Having some awkward dual boot system where your Xbox library is confined to a deprecated legacy OS that never gets updated whilst all the new games and Steam lives on the Windows side wouldn’t be a very elegant solution at all. One OS, one login (well aside from Steam obviously), all the games seamlessly integrated - that’s the dream!
I think a dual boot OS system would be totally unnecessary, as technically it is already possible to solve it with a translation layer to get Xbox One games running on Windows, and as you mentioned Microsoft would want to avoid that situation where they need to update a legacy OS separately.
Also I wonder what other can of worms they would open with a dual boot system. How much space do they need to reserve on the SSD for both systems? Since a dual boot hybrid system is both a console and a PC, how does licensing of new Xbox Series games work? Are they licensed for a PC or a console? Or will "Play Anywhere" be mandatory for new games going forward and a game license will apply for both the console and PC? What if you bought a "Play Anywhere" game on such a dual boot hybrid devices, can you download it twices (once for the legacy console OS and once for Windows)?
Re: using the XBox One BC solution... I sincerely hope NOT. That only accounts for a small proportion of the Xbox 360 & OG Xbox libraries. From memory this is about 25% for 360 and 6% for OG Xbox. That is not a decent solution. Imagine not being able to play 75% of your series X games on neXtbox... not going to happen.
To be honest, I don't know how Microsoft Xbox is planing to achieve compatibility to Xbox One and Series consoles, but from a technical point of view I think they can achieve it. The hardware and software architecture of Xbox One and Series consoles are closer to modern Windows PCs than the previous Xbox generations, so maybe a translation layer and the compatibility planned with AMD might solve the compatibility of Xbox One and Series games. Some modders already developed a translation layer for Windows, which allows Xbox One games to run on a PC by translating Xbox-specific calls into Windows equivalent, rather than through hardware emulation. If modders can do it then Microsoft developers can also do it. My suggestion for emulation is for the og Xbox and Xbox 360 games. I think those work fine on Xbox One.
But the problematic part is regarding 3rd party licensing, just as it was the case with backward compatibility on Xbor One consoles. 3rd party games where the license owners don't agree with having the game licenses meant for consoles made available to PC for free, might probably not work.
I agree that "Play Anywhere" games is a decent solution going forward, but not good enough for backward compatibility if it doesn't apply to old games.
The other, bigger, challenge for me is that consoles were subsidised as you made the money back through software sales, etc... in the walled garden. MS will be cutting themselves off from a massive revenue stream by opening to steam, epic, gog, etc... that money has to be pulled back from somewhere.
The whole report from Jez the other day felt like they were just saying positive quotes to change the focus. Free online is a brilliant thing, but how many people got merged from gold to GP and only want online play. If that goes free, its more money that will likely be heaped on the cost of the box.
I think the "subsidized console price" business practice only works as long as the people who buy your console also invest in many games, services and licensed peripherals over the years. If, this is just a guess, half of the 30 million Xbox Series console purchases were made by people who only bought 1-2 games and maybe subscribed to GamePass to play games, and maybe bought games they liked on other platforms then Xbox has lost a lot of money on those subsidized consoles. Does the active playerbase spend enough to compensate for the non-active playerbase? Not sure if my thinking is accurate, but I guess Microsoft has the necessary that to see how profitable their Xbox userbase is and it influenced their decision for going multiplatform.
In that sense, if they sell the new hardware at a small profit, then at least they have the hardware and releated licensing costs covered, no matter what the owners plan to do with the device. Microsoft will anyways sell their games on Steam and PlayStation, where more people will buy their games than on Xbox.
But as an avid gamer and consumer this also concerns me, as I don't like how prices are increasing and gaming is becoming less affordable for many people. Gaming should be more accessible for new comers, not harder. This will just push people to mobile and free-to-play games.
@TrollOfWar Emulation is a pretty flawed solution. i.e. Even on the highest-end PCs you can only emulate up to two generations ago (PS3/X360) and even then most games don't work. Xbox One and newer emulation basically doesn't work yet.
I'm thinking more of the solution which is implemented in Xbox One and Series consoles for emulation of Xbox and Xbox 360 games. It uses a combination of emulation and virtual machines to emulate the games. If an Xbox One can run those games, so should more powerful PCs.
Back in June when Xbox and AMD announced their multi-year partnership Sarah Bond mentioned "maintaining compatibility with your existing library of Xbox games". Would be interesting to know what that means for console games compatibility.
As articles on the ROG point out, its absolutely not a console and its frustrating some people who were led to believe it was. Thats a big obstacle to get over and no easy feat once you put PC in the mix as thats part and parcel of it.
True, I think the big problem or challenge for Microsoft is to clearly say what the Xbox is or will be going forward. The "This is an Xbox" ad was an interesting attempt, but didn't quite deliver the message. People still associate "Xbox" with "console".
I think (my opinion) going forward, Microsoft Xbox's gaming future is on Windows PCs. There will be no "hybrid PC console", only gaming PCs with the new Xbox UI trying to emulate the streamlined experience of a gaming console.
The questions are, how much compatibility can they offer to previous console generations, how hassle-free (console-like) will the experience be on those devices and which console features can they migrate to Windows OS (Quick Resume, switching or adding gamer profiles, console peripheries, etc.)? It seems that Windows 11 is the biggest problem at the moment. What will happen if a new Windows (12?) gets released, how will it impact this "Xbox PCs"?
@Smackosynthesis wrong. They compete with other consoles and pcs whether they want to admit it or not
As Microsoft is now releasing all their new games on other consoles and PC store fronts, and deemphasize their own console business, are they still competing with PlayStation, Nintendo and Valve? Or are they business partners now? 😁
Im interested to see how they get a system that plays pc and all xbox games. Windows gaming on the rog couldn't do it. If they use the same line of you get all games because you can stream them then yeah, I dont think thats gonna cut it.
Technically it would be possible to play Xbox console games via emulation. It's already possible to emulate Xbox 360, PS3 and Switch games with unlicensed emulators on the Xbox Rog Ally X.
Microsoft managed to add backward compatibility emulation to the Xbox One after launch. Maybe (or hopefully) they will do the same for these Windows-based gaming handhelds, at least to the same degree as it's the case on Xbox One & Series consoles.
One needs to consider that Microsoft or Xbox isn't just a console platform anymore. This comment doesn't come from the perspective of a platform holder, it's from the perspective of the largest gaming publisher, it's from the perspective of the Call of Duty & World of Warcraft publisher.
Thinking with Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and in general live-services in mind, these games trained us to expect ongoing fresh content. These games fail without a steady supply of new content (like for example the Halo Infinite multiplayer). But TikTok, YouTube, Instagram are not constrained by the resources of the platform owners, as fresh, new content is being created by the users, which is much more captivating than what a live-service game can offer. Microsoft basically needs their own platform for user-generated-content with a huge social impact, kind of like "Roblox".
One needs to consider that Microsoft or Xbox isn't just a console platform anymore. This comment doesn't come from the perspective of a platform holder, it's from the perspective of the largest gaming publisher, it's from the perspective of the Call of Duty & World of Warcraft publisher.
Thinking Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and in general live-services, these games trained us to expect ongoing fresh content. These games fail without new content. But TikTok, YouTube, Instagram are not constrained by the resources of the owners, as fresh, new content is being created by the users, which is much more captivating than what a live-service game can offer. Microsoft basically needs their own Roblox experience.
@themightyant There surely must be some incentive for 3rd party publishers to support "Play Anywhere", otherwise noone apart of Microsoft 1st party would support it.
I think the original Halo CE 2001 multiplayer mode wouldn't compare favorably today's standards. 24 years ago it was great, because there was no better alternatives on console. But times have changed and there's plenty of alternatives. It would require a bigger overhaul than this UE5 re-skin of the campaign.
IMO a UE5 remake or simple re-release of the Halo Infinite multiplayer mode would be better.
@Netret0120 In my opinion people should be able to play games on their preferred platform. Not be held hostage on a console via exclusives. Either way Microsoft will earn money, no matter where you play. 😉
I'm good with this "Halo: Campaign Evolved" game releasing on also on PS5, next to Xbox and PC. The 4-player cross-platfrom coop sounds awesome. I actually agree with @BacklogBrad & @Bobarino that Halo Infinite (and maybe MCC) should release on PS5 as well. I have some PS5-only friends (one of them was a big Halo fan during the og Xbox era) and having a Halo multiplayer game to connect again would be great for us. Maybe a PS5 release of Infinite and a good sales numbers might have made some campaign DLC expansion and a satisfying story closure possible.
But what I don't like about this new "Halo 1 remake", based on the released footage, it's that it is again basically a re-skin of Halo 1, even though we already have the Halo Anniversary Edition. It has the exact same level layout, same enemy and item placements, same mechanics as Halo 1, only with the addition of a sprint. For veteran Halo players this isn't a new experience. Also while Unreal Engine 5 looks awesome at a glance, the shown footage was stuttering badly in motion. I hope they can fix the stuttering somehow.
Kind of dumb that the download for the Server Slam beta was only made available as the beta timeframe started, as it didn't give people time to download it before and be ready when it starts. I checked the store earlier today and couldn't find it.
I guess my biggest question is, if I can get the experience of the ROG Xbox Ally X with the older ROG Ally (with the Z1 Extreme chip), some 3rd party handles on a case and manually installing the Xbox full screen experience for around half the price of this new Ally X?
Also it sounds like Polygon were giving their opinion about Microsoft's current gaming practices rather than their subjective opinion on the device.
Just a few questions:
1. How exactly does it feel to navigate Steam or Epic Games Stores? Is it comparable to the Xbox store?
2. How fluent is the experience when switching games? Is there anything like Quick Resume, or do you manually have to close games? Do cloud saves load automatically for "Xbox Anywhere" games?
3. Do games have some default graphic presets for the device and did you have to tinker around a lot to find your preferred settings?
4. Can you see your Xbox friend list, send them messages and have calls?
5. Do you get to see your achievements and how does it work for non-Xbox (Steam & Epic Store) games?
6. Did you connect the device to a TV or an external monitor with a wireless controller or mouse connected? If yes, how was the experience? Is it a good alternative to a Xbox Series S or a low budget PC?
@BAMozzy That's why I like the retro Evecade platform so much. You buy the games on cartridges and you can start playing, once you put them into your device (console or handheld), without needing to download/install anything. Evercade truly has that old-school media experience including a hard case for cartridges and manuals with meaningful content.
The game could easily fit on ultra blu ray disk which can hold 100gb data and with ps5 kraken compression technology the file size could easily be less than 100gb. If that still didn’t work then they could have released on 2 disks.
The game's install size is between 119 and 125 GB on all platforms, so you would require at least 2 ultra HD blu ray discs with a 100 GB capacity.
Ultra HD blu ray discs are way more expensive than regular blu ray discs and they also require special covers to accommodate the 2 discs. The game would need 5 standard 25GB blu ray discs or 3 double-layer 50GB blu-ray discs.
The only 2 games released on 2 ultra HD blu ray discs are Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. I assume in both cases Sony was involved, as they are part of the Blu Ray Disc Association and they are manufacturers of the discs, so they might get different conditions/prices than a third party like Microsoft.
I kinda feel for phil a bit. ... I dont agree with all the buying up of companies, but I do get why he did it.
@themightyant
It was great while Phil was still firmly at the wheel and seemingly making decisions more freely. But since Zenimax, and particularly ABK the whole direction of Xbox has shifted and it's FELT like a different company run by Microsoft and it's shareholders, no longer putting gamers first
An endorsement from Peter Molyneux is dubious at best
I stumbled upon a documentary video about Peter Molyneux a week ago, which explains how he started as a nobody. It kind of goves a better impression of what kind of person he is: https://youtu.be/H1jwoyBRYcU
I have the first Broken Sword games on Evercade, but I am happy to see these classics remade for current gen hardware. I remember replaying the demo of Broken Sword 2 over and over, back when it released in 1997.
because why own a ps then if there first party games are going to other consoles
You don't see any reason to own a console other than it's exclusives? Like the ease of use, backward compatibility, your personal digital library, platform services, hardware specific features (controller, disc drive, portability), friends on that platform and the price of the hardware? If what you are saying is true then everyone will move to PC as you can play all PlayStation 1st party (and Xbox and Steam) titles on PC, it's just a matter of time when they release.
If PlayStation would start releasing some of their 5+ year old 1st party titles, how likely do you think it is that people will abandon the PlayStation platform for Xbox?
@andrewsqual I don't see anyone here getting excited. Even the article title tells readers to "don't get excited". 😄
And even if someone gets excited, does it matter? They will be disappointed if it turns out not to be true, they will be happy if it turns out true. People are entitled to make their own experiences, we shouldn't dictate them how they should feel.
@WildConcept6 Yes, I agree, they shouldn't have aimed for a AAA or AAAA project.
Definitely odd, as in the past Microsoft would have newly formed teams work on remasters, before they could create a new entry, as it was the case aith both 343 Industries (Halo: CE Anniversary) and The Coalition (Gears of War: Ultimate Edition).
But I believe the IP would have worked well, as there are apparently decent Perfect Dark books and comics to rely on. They could have done a small-scale game, similar to MGS Ground Zeroes as a foundation to build upon. Or have a smaller team create a top-down stealth-oriented tactical game, like the Commandos series.
@FraserG True, Metal Gear Solid and James Bond are back. But I have to say, after watching the most recent video from the YouTuber Raycevik about Perfect Dark Zero, I think he has a point that the Perfect Dark universe had a lot of potential, as currently there is no "Cyberpunk espionage" game, apart from the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty DLC. If the developers would have followed the template of Deus Ex, they could have released a timeless hit.
Such a shame that this Perfect Dark reboot didn't work out. According to the Eurogamer article (which comes from the same source as this one), this game should have filled a gap by the absence of Metal Gear Solid and James Bond.
It's kind of a proof how Microsoft/Xbox managed this project poorly: instead of focusing on creating a good, traditional game with a more limited budget/scope, they instead chose to have a new large studio with some of the biggest ambitions. Sometimes you need to learn to walk before you can run.
@Fiendish-Beaver While this case is a nothingburger, I think the buzz generated around this sorts of topics is good, as it keeps the conversation about the value of "exclusives" going and might help get Sony/PlayStation's attention to release some of their "exclusives" on additional platforms since there is clearly demand for them.
@Coletrain I don't know how it will work with Steam's own cloud save feature, but based on what is in the official articles: Yes, if you play a game which has this cloud save feature implemented (no matter the publisher) it will sync your progress between Steam, Xbox PC, Xbox consoles and Xbox cloud, probably via Microsoft's cloud servers.
I just checked and apparently there are quite a few games which support cross-platfrom progression, like Halo Master Chief Collection and Baldur's Gate 3.
For titles in the Xbox ecosystem, the cost of PlayFab Game Saves is covered by Xbox, even for players outside of the Xbox ecosystem. For titles not shipping in the Xbox ecosystem, we plan to announce pricing when we make the service generally available.
@Elbow This is less of a service that people will need to "jump on" and more of a service for developers to license and integrate into their games. The players will automatically benefit once it's part of a game. Though I wonder if it has any drawbacks for game preservation, as save games will be synced to an online cloud.
@Coletrain @abe_hikura From what I know, up until now this only worked in Microsoft 1st party games, between Xbox and PC, where I think the game had to be bought from the Microsoft store. Not sure if there are any cases, where it works between Xbox and Steam, maybe Sea of Thieves might be a rare exception. Other developers/publishers need to come up with their own custom solutions and infrastructure, if they want to support cross-platfrom save progression.
This reads like a feature which will allow not just 1st party, but also other parties to easily integrate cross-platfrom save progression into their games and Microsoft offers the technology and the cloud infrastructure to store and sync save files.
I think the Xbox Series S is a good budget friendly console for the current gen... But the Evercade is the best value proposition in 2025. The cheapest device, the Super Pockets, are only £ 49 and have games installed and most cartridges include multiple games and cost between £ 20 and £ 30. With timeless classic like Metal Slug, Tomb Raider, Duke Nukem, Legacy of Kain. No live services, no micro-transactions, no forced online connections, just pure fun. 😁 #BuyEvercade
Games still aren't making the most of the PS5 and certainly aren't hitting the promises we were sold on for the system.
Also keep in mind that visual fidelity isn't just about the technical performance. It's also very expensive, only a few studios can afford a fidelity like in those PlayStation 1st party titles. So even if the hardware is capable of more, often the dev teams are limited by budget. They try to compensate by using Unreal Engine 5 and stock assets from the Unreal asset store, which works to a certain extent.
That's why sometimes an Xbox 360 game running on Xbox Series X with FPS and resolution boost can look better than a more recent game.
@DJKingaling I remember getting to the end of FF7 on PSone. I couldn't get past the final dungeon as all enemies felt like boss fights. A friend from back then, who was a huge FF7 fan, told me that I apparently messed up the leveling of my characters and I am missing crucial materia. So he intended to show me the end of the game via his own save game. After 50 minutes trying to defeat the last boss, he lost and we gave up. Had to look up the ending online. A big disappointment. 😅
@Coletrain @WildConcept6 @Pat_trick
The truth about Xbox Series S "holding back the generation" is kind of in the middle:
1. What defines this generation?
4K resolution, 60 frames per second, ray-tracing and faster loading speeds? Visual fidelity was alread strong last gen. In that regard the Xbox Series S doesn't push the generation forward as most games big-budget games are 1080p / 30 fps without ray-tracing. The 10 GB RAM is a restricting limit, where other devices (PS5, Series X, Steam Deck) have 16 GB.
2. Development challenges:
On the one hand univeral multi-platform engines like Unreal Engine, Snowdrop, Frostbite, Unity, Anvil, Decima, etc. make game development easier, reducing the need for expensive proprietary engines developed in-house. On the other hand studios might lack in-house talent which knows how to optimize the engine for lower spec hardware. So these engines should already support Xbox Series S by default, but teams might lack the costly talent or time to implement custom optimizations for Xbox Series S, when the game's scope grows.
3. Priorities & Scope:
In the past few years many indie studios were established. They often design games with big-budget visuals and large scopes, with high-end PCs as the target systems. Only at a late stage they start thinking about console releases, at which point optimizations for lower spec hardware like Xbox Series S becomes difficult. Best examples are Black Myth Wukong and Baldur's Gate 3, which both had PCs as their target and required more time to optimize the game for Series S. But even PS5 and Series X didn't offer a perfect performance in those cases.
4. Optimizing for Series S helps other systems:
There are several cases where the optimizations for Xbox Series S and Steam Deck helped the Xbox Series X, PS5 and PC, such as Baldur's Gate 3, Final Fantasy 16 and now Battlefield 6. So Series S can help to improve this generation.
I think this generation was oversold. Many people were expecting 4K ray-tracing at 120 fps on all games with photorealistic visuals. Most of the ray-traced games don't run well, Unreal Engine 5 is very resource demanding. While I get the cost/benefit issue of having to optimize for Series S, I think it's limitations helped to keep the performance on PS5 and Xbox Series X in check.
This is just how Larian Studio explained how optimizing Baldur's Gate 3 for the Xbox Series S helped to improve the performance on other systems.
These low-level optimizations take time, but in the long run the performance of games benefits on all systems and helps to make games accessible on more low-level platforms including Steam Deck, Switch 2, etc.
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Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
@Cakefish
I think a dual boot OS system would be totally unnecessary, as technically it is already possible to solve it with a translation layer to get Xbox One games running on Windows, and as you mentioned Microsoft would want to avoid that situation where they need to update a legacy OS separately.
Also I wonder what other can of worms they would open with a dual boot system. How much space do they need to reserve on the SSD for both systems? Since a dual boot hybrid system is both a console and a PC, how does licensing of new Xbox Series games work? Are they licensed for a PC or a console? Or will "Play Anywhere" be mandatory for new games going forward and a game license will apply for both the console and PC? What if you bought a "Play Anywhere" game on such a dual boot hybrid devices, can you download it twices (once for the legacy console OS and once for Windows)?
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
@themightyant
To be honest, I don't know how Microsoft Xbox is planing to achieve compatibility to Xbox One and Series consoles, but from a technical point of view I think they can achieve it. The hardware and software architecture of Xbox One and Series consoles are closer to modern Windows PCs than the previous Xbox generations, so maybe a translation layer and the compatibility planned with AMD might solve the compatibility of Xbox One and Series games. Some modders already developed a translation layer for Windows, which allows Xbox One games to run on a PC by translating Xbox-specific calls into Windows equivalent, rather than through hardware emulation. If modders can do it then Microsoft developers can also do it. My suggestion for emulation is for the og Xbox and Xbox 360 games. I think those work fine on Xbox One.
But the problematic part is regarding 3rd party licensing, just as it was the case with backward compatibility on Xbor One consoles. 3rd party games where the license owners don't agree with having the game licenses meant for consoles made available to PC for free, might probably not work.
I agree that "Play Anywhere" games is a decent solution going forward, but not good enough for backward compatibility if it doesn't apply to old games.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
@Weebleman
I think the "subsidized console price" business practice only works as long as the people who buy your console also invest in many games, services and licensed peripherals over the years. If, this is just a guess, half of the 30 million Xbox Series console purchases were made by people who only bought 1-2 games and maybe subscribed to GamePass to play games, and maybe bought games they liked on other platforms then Xbox has lost a lot of money on those subsidized consoles. Does the active playerbase spend enough to compensate for the non-active playerbase? Not sure if my thinking is accurate, but I guess Microsoft has the necessary that to see how profitable their Xbox userbase is and it influenced their decision for going multiplatform.
In that sense, if they sell the new hardware at a small profit, then at least they have the hardware and releated licensing costs covered, no matter what the owners plan to do with the device. Microsoft will anyways sell their games on Steam and PlayStation, where more people will buy their games than on Xbox.
But as an avid gamer and consumer this also concerns me, as I don't like how prices are increasing and gaming is becoming less affordable for many people. Gaming should be more accessible for new comers, not harder. This will just push people to mobile and free-to-play games.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
@themightyant
I'm thinking more of the solution which is implemented in Xbox One and Series consoles for emulation of Xbox and Xbox 360 games. It uses a combination of emulation and virtual machines to emulate the games. If an Xbox One can run those games, so should more powerful PCs.
Back in June when Xbox and AMD announced their multi-year partnership Sarah Bond mentioned "maintaining compatibility with your existing library of Xbox games". Would be interesting to know what that means for console games compatibility.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
@Weebleman
True, I think the big problem or challenge for Microsoft is to clearly say what the Xbox is or will be going forward. The "This is an Xbox" ad was an interesting attempt, but didn't quite deliver the message. People still associate "Xbox" with "console".
I think (my opinion) going forward, Microsoft Xbox's gaming future is on Windows PCs. There will be no "hybrid PC console", only gaming PCs with the new Xbox UI trying to emulate the streamlined experience of a gaming console.
The questions are, how much compatibility can they offer to previous console generations, how hassle-free (console-like) will the experience be on those devices and which console features can they migrate to Windows OS (Quick Resume, switching or adding gamer profiles, console peripheries, etc.)? It seems that Windows 11 is the biggest problem at the moment. What will happen if a new Windows (12?) gets released, how will it impact this "Xbox PCs"?
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
@TheMule1983
As Microsoft is now releasing all their new games on other consoles and PC store fronts, and deemphasize their own console business, are they still competing with PlayStation, Nintendo and Valve? Or are they business partners now? 😁
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
@Weebleman
Technically it would be possible to play Xbox console games via emulation. It's already possible to emulate Xbox 360, PS3 and Switch games with unlicensed emulators on the Xbox Rog Ally X.
Microsoft managed to add backward compatibility emulation to the Xbox One after launch. Maybe (or hopefully) they will do the same for these Windows-based gaming handhelds, at least to the same degree as it's the case on Xbox One & Series consoles.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
One needs to consider that Microsoft or Xbox isn't just a console platform anymore. This comment doesn't come from the perspective of a platform holder, it's from the perspective of the largest gaming publisher, it's from the perspective of the Call of Duty & World of Warcraft publisher.
Thinking with Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and in general live-services in mind, these games trained us to expect ongoing fresh content. These games fail without a steady supply of new content (like for example the Halo Infinite multiplayer). But TikTok, YouTube, Instagram are not constrained by the resources of the platform owners, as fresh, new content is being created by the users, which is much more captivating than what a live-service game can offer. Microsoft basically needs their own platform for user-generated-content with a huge social impact, kind of like "Roblox".
At least that's how I understand this topic.
Re: Microsoft CEO Says Xbox 'Wants To Innovate' With Its Next-Gen Console
They all want to innovate... But can't because innovation is risky. They have shareholders to appease.
Re: Xbox Has More Competition From TikTok Than PlayStation, Claims Microsoft Exec
One needs to consider that Microsoft or Xbox isn't just a console platform anymore. This comment doesn't come from the perspective of a platform holder, it's from the perspective of the largest gaming publisher, it's from the perspective of the Call of Duty & World of Warcraft publisher.
Thinking Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and in general live-services, these games trained us to expect ongoing fresh content. These games fail without new content. But TikTok, YouTube, Instagram are not constrained by the resources of the owners, as fresh, new content is being created by the users, which is much more captivating than what a live-service game can offer. Microsoft basically needs their own Roblox experience.
At least that's how I understand this topic.
Re: Xbox Journalist Says Microsoft Has Another Showcase Planned For November 2025
@themightyant There surely must be some incentive for 3rd party publishers to support "Play Anywhere", otherwise noone apart of Microsoft 1st party would support it.
Re: Halo Studios Gives Reason For Dropping PvP Multiplayer In Campaign Evolved
I think the original Halo CE 2001 multiplayer mode wouldn't compare favorably today's standards. 24 years ago it was great, because there was no better alternatives on console. But times have changed and there's plenty of alternatives. It would require a bigger overhaul than this UE5 re-skin of the campaign.
IMO a UE5 remake or simple re-release of the Halo Infinite multiplayer mode would be better.
Re: Talking Point: How Do You Feel About Halo: Campaign Evolved Launching Day One On PS5?
@Netret0120 In my opinion people should be able to play games on their preferred platform. Not be held hostage on a console via exclusives. Either way Microsoft will earn money, no matter where you play. 😉
Re: Talking Point: How Do You Feel About Halo: Campaign Evolved Launching Day One On PS5?
I'm good with this "Halo: Campaign Evolved" game releasing on also on PS5, next to Xbox and PC. The 4-player cross-platfrom coop sounds awesome. I actually agree with @BacklogBrad & @Bobarino that Halo Infinite (and maybe MCC) should release on PS5 as well. I have some PS5-only friends (one of them was a big Halo fan during the og Xbox era) and having a Halo multiplayer game to connect again would be great for us. Maybe a PS5 release of Infinite and a good sales numbers might have made some campaign DLC expansion and a satisfying story closure possible.
But what I don't like about this new "Halo 1 remake", based on the released footage, it's that it is again basically a re-skin of Halo 1, even though we already have the Halo Anniversary Edition. It has the exact same level layout, same enemy and item placements, same mechanics as Halo 1, only with the addition of a sprint. For veteran Halo players this isn't a new experience. Also while Unreal Engine 5 looks awesome at a glance, the shown footage was stuttering badly in motion. I hope they can fix the stuttering somehow.
Re: Xbox President Explains Why Microsoft Ditched Its First-Party Handheld
I guess Sony could also partner with Asus and create a ROG PlayStation Ally Pro. 🤔
Re: ARC Raiders Server Slam: How To Download The Open Beta & What To Expect On Xbox
Kind of dumb that the download for the Server Slam beta was only made available as the beta timeframe started, as it didn't give people time to download it before and be ready when it starts. I checked the store earlier today and couldn't find it.
Re: Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About The ROG Xbox Ally
I guess my biggest question is, if I can get the experience of the ROG Xbox Ally X with the older ROG Ally (with the Z1 Extreme chip), some 3rd party handles on a case and manually installing the Xbox full screen experience for around half the price of this new Ally X?
Also it sounds like Polygon were giving their opinion about Microsoft's current gaming practices rather than their subjective opinion on the device.
Re: Review: ROG Xbox Ally X - An Amazing Handheld PC With Plenty Of Console-Like Potential
@FraserG Thank you for the review.
Just a few questions:
1. How exactly does it feel to navigate Steam or Epic Games Stores? Is it comparable to the Xbox store?
2. How fluent is the experience when switching games? Is there anything like Quick Resume, or do you manually have to close games? Do cloud saves load automatically for "Xbox Anywhere" games?
3. Do games have some default graphic presets for the device and did you have to tinker around a lot to find your preferred settings?
4. Can you see your Xbox friend list, send them messages and have calls?
5. Do you get to see your achievements and how does it work for non-Xbox (Steam & Epic Store) games?
6. Did you connect the device to a TV or an external monitor with a wireless controller or mouse connected? If yes, how was the experience? Is it a good alternative to a Xbox Series S or a low budget PC?
Thanks in advance.
Re: AMD's Partnership On PS6 Will Benefit 'Every Gaming Platform', Says General Manager
"PS6, this is an Xbox" 😄
Re: UK Retailer Tests Oblivion Remastered To See If It Plays Off The Disc (Xbox & PS5)
@BAMozzy That's why I like the retro Evecade platform so much. You buy the games on cartridges and you can start playing, once you put them into your device (console or handheld), without needing to download/install anything. Evercade truly has that old-school media experience including a hard case for cartridges and manuals with meaningful content.
Re: UK Retailer Tests Oblivion Remastered To See If It Plays Off The Disc (Xbox & PS5)
@KillerBoy
The game's install size is between 119 and 125 GB on all platforms, so you would require at least 2 ultra HD blu ray discs with a 100 GB capacity.
Ultra HD blu ray discs are way more expensive than regular blu ray discs and they also require special covers to accommodate the 2 discs. The game would need 5 standard 25GB blu ray discs or 3 double-layer 50GB blu-ray discs.
The only 2 games released on 2 ultra HD blu ray discs are Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. I assume in both cases Sony was involved, as they are part of the Blu Ray Disc Association and they are manufacturers of the discs, so they might get different conditions/prices than a third party like Microsoft.
Re: New Silent Hill F Xbox Advertisement Makes It Clear You're Only Buying A 'License'
@FrenchVaniIIuxe Buy Evercade 😏
Re: Bungie's Delayed Shooter Marathon Re-Emerges With New Xbox Playtest
I'm interested. It's a free beta so there's nothing to lose.
Re: Fable's Peter Molyneux Describes Xbox Boss As 'One Of The Best People I've Worked With'
@Weebleman
@themightyant
According to a Eurogamer article, the decision to buy Activision came from Satya Nadella back in 2020 when Bobby Kotick got in touch with him regarding a potential TikTok acquisition. Phil Spencer didn't drive that decision. Here's the link to the article: https://www.eurogamer.net/microsofts-activision-blizzard-takeover-sparked-by-both-companies-failing-to-buy-tiktok-kotick-says
Re: Fable's Peter Molyneux Describes Xbox Boss As 'One Of The Best People I've Worked With'
@AverageJoseph
I stumbled upon a documentary video about Peter Molyneux a week ago, which explains how he started as a nobody. It kind of goves a better impression of what kind of person he is: https://youtu.be/H1jwoyBRYcU
Re: 1997's Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror Is Getting 'Reforged' For Xbox In 2026
I have the first Broken Sword games on Evercade, but I am happy to see these classics remade for current gen hardware. I remember replaying the demo of Broken Sword 2 over and over, back when it released in 1997.
Re: Xbox Game Pass Is Getting A Major Overhaul With New Names, Games & Price Changes
Well, people can also choose not to subscribe to GamePass. It's optional. 😉
Re: EA To Be Acquired By Consortium Of Investors For $55 Billion USD
@Zeta Isn't that a conflict of interest? /sarcasm 😄
Re: EA To Be Acquired By Consortium Of Investors For $55 Billion USD
I wonder if this acquisition will face them same scrutiny by all the worldwide regulatory groups as the ABK acquisition by Microsoft did? 😁
Re: EA To Be Acquired By Consortium Of Investors For $55 Billion USD
@Sol76 "Social Media Influencer Moves to Dubai Simulator" 😉
Re: Xbox Is Looking For Fans Who Want To Take Part In 'Research Opportunities'
"This survey is not available in your country."
Re: Xbox Store Links Discovered For Horizon: Zero Dawn & Other PS5 Games, But Don't Get Excited
@johnedwin
You don't see any reason to own a console other than it's exclusives? Like the ease of use, backward compatibility, your personal digital library, platform services, hardware specific features (controller, disc drive, portability), friends on that platform and the price of the hardware? If what you are saying is true then everyone will move to PC as you can play all PlayStation 1st party (and Xbox and Steam) titles on PC, it's just a matter of time when they release.
If PlayStation would start releasing some of their 5+ year old 1st party titles, how likely do you think it is that people will abandon the PlayStation platform for Xbox?
Re: Xbox Store Links Discovered For Horizon: Zero Dawn & Other PS5 Games, But Don't Get Excited
@andrewsqual I don't see anyone here getting excited. Even the article title tells readers to "don't get excited". 😄
And even if someone gets excited, does it matter? They will be disappointed if it turns out not to be true, they will be happy if it turns out true. People are entitled to make their own experiences, we shouldn't dictate them how they should feel.
Re: New Leak Reveals Fresh Details & Concept Art For Xbox's Cancelled Perfect Dark Reboot
@WildConcept6 Yes, I agree, they shouldn't have aimed for a AAA or AAAA project.
Definitely odd, as in the past Microsoft would have newly formed teams work on remasters, before they could create a new entry, as it was the case aith both 343 Industries (Halo: CE Anniversary) and The Coalition (Gears of War: Ultimate Edition).
But I believe the IP would have worked well, as there are apparently decent Perfect Dark books and comics to rely on. They could have done a small-scale game, similar to MGS Ground Zeroes as a foundation to build upon. Or have a smaller team create a top-down stealth-oriented tactical game, like the Commandos series.
Re: New Leak Reveals Fresh Details & Concept Art For Xbox's Cancelled Perfect Dark Reboot
@FraserG True, Metal Gear Solid and James Bond are back. But I have to say, after watching the most recent video from the YouTuber Raycevik about Perfect Dark Zero, I think he has a point that the Perfect Dark universe had a lot of potential, as currently there is no "Cyberpunk espionage" game, apart from the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty DLC. If the developers would have followed the template of Deus Ex, they could have released a timeless hit.
Re: New Leak Reveals Fresh Details & Concept Art For Xbox's Cancelled Perfect Dark Reboot
Such a shame that this Perfect Dark reboot didn't work out. According to the Eurogamer article (which comes from the same source as this one), this game should have filled a gap by the absence of Metal Gear Solid and James Bond.
It's kind of a proof how Microsoft/Xbox managed this project poorly: instead of focusing on creating a good, traditional game with a more limited budget/scope, they instead chose to have a new large studio with some of the biggest ambitions. Sometimes you need to learn to walk before you can run.
Re: Xbox Store Links Discovered For Horizon: Zero Dawn & Other PS5 Games, But Don't Get Excited
@Fiendish-Beaver While this case is a nothingburger, I think the buzz generated around this sorts of topics is good, as it keeps the conversation about the value of "exclusives" going and might help get Sony/PlayStation's attention to release some of their "exclusives" on additional platforms since there is clearly demand for them.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 20-21)
Duke Nukem 3D Total Meltdown on Evercade and Still Wakes The Deep: Siren's Rest DLC.
Re: Xbox Is Making It Easier For Games To Implement Cross-Saves Between Console & PC
@Coletrain I don't know how it will work with Steam's own cloud save feature, but based on what is in the official articles: Yes, if you play a game which has this cloud save feature implemented (no matter the publisher) it will sync your progress between Steam, Xbox PC, Xbox consoles and Xbox cloud, probably via Microsoft's cloud servers.
I just checked and apparently there are quite a few games which support cross-platfrom progression, like Halo Master Chief Collection and Baldur's Gate 3.
Re: Earthion Has Finally Arrived On Xbox, And It's One Of The Best-Rated Games Of 2025
I very much hope there's going to be a release of Earthion on Evercade.
Re: Here's Some Direct Gameplay From Double Fine's New Xbox Exclusive Keeper
The sound design is quite impressive. I think I might enjoy the game, I do like quirky puzzle adventure games, like an Cocoon or The Last Campfire.
Re: Xbox Is Making It Easier For Games To Implement Cross-Saves Between Console & PC
Also an interesting part from the official page:
Re: Xbox Is Making It Easier For Games To Implement Cross-Saves Between Console & PC
@Elbow This is less of a service that people will need to "jump on" and more of a service for developers to license and integrate into their games. The players will automatically benefit once it's part of a game. Though I wonder if it has any drawbacks for game preservation, as save games will be synced to an online cloud.
Re: Xbox Is Making It Easier For Games To Implement Cross-Saves Between Console & PC
@Coletrain @abe_hikura From what I know, up until now this only worked in Microsoft 1st party games, between Xbox and PC, where I think the game had to be bought from the Microsoft store. Not sure if there are any cases, where it works between Xbox and Steam, maybe Sea of Thieves might be a rare exception. Other developers/publishers need to come up with their own custom solutions and infrastructure, if they want to support cross-platfrom save progression.
This reads like a feature which will allow not just 1st party, but also other parties to easily integrate cross-platfrom save progression into their games and Microsoft offers the technology and the cloud infrastructure to store and sync save files.
Re: Xbox's New Handheld UI Has Become Available, And It's Giving FPS & Battery Improvements
It looks interesting, makes me consider buying an ROG Ally.
Re: Opinion: The Value Proposition Of Xbox Series S Is Better Than Ever In 2025
I think the Xbox Series S is a good budget friendly console for the current gen... But the Evercade is the best value proposition in 2025. The cheapest device, the Super Pockets, are only £ 49 and have games installed and most cartridges include multiple games and cost between £ 20 and £ 30. With timeless classic like Metal Slug, Tomb Raider, Duke Nukem, Legacy of Kain. No live services, no micro-transactions, no forced online connections, just pure fun. 😁
#BuyEvercade
Re: Battlefield 6 Dev Says Working On Xbox Series S Improved The Entire Game
@WildConcept6
Also keep in mind that visual fidelity isn't just about the technical performance. It's also very expensive, only a few studios can afford a fidelity like in those PlayStation 1st party titles. So even if the hardware is capable of more, often the dev teams are limited by budget. They try to compensate by using Unreal Engine 5 and stock assets from the Unreal asset store, which works to a certain extent.
That's why sometimes an Xbox 360 game running on Xbox Series X with FPS and resolution boost can look better than a more recent game.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Is Getting New 'Streamlined Progress' Features For Its Xbox Launch
@DJKingaling I remember getting to the end of FF7 on PSone. I couldn't get past the final dungeon as all enemies felt like boss fights. A friend from back then, who was a huge FF7 fan, told me that I apparently messed up the leveling of my characters and I am missing crucial materia. So he intended to show me the end of the game via his own save game. After 50 minutes trying to defeat the last boss, he lost and we gave up. Had to look up the ending online. A big disappointment. 😅
Re: Battlefield 6 Dev Says Working On Xbox Series S Improved The Entire Game
@Coletrain @WildConcept6 @Pat_trick
The truth about Xbox Series S "holding back the generation" is kind of in the middle:
1. What defines this generation?
4K resolution, 60 frames per second, ray-tracing and faster loading speeds? Visual fidelity was alread strong last gen. In that regard the Xbox Series S doesn't push the generation forward as most games big-budget games are 1080p / 30 fps without ray-tracing. The 10 GB RAM is a restricting limit, where other devices (PS5, Series X, Steam Deck) have 16 GB.
2. Development challenges:
On the one hand univeral multi-platform engines like Unreal Engine, Snowdrop, Frostbite, Unity, Anvil, Decima, etc. make game development easier, reducing the need for expensive proprietary engines developed in-house. On the other hand studios might lack in-house talent which knows how to optimize the engine for lower spec hardware. So these engines should already support Xbox Series S by default, but teams might lack the costly talent or time to implement custom optimizations for Xbox Series S, when the game's scope grows.
3. Priorities & Scope:
In the past few years many indie studios were established. They often design games with big-budget visuals and large scopes, with high-end PCs as the target systems. Only at a late stage they start thinking about console releases, at which point optimizations for lower spec hardware like Xbox Series S becomes difficult. Best examples are Black Myth Wukong and Baldur's Gate 3, which both had PCs as their target and required more time to optimize the game for Series S. But even PS5 and Series X didn't offer a perfect performance in those cases.
4. Optimizing for Series S helps other systems:
There are several cases where the optimizations for Xbox Series S and Steam Deck helped the Xbox Series X, PS5 and PC, such as Baldur's Gate 3, Final Fantasy 16 and now Battlefield 6. So Series S can help to improve this generation.
I think this generation was oversold. Many people were expecting 4K ray-tracing at 120 fps on all games with photorealistic visuals. Most of the ray-traced games don't run well, Unreal Engine 5 is very resource demanding. While I get the cost/benefit issue of having to optimize for Series S, I think it's limitations helped to keep the performance on PS5 and Xbox Series X in check.
Re: Battlefield 6 Dev Says Working On Xbox Series S Improved The Entire Game
This is just how Larian Studio explained how optimizing Baldur's Gate 3 for the Xbox Series S helped to improve the performance on other systems.
These low-level optimizations take time, but in the long run the performance of games benefits on all systems and helps to make games accessible on more low-level platforms including Steam Deck, Switch 2, etc.