competition.
Great game, I highly recommend you all try it. I can't stand multiplayer shooters, but I played the hell out of this.
@Millionski I'm asking myself very similar questions and have no answers. I can only hope it gets better, but I suspect it will get worse. How can they make me think a devil like Bobby Kotick was a safer pair of hands?
@PsBoxSwitchOwner Marathon is the one that's been 'delayed indefinitely'. Not closed, not half its team reduced, but given time to see what they can save or make from what was obviously going to be a disastrous launch.
@Millionski Thats whats so disappointing. While they were buying they painted an image of a group that could fund smaller teams, breakout ideas and passion projects. Truth is it will be huge earner or your studio will go. Just one of the many outright lies.
@FraserG Yes mate, its difficult to follow, logistically, and also because I've been there and know that sinking feeling as your livelihood gets snatched away from you, so I can get a little emotive watching such cuts unfold. I'd like to think this will be the last round for MS, but I know I'm kidding myself. There appear to be 9000 cuts across MS with reporting stating "Regarding the scale of the cuts Microsoft would only share that they were less than half of the company’s overall layoffs." this suggests to me that its about 4000 or so in the gaming division this time.
Stephen Totilo from Games File reports Staff loses at Undead Labs:
"Layoffs across myriad studios, including King (Candy Crush), Turn 10 (Forza) and Undead Labs (State of Decay)"
I got his Email update this morning. No other information (about Undead Labs) and hopefully its small cuts that won't affect the game, but I thought I'd share this here as I've not noticed this information elsewhere yet..
@HonestHick Its because I know exactly how how these teams operate these days, that I know real devs, the atists the coders the pipeline designers, cannot do anything without full management approval and planning guiding everything they work on. Its team leaders and producers that call all the shots, but its often them that do a sideline shuffle to safty as they watch the workers they led into a black hole crash and burn.
When you are the publisher, your oversight on these operations is critical, but Microsoft has been legendarily bad at their oversight role. I know this as Ive worked on a title with Microsoft 'oversight' and they were extremely lax then, as everyone who works for them will attest, and this is what allows an obvious poor concept or misguided idea to flounder for years without the course correction it needed to become a real contender. If this oversight role were done properly, there would much fewer failures and Microsoft's involvement is the weak link failure, with frontline devs paying the price.
We've seen the same from Sony and its oversight of its live service push. They at least are saying how they have now changed their oversight role to try and ensure it doesnt happen further, but the middle management in MS will simply fade to the background till they do it again.
Despite all the releases and all the teams MS now own, only one title is an MS published title, and every title here is multi platform ( I guess they all are now). Great list - just reminds us of how many great games there are these days and why my backlog is so large.
For those that wonder what ever happened to this great series, bear in mind it was made by Criterion Games. Criterion were bought by E.A and we all know that's the kiss of death to the studio and any of its great franchises - you can watch it happening to Codemasters right now as E.A. never change. I watched it happen to Bullfrog while I still worked there. Its shameful they still do this to this day....
Regardless of anyones stance on the future direction, surely its clear that the messenging and communication has not been good.
I personally think they have shafted those who have backed the xbox eco system for so long, they will lose large proportions of their library when they play next gen on windows. I mourn the platform, but I may buy into the next one anyway. No question Microsoft will continue to make good profits regardless, thats what all this change will ensure
Until it covers at least 50% of titles, its just not a big deal to anyone except a marketting executive or people who like to parrot them. This is of very limited use to any real gamer with a mix of titles on the eco system.
Financing games development used to be like 'spread betting', youd get a few duds but often titles you couldnt predict blow up and deliver huge profits. The way shareholders and large corps have started behaving in the last few years means every single investment is tested in isolation and one under preforming title is the end of a studio. It pressures studios into taking less risks and sticking with proven ideas rather than risk taking, and its not helping to produce the best titles. Fortunately, many more funding models exist for indie developers so inventiveness can still flourish in that space. This kind of work was always precarious, I was made redundant several times over my 20 years as a dev. But Ive never known it to be like this, its insanity and the best talent will go to industries safer so these staff can keep their families in a stable life. I fear for the future of the buisness when its behaving as it is.
@TrevorP86 Maybe, but its working for them and bringing in money they can rely on, without having to fire teams of developers every few months. As a buisness its clearly working.
Comments 2,841
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 19-20)
Dragons Dogma 2. It really is a great world to get lost in, Im really enjoying it.
Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you have fun!
Re: Microsoft Movies & TV Is Officially Ending, Which Will Have A Big Impact On Xbox
Just another piece of the jigsaw. I don't even want to see the whole picture anymore, as we all know what it is.
Re: Opinion: Xbox Series X Still Hasn't Been Fully Utilised Yet, But 2026 Could Be The Year
@Millionski Sorry to hear your experience with the pro. We have two in this house since launch and both have been rock solid. Its also extremely easy to see improvements over the base machine and we kept the base plugged in for a couple of months for easy comparisons. In several cases its a night and day difference, but if you cant spot 2k native over 1080p or notice additional RT AO then its clearly not a machine for you. Im suprised your not using a series S tbh, as your unlikely to notice softer output or jankier frame rates there either?
Only machine I have with any issues this gen is my series X, which for the last year has not been able to connect to controllers wirelessly with any regularity, to the point where I have to play it wired. It seems to be 'load' problem as the fault is constant if the machine is set to 120hz, and more intermittent if its set back to 60hz. Not the end of the world for me, particularly as its not my favoured place to play.
I hope you dont think this post is trying to invalidate your experience as thats not my intent. I just wanted to share that some of us appear to have a wildly different experience to the experience you shared.
I must admit its a bit of a meme for xbox to always say 'next year', but I hope its true. My own issues aside, its a powerful machine that I feel has not been fully utilised up till now and I'd love to see it pushed hard. Im hopefull that the Gears game will really shine as the collective normally do really competent work. Fingers crossed eh?
Have a good one 👍
Re: These Eight Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (July 17-August 1)
Robocop is fun, but it was £3.49 in a recent sale, so its not adding a lot of value. I'd still advise anyone to try it, particularly if they grew up with the original film, its more fun than I thought it would be
I'd try fallen feathers, but I suspect I'll fall of it hard, old man reflexes letting me down an all..lol
Re: Poll: Which Of Xbox's Fall 2025 Games Are You Most Excited About?
Only Keeper interests me - and that's based on zany concept and the Devs previous output, no idea if the game will appeal really.
The rest I simply have no interest in playing, though I guess NG4 might turn out to be better than previous iterations.
There is Zero excitement for me in what GP has in store, or indeed what it's delivered in the last 2 months, so I'll remain unsubbed until there's something that's exciting for me, then I can jump in.
As Microsoft only offer monthly payments to me, it's easy to cancel till they have games I want.
Hope those that have excitement for the above games enjoy them.. its till great value if you like those those games.
Re: Ready Or Not Comparison Shows Difference Between Xbox Series X And Series S
I don't either game is going to set a new graphical benchmark tbh.
But it's clear to see that the Series X produces a sharper image - I guess if you are running a series S you're probably used to that by now. I'm not so sure that the frame rates on S are acceptable but it's always a balance and it's not easy to judge tech performance on a youtube video.
I think it's clear that series X in performance mode would be the sweet spot, but would be nice to hear from anyone who is playing the game. There's early talk from many that they are really enjoying the game...
Re: High On Life Returns To Xbox Game Pass Today, And Now Is The Perfect Time To Play It
I don't really understand why this premium game sub is adding titles that have been on it before - it's certainly of no value to longer term subscribers.
It's pretty in places, and the humour can definitely hit the mark if you like stupidity (I usually do), but the gameplay feels pretty rudimentary. At least they introduce new moves and guns throughout the run time so it doesn't get too boring. It's one of those solid 6/10 titles that you are glad you experienced through a sub service. I liked it enough that I completed it, but I wouldn't play it again!
Re: ASUS Seems To Have Accidentally Leaked The ROG Xbox Ally Prices (In Europe)
@Millionski I have a couple of PCs running win 11,so I realy should take a look! Thanks for the info.
Re: Xbox Fan Shares Fresh Dashboard Concept That Cleans Up The Home Screen
Good concept, but I would say that as I like PS5 dash!
Less Ads is always good but I expect them to double down on adverts for the future unfortunately.
I hope all their effort is going into the Windows 11 dash for their future machines, as this will determine if it will appeal to console players or not..I'd rather it succeeded.
Re: ASUS Seems To Have Accidentally Leaked The ROG Xbox Ally Prices (In Europe)
As an introduction to how Xbox will be once its Windows 11, I'm really interested in the software and front end for these.
But it seems like a very high price to be paying for what you get, so I'd be surprised if it sells much.
Re: Forza Horizon 5 Set To Overtake 2024's Game Of The Year With Over 3 Million Sales On PS5
@SMJ "It's funny how Push Square hasn't talked about this. It's almost like the editor is a fanboy."
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2025/07/xboxs-forza-horizon-5-sold-an-outrageous-2-million-copies-on-ps5-in-a-month
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2025/05/xboxs-forza-horizon-5-is-selling-extraordinarily-well-on-ps5-surpasses-1-2-million-copies-since-launch
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2025/04/xboxs-forza-horizon-5-adds-almost-one-million-ps5-players-in-just-a-few-days
Do you even bother reading before you comment?
Good to see the sales, its a great game and deserves them.
Re: Talking Point: Are You Excited For Double Fine's Follow-Up To Psychonauts 2?
Love the tag line!
This looks weird enough to be interesting to me. Whenever I resub to gp it'll be one I'll check out for sure.
Re: Talking Point: After Almost Two Years, How Do You Feel About Xbox's Starfield In 2025?
I tried through over 90 hours of playing, but ultimately it was not a game that warrants returning to in any way and imo is very far away from being a bethusda classic like Id hoped for. Im glad I played it on game pass, it was not the AAA experience Id expect for full price and ultimately felt hampered by legacy engine limitations and old fashioned design thinking. It left me very concerned for ES6.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 12-13)
@somnambulance
Hmm, I have two pros, one horozontal, but one vertical, I'll keep my eyes on the vertical one!
Hope you have no further issues You've got some great games to play.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 12-13)
@somnambulance
Really pleased to hear your machine got fixed dude. Was it expensive to fix or were you getting warranty fix? Enjoy DS2!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 12-13)
I've been playing Dragons Dogma 2 since last week. I fell off it hard the first time I tried it, but once you overcome the initial difficulties and accept it for what it is, its actually a deeply satisfying experience and it looks great and maintains smooth framerates on a ps5 pro with a vrr tv..(balanced mode, raytracing on, unlocked frame rate).
Im a little captivated by it, so I might not even manage any FH5 racing this weekend 😀
Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you're having a blast!
Re: Talking Point: It's Been Two Years Since A Defining Moment In The History Of Xbox
I always thought this deal would be really bad for Xbox and was roundly criticized and chastised by many on this site for having that view.
It brings no satisfaction at all to see it unfolding as it is. The deal was the end for Xbox as far as I'm concerned.. those who wish to claim its alive by buying badged PC's are welcome to do so, but everything I loved about xbox is dead or dying.
Re: Romero Games 'Trying To Fund' Project After Sudden Loss Of Xbox Support, Says Developer
I hope they save what could be a promising game.
Re: Poll: Helldivers 2 Isn't On Xbox Game Pass, So Will You Be Buying It?
@Doomofgloom
That's the publishers decision - in this case Devolver.
Re: Three Games Are Available This Week With Xbox Game Pass (July 8-11)
What's with recycled titles on game pass? If the games been on already then surely it makes sense to put new games on, not ones people have already tried?
Re: Poll: Helldivers 2 Isn't On Xbox Game Pass, So Will You Be Buying It?
@Ooccoo_Jr
News story today where the head of Arcam is basically saying exactly what you are saying and stating that Game pass is killing studios and games, people in the industry and starting to talk freely about this..
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/arkane-founder-slams-game-pass-following-microsoft-cuts-why-is-no-one-talking-about-the-elephant-in-the-room/
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 5-6)
@DeadSpace Hello mate. I dont seem to experience that issue in the game at all, though obviously some vehicles are better than others and some surfaces premote better grip.
Id suggest you ensure you have the driving line switched on and pay attention to the colour of the line. As you are approaching a section which turns yellow and then red, start hitting the brakes so the line goes blue and you can then follow the line round the corner with no issues. Some cars you can push so you can take corners on yellow/red, but until your comfortable, just brake enough that the line turns blue and dont give it full acceleration until your round the corner. I dont know your garage, but you start the games with a ford 'hoonan' car which grips fine, so prctice with that. That car is also fine off road, so if you're missing tarmac or racing off road it will still turn and its also a good car compared with others at its rating, so winning races on normal settings should be pretty easy. Remember you have ' rewind' on by default, so if you do go thrashing into a corner too fast hit that rewind button and try the corner again.
Most cars are pretty easy to control once you get you head round them, just avoid any drift cars they can be a struggle to get going straight, never mind corners.
I hope the above helps you, you'll have a great time once you get it!
Good luck Superstar! 👍
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 5-6)
@Ricky-Spanish Hehe, snap! Hope you enjoy DD2 👍
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 5-6)
Still putting more hours in on my replay of Forza Horizon 5, endless fun. Same with Fantasy Life i.
Thinking of starting dargons dogma 2, its been in my backlog too long!
Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you have fun!
Re: Xbox Series S Compared To Switch 2 In Hogwarts Legacy Analysis, And The Results Are Surprising
Switch 2 titles appear to be a huge mess. Not even mentioning the awful screen blur and poor hdr, its just not a machine to run demanding titles.
Given how underwhelming Switch 2 is, youd have to expect a series S to be much better running such games and a comparison with a ps4 would be a fairer comparison imo.
Re: Perfect Dark Actor Calls On Fans To 'Speak Up' And Help The Game Survive
Just another huge mis-management from Microsoft. If you ' set a studio up' then you manage it properly to ensure it makes progress and on the way to producing a product. Other than hirring a couple of key high cost personal and puttting them in an office, it appears no other actions were taken. No wonder anyone talked into joining would turn right round and walk off again once they saw there was no proper structure.
What a waste.
Re: Random: Over 1M People Have Signed A Petition To 'Stop Killing Games'
I signed the UK petition this morning. Any tightening of consumer rights with regard to this is worthwhile.
Re: Helldivers 2 Is Officially Releasing For Xbox This August
@Fiendish-Beaver Highly recommend it my friend - if you are a PC player with twitch KB/mouse skills then thats the best place, but I suspect you are a console gamer like myself (I have a £4K pc rig, but try not to play games on it), so Xbox would be good for you as you tend to keep your games here, but I'd choose a PS5 pro every day for superior performance, but it really doesn't matter.
You can play as a couple of mates and simply have a couple of randoms - I often played with my wife who would use the PS5 behind me while I used the main one. I found some really helpful players who taught me a lot playing with rando's. You can also solo drop in the early sessions to get some experience, but you miss a lot of fun this way.
I hope you choose to play, its really good fun!
Re: Helldivers 2 Is Officially Releasing For Xbox This August
Well this is good news in an otherwise ***** week.
If Sony confirm that Xbox are all in on making a PC, then suddenly this doesn't matter any more - Xbox simply are not competition.
Great game, I highly recommend you all try it. I can't stand multiplayer shooters, but I played the hell out of this.
Re: State Of Decay 3 Has Gone Quiet, But Apparently It's Safe At Xbox
@Millionski
I'm asking myself very similar questions and have no answers.
I can only hope it gets better, but I suspect it will get worse.
How can they make me think a devil like Bobby Kotick was a safer pair of hands?
Re: State Of Decay 3 Has Gone Quiet, But Apparently It's Safe At Xbox
@PsBoxSwitchOwner Marathon is the one that's been 'delayed indefinitely'. Not closed, not half its team reduced, but given time to see what they can save or make from what was obviously going to be a disastrous launch.
Re: State Of Decay 3 Has Gone Quiet, But Apparently It's Safe At Xbox
@Millionski
Thats whats so disappointing. While they were buying they painted an image of a group that could fund smaller teams, breakout ideas and passion projects. Truth is it will be huge earner or your studio will go. Just one of the many outright lies.
Re: State Of Decay 3 Has Gone Quiet, But Apparently It's Safe At Xbox
"Kotaku understands that cuts are underway at State of Decay 3 studio Undead Labs as well."
More than one source now...
Re: State Of Decay 3 Has Gone Quiet, But Apparently It's Safe At Xbox
@FraserG
Yes mate, its difficult to follow, logistically, and also because I've been there and know that sinking feeling as your livelihood gets snatched away from you, so I can get a little emotive watching such cuts unfold.
I'd like to think this will be the last round for MS, but I know I'm kidding myself. There appear to be 9000 cuts across MS with reporting stating "Regarding the scale of the cuts Microsoft would only share that they were less than half of the company’s overall layoffs." this suggests to me that its about 4000 or so in the gaming division this time.
Re: State Of Decay 3 Has Gone Quiet, But Apparently It's Safe At Xbox
Stephen Totilo from Games File reports Staff loses at Undead Labs:
"Layoffs across myriad studios, including King (Candy Crush), Turn 10 (Forza) and Undead Labs (State of Decay)"
I got his Email update this morning. No other information (about Undead Labs) and hopefully its small cuts that won't affect the game, but I thought I'd share this here as I've not noticed this information elsewhere yet..
Re: Xbox's Everwild Gets Cancelled As Layoffs Hit Sea Of Thieves Developer
@HonestHick Its because I know exactly how how these teams operate these days, that I know real devs, the atists the coders the pipeline designers, cannot do anything without full management approval and planning guiding everything they work on. Its team leaders and producers that call all the shots, but its often them that do a sideline shuffle to safty as they watch the workers they led into a black hole crash and burn.
When you are the publisher, your oversight on these operations is critical, but Microsoft has been legendarily bad at their oversight role. I know this as Ive worked on a title with Microsoft 'oversight' and they were extremely lax then, as everyone who works for them will attest, and this is what allows an obvious poor concept or misguided idea to flounder for years without the course correction it needed to become a real contender. If this oversight role were done properly, there would much fewer failures and Microsoft's involvement is the weak link failure, with frontline devs paying the price.
We've seen the same from Sony and its oversight of its live service push. They at least are saying how they have now changed their oversight role to try and ensure it doesnt happen further, but the middle management in MS will simply fade to the background till they do it again.
Re: Xbox Layoffs Begin As Phil Spencer Shares Internal Microsoft Gaming Update
Removed
Re: Xbox's Everwild Reportedly Cancelled As Layoffs Hit Sea Of Thieves Developer
More mismanaged dev staff being thrown on the fire to save the incompetent executives who 'managed them' into this state. Pathetic.
Re: After Half A Year, These Are The 10 Highest-Rated Xbox Games Of 2025
Despite all the releases and all the teams MS now own, only one title is an MS published title, and every title here is multi platform ( I guess they all are now).
Great list - just reminds us of how many great games there are these days and why my backlog is so large.
Re: Two Decades Later, Burnout 3 Is Still Incredible To Play On Xbox
For those that wonder what ever happened to this great series, bear in mind it was made by Criterion Games.
Criterion were bought by E.A and we all know that's the kiss of death to the studio and any of its great franchises - you can watch it happening to Codemasters right now as E.A. never change.
I watched it happen to Bullfrog while I still worked there. Its shameful they still do this to this day....
Re: These Seven Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (July 2-15)
Nothing to make me regret unsubbing. Some of these have been on GP already?
Re: Talking Point: Would You Play An Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Remake?
If only they had made the worlds first AAAA game by taking the best bits of the Sea and Ships from Black Flag.
Re: Ex Blizzard Boss Thinks Microsoft Should Pick Its Xbox Strategy And 'Stick To It'
Regardless of anyones stance on the future direction, surely its clear that the messenging and communication has not been good.
I personally think they have shafted those who have backed the xbox eco system for so long, they will lose large proportions of their library when they play next gen on windows. I mourn the platform, but I may buy into the next one anyway. No question Microsoft will continue to make good profits regardless, thats what all this change will ensure
Re: Two Decades Later, Burnout 3 Is Still Incredible To Play On Xbox
Loved burnout. Racing was thrilling and crash mode was an inspired mode. Its of a game type we just dont see much of anymore, and I regret that..
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 28-29)
Still replaying Forza Horizon 5 and idling too much time away in Fantasy Life i. Im not making much progress on my backlog, but I am having fun.
Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you have a good one 👍
Re: Talking Point: What Do You Want To See From Xbox In The Second Half Of The Year?
Less word salad and more specifics..
Re: Xbox Play Anywhere Is Growing Massively In 2025, And There's A Lot More To Come
Until it covers at least 50% of titles, its just not a big deal to anyone except a marketting executive or people who like to parrot them. This is of very limited use to any real gamer with a mix of titles on the eco system.
Re: Forza Motorsport Studio Said To Be 'Bracing' For Job Cuts At Xbox
Financing games development used to be like 'spread betting', youd get a few duds but often titles you couldnt predict blow up and deliver huge profits.
The way shareholders and large corps have started behaving in the last few years means every single investment is tested in isolation and one under preforming title is the end of a studio. It pressures studios into taking less risks and sticking with proven ideas rather than risk taking, and its not helping to produce the best titles. Fortunately, many more funding models exist for indie developers so inventiveness can still flourish in that space.
This kind of work was always precarious, I was made redundant several times over my 20 years as a dev. But Ive never known it to be like this, its insanity and the best talent will go to industries safer so these staff can keep their families in a stable life. I fear for the future of the buisness when its behaving as it is.
Re: Forza Motorsport Studio Said To Be 'Bracing' For Job Cuts At Xbox
@Ricky-Spanish Forza Horizon is developed by playground games, the team developing Fable, so Horizon sales dont factor for Turn 10.
Re: PS Plus Has 'Surpassed Expectations' Since Becoming More Like Xbox Game Pass
@TrevorP86
Maybe, but its working for them and bringing in money they can rely on, without having to fire teams of developers every few months.
As a buisness its clearly working.