@InterceptorAlpha According to this " offline review video" the game works pretty well offline, the only thing missing is obviously the store for micro-transactions: https://youtu.be/aNiy8Iv5Lxk
Do you have any source describing what will not work offline?
@GuyinPA75 Who knows, could be the case that it's customizable to some extent, just like the other Xbox Elite controllers.
I think it's also more likely that you dial up the volume with the volume rocker on some wireless headset when you lean back on the couch than accidentally with your fingers slipping under the controller.
The scroll wheels for in-game menus would be revolutionary and superb in the console space.
I suspect those scrolling wheels are for game and chat audio volumes. The new controller is missing the port for the Xbox "Stereo Headset Adapter".
It's very unlikely for in-game menus, as game UI designers would need to design menus around the scroll wheels. With many games being multi-platform and the Xbox One/Series controllers (which lack the scroll wheels) being so widespread, only very few players with an Elite 3 controller would benefit from it.
But who knows, maybe you can customize the inputs to do something you would otherwise do with a different button, like you can on the current Elite controller with the back paddles.
Of course, the big question is if these controllers will feature any haptic feedback, like the DualSense controller for example.
The cloud controller looks casual and inexpensive. They could bundle it with 1 month of GamePass.
The Elite 3 controller is a bit of an enigma. I got an Elite 2 as a present from friends and the rubber grips peeled off after 3 years (despite low usage). I wonder if the new design holds up better and how easy it is to replace the shell. I guess the 2 scroll wheels at the bottom are for game and chat volume.
@InheritNegative I had a friend who was a huge fan of the Kingdom Under Fire games on the og Xbox. I thought of the games as "better fantasy versions" of Dynasty Warriors. In that case, I wouldn't mind being able to replay Ninety Nine Nights.
I haven't thought about it before, but Copilot AI on consoles could be a huge problem for content creators for guides on YouTube or TrueAchievements, NeoSeeker, etc. as the AI would take their content and they wouldn't get any ad revenue or recognition for their work. AI could lead to the end of those communities.
I think it's good if the Copilot AI is not added to the consoles.
@themightyant As I mentioned, it's a wild speculation, but the steps they've been doing recently appear like Xbox is trying to distance itself from Microsoft.
I see the conflict between Microsoft being more focused on business to business (B2B) with their Windows, Office, Azure, Copilot products, where Xbox is focused on business 2 consumer (B2C). We saw what happens when the Microsoft CFO applied the same expectations on the Xbox business as they do on the other, trying to push for profit margins which don't work in the console business.
From what we consumers see, the current Xbox business is not successful. We see these Xbox financial reports where especially the hardware business has been going down for years now (declined 30% in the last quarter), so I think that's a problem that needs to be explained to stakeholders. Microsoft would benefit from having "better numbers" and Xbox from being more independent and taking decisions more quickly, though they would miss the financial backing from Microsoft.
For me, the elephant in the room in this hypothetical scenario are Activision-Blizzard-King. Microsoft paid $ 69B for them, and if I am correct ABK is not part of the Xbox organization (at least not as integrated as the other Xbox studios). What would happen to them if Microsoft would like to spin off the gaming division? And how would they explain this to stakeholders after the huge investment?
I am probably missing something (I didn't fully think it through) and I am not sure if it's for the better or worse for us the consumers, but nevertheless at this point I think everything is possible with Xbox.
Reading about the Xbox employees getting an @ Xbox.com email address, made me wonder if the long-term plan is to spin off Xbox into it's own company separate from Microsoft, something that Asha Sharma might be more capable to do then someone like Phil Spencer or Sarah Bond. But it's just speculation.
Asha definitely brings somewhat more excitement to the Xbox brand. Will be interesting to see what they do next.
Honestly I don't feel like any feedback given by the community will lead to anything interesting.
I think it was a missed opportunity having Cortana as the main villain after Halo 5. I think Halo Infinite felt very unfinished, with the introduction of the new faction, the Endless, being underwhelming. A story DLC should have fleshed out the Endless with a stronger impact. Somehow the series failed to successfully replace the flood with a similar menacing enemy. I would have hoped that a corrupt Cortana and an army of drones could have done that, but no luck.
At this point I fear that going forward, we'll see the series remade in Unreal Engine as long as Microsoft/Xbox are willing to finance Halo Studio.
@FraserG A bit off topic, but is it worth reporting on the new Xbox insider survey, which asks which genres one associates with the Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo brands?
Seems to be the stream of "feedback" that Asha Sharma wants to listen to. There's the chance that the survey results might not do anything, or maybe they take it seriously and consider which genres and player-types they need to attract which they didn't before.
I watched the video reviews from both SkillUp and Digital Foundry and they both cover the strenghts and low points of the new Steam Controller quite well.
SkillUp compares the controller next to the Xbox Series, PS5, Switch Pro, the old Steam controller and the Steam Deck. Digital Foundry on the other hand has some good hands-on experiences on how the controller feels, how the haptic feedback feels and for which game scenarios they recommend the new controller. Both are worth watching.
I think this game should have had some split screen modes. I wonder how long will people keep playing it with such a weird/niche premise. Might have had a longevity as a local couch party game with friends.
@Decimateh Just had a quick look at the guy's Twitter/X profile. He's been really buying and selling Xbox Series consoles (both X and S) every 2 years. I don't know what to say. 🤦🏼
we really need to see some consistency in messaging from Microsoft now.
If Microsoft now implements a consistent messaging or strategy, then PushSquare might not have content to write about and could go out of business - and we don't want that. /sarcasm 😉
@Skinny-Pete Not fighting for attention already makes you a good person. Don't let anyone tell you a different thing. Be yourself and do what you like. 😉
@Skinny-Pete Either he is looking for attention or an idiot. "I'm back in" implies, that he has been on Xbox before, gave up his game library and sold it at some point over being frustrated about Xbox's strategy (or lack of), and now bought a new one at a higher price, because... of some positive PR messages from the new CEO? Are people really that irresponsible with their money?
It looks pretty good, but personally I am not a fan of some of the changes. Your character is already overpowered in combat, so I'm not sure about this new combat. And not failing tailing missions will result in killing your targets right away to skip the mission. Oh well the core bones are still there, which were strong in the original.
I played the demo fairly recently, it was fun, but the game didn't quite click with me. Don't know, but the rigid dungeons and the turn-based deck-builder combat felt somewhat stiff.
@themightyant I agree that Microsoft's gaming division is so large and internationally dispersed, that they will apply internal communication guidelines similar to PR communications. But in this case at least what is being said should be easy to understand for everyone in the business.
I agree with you, she doesn't provide any details and it leaves room for Interpretation. But at least she is providing some form of long-term vision/plan for her employees which seems achievable. From my experience I can also say that it's good to have some form of direction to work towards.
I view this message positively, the goal is to make "Xbox as a platform" easier and more attractive to develop for. I think some of the improvements which they are working on, like building a game once and releasing it on multiple different platforms will also benefit other 3rd party developers if those tools are shared with them.
@RadioHedgeFund I always viewed GamePass as a rental service. Was great when friends wanted me to play some games which I didn't want to buy (like Back 4 Blood or Sniper Elite 5). But now I find it too expensive for a rental service.
However I still think it's a pretty fluffy statement that can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. PR often is exactly that, let the people hear what they want and don't over commit with specifics. It's a classic PR statement in that regard, it appears to say a lot without m/any definitives.
Actually @ILuvGames said it correctly: it's a leaked memo for employees. It's ok and normal that we do not completely understand what is being said in it. It wasn't meant for our eyes and is not any sort of public announcement.
For someone who works in the IT software development or game development industry, what Asha said makes sense. The only "fluffy statement" in my opinion is regarding the "pipeline", as it can have 2 meanings.
Personally I'm not sure I want many things to be consolidated e.g. shared codebases or same engines etc. while it is true that would be more cost efficient in the short term, games are art, not just code/science, and I want more freedom of expression not less of it.
The way I understand it, the goal is not about taking away the freedom of art, or removing the option for Bethesda to develop their games in the notorious Creation Engine. The intention is to reduce complexity and costs for the delivery of multi-platform games.
It is actually a reasonable and necessary step after the 2 big acquisitions of ABK and ZeniMax/Bethesda, unifying their tool landscape. Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond probably would have been tasked with the same thing, but given Asha Sharma's experience with the Azure platform I could see her being a better fit for the job.
@Jenkinss You aren’t misreading the intent—Microsoft has definitely been moving toward a 'One Xbox gaming' ecosystem for years. However, Asha Sharma is highlighting the difference between Product Strategy and Engineering Reality.
While the Helix infrastructure will simplify the development, Microsoft will continue supporting Xbox Series consoles for several additional years, and Helix doesn't automatically fix how a game is built at the studio level. Even if the hardware is similar, a developer at Bethesda might use entirely different development and data tools and systems than a developer at Obsidian. Sharma is talking about unifying those internal tools so studios stop wasting time sharing code and technology between teams.
Microsoft Gaming has grown by buying massive, established companies (Activision, Zenimax/Bethesda). These companies didn't come with 'Xbox-ready' pipelines; they came with 20 years of their own proprietary tech, custom servers, and unique codebases.
Asha Sharma is not inventing the goal; she’s finally attempting to build the engine required to actually reach it.
@BustedUpBiker @Fiendish-Beaver I'm glad that it's helpful.
Also worth adding, Microsoft is in the unique position where they own GitHub (the biggest enterprise code repository platform) and Azure (one of the 3 biggest cloud service providers next to Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud), so they have the necessary tools to improve the process. As far as I remember Asha Sharma previously worked on the Azure platform.
immense technical debt from many years of just bodging it together, more than likely siloed and without sufficient (if any) documentation on a widely accessible knowledge base.
Definitely, when it comes to Xbox OS, the Xbox app on Windows, the Microsoft store on Windows and the Xbox mobile app, you can tell that different teams work on those with a different set of features and priorities, making the experience inconsistent between them.
(2/2)
4. No Shared Code Repository: A code repository (like GitHub) is the central library where all the game's code lives. If different teams within Xbox, that don't talk to each other, are working on different "features" (like " improved redlections on water surfaces in UE5") they end up "reinventing the wheel." A shared repository would help each team see what the other is working on and sharing code would be easier.
5. No Common Data Foundation: Data foundation refers to how player information, achievements, and game assets are stored and tracked. This refers to the issue that Xbox, Bethesda and Activision/Blizzard probably all have their own user data storage (or multiple within those organizations) and it's not globally defined, "what" information is tracked, "when" and "how". This has 3 issues: 1. If one team needs a specific user data that other teams don't track, or have stored in a different format. 2. If Microsoft management wants to analyze all the user data, but its stored in different places and formats. 3. If user data regulations (like GDPR, CCPA, DPA) are updated and those rules need to be applied over multiple different user data stores (like "how long you are allowed to store user data") and when a Microsoft user makes a data privacy act request for all their stored data which is scattered over multiple places.
Asha Sharma is essentially saying that Xbox has grown so fast—acquiring huge publishers like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard—that they are currently a collection of silos.
As @12Danny123 correctly stated, her goal is to move toward combining those tools and creating one underlying "engine" or "foundation" so that a developer can write code once and have it deploy seamlessly across every "surface" without manual rebuilding.
@Balaam_ @GeminiX53 @Fiendish-Beaver
I see some confusion and misunderstandings about the message here in the comments, so I'll try to explain it. Will need to post my comment in 2 parts, due to comment limits:
(1/2)
The message comtains many words commonly used in IT software projects.
Today we operate across dozens of surfaces, pipelines, and release models without a shared code repository or common data foundation.
That quote from Asha Sharma highlights the massive technical and operational "friction" that comes with modern, cross-platform game development. When she mentions "surfaces" and "pipelines," she’s describing a fragmented development environment where making a single game feel consistent everywhere is an uphill battle.
Here is a breakdown of the specific pain points she’s referencing:
1. Dozens of Surfaces: In this context, surfaces (often also called "screens" ) refer to the different hardware and interfaces where a game is played. A single game might need to run on Xbox Series X/S, PC (Windows/Steam), PS5, Nintendo Switch 1/2, Mobile (Cloud streaming), and even Smart TVs or handhelds like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally. Each "surface" has different screen resolutions, input methods (controller vs. touch vs. mouse), and performance constraints.
2. Fragmented Pipelines: Pipelines can have actually 2 meanings: The planned project pipeline (also called "roadmap", example Playground Games has Forza Horizon 6 and Fable in the "pipeline" for this year), or the "automated process" that takes code and art and turns it into a playable game build. For the first case, the issue might be that 2 Microsoft published games release at the same time and compete against each other. For the other case the issue is, without a unified system, the team might have one pipeline for the console version and a completely different one for the PC version, making the process of "porting a game" more complex.
3. Release Models: This refers to how games are updated. A "Live Service" game (like Halo Infinite or Sea of Thieves) requires constant patches, compared to standard releases with a "big bang" approach. If every platform has a different release model, syncing a "Season 1" launch of a live service across all devices becomes a logistical nightmare.
They need to combine their resources so that experiences are consistent across Console and PC.
I think they not only need to combine, but also consolidated their resources/tools to build prototypes, technology, library and games more quickly and efficiently. If each of their studios is working on the same problem from a different angle then it's very inefficient.
Maybe Microsoft will take PlayStation's example and only release live-service multiplayer games on PlayStation going forward? 🤷🏼
Apart from Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Thieves, none of the Microsoft published games sold exceptionally well on PlayStation.
But personally I don't like this trend of going back to exclusives. There was this sense that PlayStation and Xbox would open up and release their games on more platforms, making those games more accessible, ending all the pointless "console war" debates. But now it seems like things are going back to how they were before - except now everything is more expensive.
@Ganon7880 This is an article about the technical analysis by Digital Foundry, most of the statements come from the DF team. The author of this article actually defends the Series S with the following line: "Looking at the video, we're not sure we'd go as far as calling it unplayable"
While Digital Foundry makes some nice in-depth analysis videos, they sometimes exaggerate with their statements where they deem something unacceptable.
@Balaam_ Since you mentioned it, I had a look on Metacritic. There are 275 user reviews on the Xbox Series version at a score of 8.6/10, not that far off from the 8.8 on PC and PS5. From those, 23 are negative, 12 mixed and 240 positive. "Series S" is mentioned 4 times in the negative reviews and 5 times in the positive reviews.
I asked Google's AI and it thinks that Xbox Series S version could pull down the score by 0.7 to 1.1 points, so the Series S average score would be at around 7.9 if there was a filter for Series S (which is still not a terrible score).
I think people who have an Xbox Series S console, know that they're getting a downscaled experience and accept any downgrades. The graphical fidelity won't matter to them as long as the game is fun to play, which Crimson Desert apparently seems to be for many players.
Those who have a choice, will probably get the game on PC and PS5, but the metacritic score will not impact their decision.
@GeminiX53 My point was about adding more store fronts. GoG being another example.
Yes, the DRM free games are somewhat of a big challenge on GoG, but it's a licensing problem rather a technical problem.
I'm not "port begging", I didn't mention any games. But I think additional storefronts might give Xbox the edge over other consoles to make the Xbox attractive again, without the reliance on Xbox exclusive games.
Comments 423
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 16-17)
Happy weekend.
Re: Five Xbox Games Are Set To Be Delisted In May & June 2026
@InterceptorAlpha According to this " offline review video" the game works pretty well offline, the only thing missing is obviously the store for micro-transactions: https://youtu.be/aNiy8Iv5Lxk
Do you have any source describing what will not work offline?
Re: Two New Xbox Controllers Have Leaked, Seemingly Including The Elite Series 3
@GuyinPA75 Who knows, could be the case that it's customizable to some extent, just like the other Xbox Elite controllers.
I think it's also more likely that you dial up the volume with the volume rocker on some wireless headset when you lean back on the couch than accidentally with your fingers slipping under the controller.
Re: Two New Xbox Controllers Have Leaked, Seemingly Including The Elite Series 3
@Banjo-
I suspect those scrolling wheels are for game and chat audio volumes. The new controller is missing the port for the Xbox "Stereo Headset Adapter".
It's very unlikely for in-game menus, as game UI designers would need to design menus around the scroll wheels. With many games being multi-platform and the Xbox One/Series controllers (which lack the scroll wheels) being so widespread, only very few players with an Elite 3 controller would benefit from it.
But who knows, maybe you can customize the inputs to do something you would otherwise do with a different button, like you can on the current Elite controller with the back paddles.
Re: Two New Xbox Controllers Have Leaked, Seemingly Including The Elite Series 3
Of course, the big question is if these controllers will feature any haptic feedback, like the DualSense controller for example.
The cloud controller looks casual and inexpensive. They could bundle it with 1 month of GamePass.
The Elite 3 controller is a bit of an enigma. I got an Elite 2 as a present from friends and the rubber grips peeled off after 3 years (despite low usage). I wonder if the new design holds up better and how easy it is to replace the shell. I guess the 2 scroll wheels at the bottom are for game and chat volume.
Re: New Console Start-Up Animation Rolling Out To Xbox Insiders, Gamerscore Badges Also Detailed
Amazing it took this long to add something so trivial.
Re: These Are The Top 10 Xbox Backwards Compatibility Requests After 350,000 Votes
@InheritNegative I had a friend who was a huge fan of the Kingdom Under Fire games on the og Xbox. I thought of the games as "better fantasy versions" of Dynasty Warriors. In that case, I wouldn't mind being able to replay Ninety Nine Nights.
Re: Talking Point: 10 Years Ago, Bethesda Released One Of The Best Shooters Ever To Grace Xbox
I liked Doom 2016. Even had some fun multiplayer rounds boosting with other players.
It's crazy how id Software had a Call of Duty like Doom game and scrapped it to create what we got instead in 2016.
Re: These Are The Top 10 Xbox Backwards Compatibility Requests After 350,000 Votes
@awp69 Would definitely love the Project Gotham Racing games. PGR4 eas my first game on Xbox 360.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 9-10)
Re: More Than 50% Of Hardcore Gamers Don't Buy Full-Priced Games Anymore, Survey Finds
The gaming landscape has changed a lot over the past 15 years:
All these add up making full priced games less appealing.
Re: 17 Arcade Archives Games Have Quietly Released For Xbox Series X|S In 2026 So Far
@Echtzeit Fully agree. On Evercade you get at least 6-10 Arcade games on a physical cartridge at € 25. So less than € 5 per game.
I'd be interested in some of these games, but definitely they're too expensive.
Re: Xbox CEO Reveals New Start-Up Animation Coming To Consoles Next Week
I'd love the original boot up screen and sound from Windows XP, including the boot down process. 😀
Re: Xbox To Retire Features That Don't Align With Future Plans, Starting With Copilot AI
I haven't thought about it before, but Copilot AI on consoles could be a huge problem for content creators for guides on YouTube or TrueAchievements, NeoSeeker, etc. as the AI would take their content and they wouldn't get any ad revenue or recognition for their work. AI could lead to the end of those communities.
I think it's good if the Copilot AI is not added to the consoles.
Re: Asha Sharma Comments On Xbox Revenue Loss For Q3 2026
@themightyant As I mentioned, it's a wild speculation, but the steps they've been doing recently appear like Xbox is trying to distance itself from Microsoft.
I see the conflict between Microsoft being more focused on business to business (B2B) with their Windows, Office, Azure, Copilot products, where Xbox is focused on business 2 consumer (B2C). We saw what happens when the Microsoft CFO applied the same expectations on the Xbox business as they do on the other, trying to push for profit margins which don't work in the console business.
From what we consumers see, the current Xbox business is not successful. We see these Xbox financial reports where especially the hardware business has been going down for years now (declined 30% in the last quarter), so I think that's a problem that needs to be explained to stakeholders. Microsoft would benefit from having "better numbers" and Xbox from being more independent and taking decisions more quickly, though they would miss the financial backing from Microsoft.
For me, the elephant in the room in this hypothetical scenario are Activision-Blizzard-King. Microsoft paid $ 69B for them, and if I am correct ABK is not part of the Xbox organization (at least not as integrated as the other Xbox studios). What would happen to them if Microsoft would like to spin off the gaming division? And how would they explain this to stakeholders after the huge investment?
I am probably missing something (I didn't fully think it through) and I am not sure if it's for the better or worse for us the consumers, but nevertheless at this point I think everything is possible with Xbox.
Re: Asha Sharma Comments On Xbox Revenue Loss For Q3 2026
Reading about the Xbox employees getting an @ Xbox.com email address, made me wonder if the long-term plan is to spin off Xbox into it's own company separate from Microsoft, something that Asha Sharma might be more capable to do then someone like Phil Spencer or Sarah Bond. But it's just speculation.
Asha definitely brings somewhat more excitement to the Xbox brand. Will be interesting to see what they do next.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox Is 'Recommitting To Our Core Fans' As Revenue Falls In FY26 Q3
@FraserG Everybody is a little bit crazy, it's normal. 😉
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox Is 'Recommitting To Our Core Fans' As Revenue Falls In FY26 Q3
@FraserG Should I remove my messages? In case Asha is reading the comment section? 😉
Re: Talking Point: After Halo: Campaign Evolved, What Do You Want Xbox To Do With The Series?
Honestly I don't feel like any feedback given by the community will lead to anything interesting.
I think it was a missed opportunity having Cortana as the main villain after Halo 5. I think Halo Infinite felt very unfinished, with the introduction of the new faction, the Endless, being underwhelming. A story DLC should have fleshed out the Endless with a stronger impact. Somehow the series failed to successfully replace the flood with a similar menacing enemy. I would have hoped that a corrupt Cortana and an army of drones could have done that, but no luck.
At this point I fear that going forward, we'll see the series remade in Unreal Engine as long as Microsoft/Xbox are willing to finance Halo Studio.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox Is 'Recommitting To Our Core Fans' As Revenue Falls In FY26 Q3
@FraserG A bit off topic, but is it worth reporting on the new Xbox insider survey, which asks which genres one associates with the Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo brands?
Seems to be the stream of "feedback" that Asha Sharma wants to listen to. There's the chance that the survey results might not do anything, or maybe they take it seriously and consider which genres and player-types they need to attract which they didn't before.
Re: Steam Controller Vs. Xbox Controller: What The Critics Are Saying So Far
I watched the video reviews from both SkillUp and Digital Foundry and they both cover the strenghts and low points of the new Steam Controller quite well.
SkillUp compares the controller next to the Xbox Series, PS5, Switch Pro, the old Steam controller and the Steam Deck.
Digital Foundry on the other hand has some good hands-on experiences on how the controller feels, how the haptic feedback feels and for which game scenarios they recommend the new controller. Both are worth watching.
Re: Review: Kiln (Xbox) - A Fun Addition To Xbox Game Pass, But Can Its Flame Stay Lit?
I think this game should have had some split screen modes. I wonder how long will people keep playing it with such a weird/niche premise. Might have had a longevity as a local couch party game with friends.
Re: 'I've Ordered A Series X, I'm Back In' - Lapsed Xbox Fan Attracts The Attention Of Asha Sharma
@Decimateh Just had a quick look at the guy's Twitter/X profile. He's been really buying and selling Xbox Series consoles (both X and S) every 2 years. I don't know what to say. 🤦🏼
Re: Xbox Turns New Logo Design Into Four Official Wallpapers Based On Each Console Generation
I don't get it. Is the new logo supposed to communicate "transparency"? 🤔
Re: Reaction: Xbox Is Changing For The Better, And Now Microsoft Needs To Be Consistent
If Microsoft now implements a consistent messaging or strategy, then PushSquare might not have content to write about and could go out of business - and we don't want that. /sarcasm 😉
Re: 'I've Ordered A Series X, I'm Back In' - Lapsed Xbox Fan Attracts The Attention Of Asha Sharma
@Skinny-Pete Not fighting for attention already makes you a good person. Don't let anyone tell you a different thing. Be yourself and do what you like. 😉
Re: 'I've Ordered A Series X, I'm Back In' - Lapsed Xbox Fan Attracts The Attention Of Asha Sharma
@Skinny-Pete Either he is looking for attention or an idiot. "I'm back in" implies, that he has been on Xbox before, gave up his game library and sold it at some point over being frustrated about Xbox's strategy (or lack of), and now bought a new one at a higher price, because... of some positive PR messages from the new CEO? Are people really that irresponsible with their money?
Re: Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced Formally Unveiled, Heading To Xbox In July 2026
It looks pretty good, but personally I am not a fan of some of the changes. Your character is already overpowered in combat, so I'm not sure about this new combat. And not failing tailing missions will result in killing your targets right away to skip the mission. Oh well the core bones are still there, which were strong in the original.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 25-26)
Re: What's In The Box? Kojima Meets Asha Sharma And Receives Mysterious Xbox Gift
Is this that curiosity box from Peter Molyneux? 😆
Re: Vampire Crawlers Is Getting Great Reviews Alongside Its Xbox Launch
I played the demo fairly recently, it was fun, but the game didn't quite click with me. Don't know, but the rigid dungeons and the turn-based deck-builder combat felt somewhat stiff.
Re: Xbox Unveils New Controller And Headset For Forza Horizon 6
I guess it's a missed opportunity to have that headset with additional cat ears. 😸
Re: Asha Sharma Lays Out Plans For 'Deeper Investment' In Xbox's Platform Foundations
@themightyant I agree that Microsoft's gaming division is so large and internationally dispersed, that they will apply internal communication guidelines similar to PR communications. But in this case at least what is being said should be easy to understand for everyone in the business.
I agree with you, she doesn't provide any details and it leaves room for Interpretation. But at least she is providing some form of long-term vision/plan for her employees which seems achievable. From my experience I can also say that it's good to have some form of direction to work towards.
I view this message positively, the goal is to make "Xbox as a platform" easier and more attractive to develop for. I think some of the improvements which they are working on, like building a game once and releasing it on multiple different platforms will also benefit other 3rd party developers if those tools are shared with them.
Re: Xbox Boss Wants A 'Chat' With Ex-PlayStation Exec Over Criticisms Of Game Pass
@RadioHedgeFund I always viewed GamePass as a rental service. Was great when friends wanted me to play some games which I didn't want to buy (like Back 4 Blood or Sniper Elite 5). But now I find it too expensive for a rental service.
Re: Asha Sharma Lays Out Plans For 'Deeper Investment' In Xbox's Platform Foundations
@themightyant Thank.
Actually @ILuvGames said it correctly: it's a leaked memo for employees. It's ok and normal that we do not completely understand what is being said in it. It wasn't meant for our eyes and is not any sort of public announcement.
For someone who works in the IT software development or game development industry, what Asha said makes sense. The only "fluffy statement" in my opinion is regarding the "pipeline", as it can have 2 meanings.
The way I understand it, the goal is not about taking away the freedom of art, or removing the option for Bethesda to develop their games in the notorious Creation Engine. The intention is to reduce complexity and costs for the delivery of multi-platform games.
It is actually a reasonable and necessary step after the 2 big acquisitions of ABK and ZeniMax/Bethesda, unifying their tool landscape. Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond probably would have been tasked with the same thing, but given Asha Sharma's experience with the Azure platform I could see her being a better fit for the job.
Re: Asha Sharma Lays Out Plans For 'Deeper Investment' In Xbox's Platform Foundations
@Jenkinss You aren’t misreading the intent—Microsoft has definitely been moving toward a 'One Xbox gaming' ecosystem for years. However, Asha Sharma is highlighting the difference between Product Strategy and Engineering Reality.
While the Helix infrastructure will simplify the development, Microsoft will continue supporting Xbox Series consoles for several additional years, and Helix doesn't automatically fix how a game is built at the studio level. Even if the hardware is similar, a developer at Bethesda might use entirely different development and data tools and systems than a developer at Obsidian. Sharma is talking about unifying those internal tools so studios stop wasting time sharing code and technology between teams.
Microsoft Gaming has grown by buying massive, established companies (Activision, Zenimax/Bethesda). These companies didn't come with 'Xbox-ready' pipelines; they came with 20 years of their own proprietary tech, custom servers, and unique codebases.
Asha Sharma is not inventing the goal; she’s finally attempting to build the engine required to actually reach it.
Re: Asha Sharma Lays Out Plans For 'Deeper Investment' In Xbox's Platform Foundations
@BustedUpBiker @Fiendish-Beaver I'm glad that it's helpful.
Also worth adding, Microsoft is in the unique position where they own GitHub (the biggest enterprise code repository platform) and Azure (one of the 3 biggest cloud service providers next to Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud), so they have the necessary tools to improve the process. As far as I remember Asha Sharma previously worked on the Azure platform.
Definitely, when it comes to Xbox OS, the Xbox app on Windows, the Microsoft store on Windows and the Xbox mobile app, you can tell that different teams work on those with a different set of features and priorities, making the experience inconsistent between them.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 18-19)
Re: Asha Sharma Lays Out Plans For 'Deeper Investment' In Xbox's Platform Foundations
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4. No Shared Code Repository: A code repository (like GitHub) is the central library where all the game's code lives. If different teams within Xbox, that don't talk to each other, are working on different "features" (like " improved redlections on water surfaces in UE5") they end up "reinventing the wheel." A shared repository would help each team see what the other is working on and sharing code would be easier.
5. No Common Data Foundation: Data foundation refers to how player information, achievements, and game assets are stored and tracked. This refers to the issue that Xbox, Bethesda and Activision/Blizzard probably all have their own user data storage (or multiple within those organizations) and it's not globally defined, "what" information is tracked, "when" and "how". This has 3 issues: 1. If one team needs a specific user data that other teams don't track, or have stored in a different format. 2. If Microsoft management wants to analyze all the user data, but its stored in different places and formats. 3. If user data regulations (like GDPR, CCPA, DPA) are updated and those rules need to be applied over multiple different user data stores (like "how long you are allowed to store user data") and when a Microsoft user makes a data privacy act request for all their stored data which is scattered over multiple places.
Asha Sharma is essentially saying that Xbox has grown so fast—acquiring huge publishers like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard—that they are currently a collection of silos.
As @12Danny123 correctly stated, her goal is to move toward combining those tools and creating one underlying "engine" or "foundation" so that a developer can write code once and have it deploy seamlessly across every "surface" without manual rebuilding.
Have a happy weekend everyone!
Re: Asha Sharma Lays Out Plans For 'Deeper Investment' In Xbox's Platform Foundations
@Balaam_ @GeminiX53 @Fiendish-Beaver
I see some confusion and misunderstandings about the message here in the comments, so I'll try to explain it. Will need to post my comment in 2 parts, due to comment limits:
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The message comtains many words commonly used in IT software projects.
That quote from Asha Sharma highlights the massive technical and operational "friction" that comes with modern, cross-platform game development. When she mentions "surfaces" and "pipelines," she’s describing a fragmented development environment where making a single game feel consistent everywhere is an uphill battle.
Here is a breakdown of the specific pain points she’s referencing:
1. Dozens of Surfaces: In this context, surfaces (often also called "screens" ) refer to the different hardware and interfaces where a game is played. A single game might need to run on Xbox Series X/S, PC (Windows/Steam), PS5, Nintendo Switch 1/2, Mobile (Cloud streaming), and even Smart TVs or handhelds like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally. Each "surface" has different screen resolutions, input methods (controller vs. touch vs. mouse), and performance constraints.
2. Fragmented Pipelines: Pipelines can have actually 2 meanings: The planned project pipeline (also called "roadmap", example Playground Games has Forza Horizon 6 and Fable in the "pipeline" for this year), or the "automated process" that takes code and art and turns it into a playable game build. For the first case, the issue might be that 2 Microsoft published games release at the same time and compete against each other. For the other case the issue is, without a unified system, the team might have one pipeline for the console version and a completely different one for the PC version, making the process of "porting a game" more complex.
3. Release Models: This refers to how games are updated. A "Live Service" game (like Halo Infinite or Sea of Thieves) requires constant patches, compared to standard releases with a "big bang" approach. If every platform has a different release model, syncing a "Season 1" launch of a live service across all devices becomes a logistical nightmare.
Re: Asha Sharma Lays Out Plans For 'Deeper Investment' In Xbox's Platform Foundations
@12Danny123 Very valid points.
I think they not only need to combine, but also consolidated their resources/tools to build prototypes, technology, library and games more quickly and efficiently.
If each of their studios is working on the same problem from a different angle then it's very inefficient.
Re: Asha Sharma Lays Out Plans For 'Deeper Investment' In Xbox's Platform Foundations
@Fiendish-Beaver
I do. 😎
Seriously, let me know if you are interested in the boring details.
Re: Xbox Raises Eyebrows By Mentioning 'Exclusives' On The Series X|S Dashboard
Probably just a typo or a translation error.
Should say "Xbox Executives", because only they can afford GamePass. 😜
Re: Xbox Is Having 'Very Big Discussions' About Exclusivity, Says Reporter
Maybe Microsoft will take PlayStation's example and only release live-service multiplayer games on PlayStation going forward? 🤷🏼
Apart from Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Thieves, none of the Microsoft published games sold exceptionally well on PlayStation.
But personally I don't like this trend of going back to exclusives. There was this sense that PlayStation and Xbox would open up and release their games on more platforms, making those games more accessible, ending all the pointless "console war" debates. But now it seems like things are going back to how they were before - except now everything is more expensive.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 11-12)
Re: 'The Series S Version Can't Be Readily Recommended' - Digital Foundry Reviews Crimson Desert On Xbox
@Ganon7880 This is an article about the technical analysis by Digital Foundry, most of the statements come from the DF team. The author of this article actually defends the Series S with the following line: "Looking at the video, we're not sure we'd go as far as calling it unplayable"
While Digital Foundry makes some nice in-depth analysis videos, they sometimes exaggerate with their statements where they deem something unacceptable.
Welcome to the site BTW! 😉
Re: 'The Series S Version Can't Be Readily Recommended' - Digital Foundry Reviews Crimson Desert On Xbox
@Balaam_ Since you mentioned it, I had a look on Metacritic. There are 275 user reviews on the Xbox Series version at a score of 8.6/10, not that far off from the 8.8 on PC and PS5. From those, 23 are negative, 12 mixed and 240 positive. "Series S" is mentioned 4 times in the negative reviews and 5 times in the positive reviews.
I asked Google's AI and it thinks that Xbox Series S version could pull down the score by 0.7 to 1.1 points, so the Series S average score would be at around 7.9 if there was a filter for Series S (which is still not a terrible score).
I think people who have an Xbox Series S console, know that they're getting a downscaled experience and accept any downgrades. The graphical fidelity won't matter to them as long as the game is fun to play, which Crimson Desert apparently seems to be for many players.
Those who have a choice, will probably get the game on PC and PS5, but the metacritic score will not impact their decision.
Re: 'What Do You Want Added?' - Xbox Engineer Requests Ideas For New Console Features
@GeminiX53 My point was about adding more store fronts. GoG being another example.
Yes, the DRM free games are somewhat of a big challenge on GoG, but it's a licensing problem rather a technical problem.
I'm not "port begging", I didn't mention any games. But I think additional storefronts might give Xbox the edge over other consoles to make the Xbox attractive again, without the reliance on Xbox exclusive games.
Re: 'What Do You Want Added?' - Xbox Engineer Requests Ideas For New Console Features
Steam, GOG and Epic Games Stores on Xbox Series X|S consoles.
Re: Xbox Boss Reveals New 'Dedicated Team' Focusing On Fan Feedback
Is This an Xbox feedback? 😄