Weebleman

@themightyant This was my biggest issue. There were points when a game would update and I'd start finding copies of games on my external hdd and internal ssd. First World problems I know, but frustrating all the same

@Kaloudz the big problem is if they skip their store for steam, they get no money from the sale.

@Coletrain couldn't agree more.

@Coletrain Yeah that was my thoughts. If you are gonna let folks access Steam then we are probably looking at an entry level PC in a box (if that makes sense). If that is the case then there just isnt any point making a straight up xbox branded version as it will run the PC build you already have.

When folks can buy that PC build cheaper from a different store, I just dont see that going well. Windows games is already widely disliked. If folks get a choice there will be very few who choose it over steam.

@FraserG suppose it makes sense focusing on where the sales will be if you have limited resources. Bit of a bummer but at least we know it's coming.

I imagine this will feeds those secret exclusive rumours that folks love.

@Kaloudz Yup. Sadly I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more developers doing it as sales tend to be lower on xbox due to Gamepass. Like you say, feels a bit scummy but what can we do.

As an aside, I can see more developers skipping xbox if they make steam available on the next box. What's the point of spending money porting a game when folks can buy another version from another store that works on it.

I imagine that conversation will be around a Gamepass deal.

@Coletrain the Very code is a great tip. I used this to pick up a ps5 pro and it took a chunk off.

@Kaloudz I'd have a shop around buddy. Digital foundry did an article on the cheaper model and basically said theres no point in it at all

@Millionski I really hope they dont drop out. Competition breeds innovation and that benefits us all.

Sadly though, i think they will. Even if they bring out a box that has an xbox name on it and multiple storefronts, it won't change. While they may get a chunk more sales, most steam users will be happy with their current set up.

The vast majority of console sales are from the casual market who dont care about steam. They will just buy the machine that let's them take their digital library with them. This happened on PS4 to PS5 and will happen again as most people are even more invested.

Folks wont simply drop that to start again

Little misleading that headline, wouldn't you say?

@Kienda agreed. Whatever party it is, im glad xbox folks get to enjoy it.

@K1LLEGAL I get your points, especially when nixxes get involved, and hopefully I didnt come across argumentative (if i did, it was unintended). I just meant that there is a long way between a a third party company making an online multiplayer game of a Sony IP and something like Spiderman.

I mean, never say never, especially in these weird times, but i wouldn't be holding my breathe for them just yet.

Edit: On a side note, if any xbox folks want a bit of a support while they level up I'll be happy to jump in with you all 🙂

@K1LLEGAL this is 2nd party. Sony own the IP, the studio that make it is independent.

Tell you what wont be coming to xbox, Romero Games new project. Looks like they've shuttered the studio after MS pulled their funding. Hope all affected find work soon.

Chances are it would result in the studio getting shut down anyway, so I'd just leave it well alone.

@Kaloudz just remember this isnt a first party Sony title my man. Its a 3rd party studio hired to produce an ip sony own. What they used to class as a 2nd party title but you dont hear that as much these days. Theres a long way between this and something like spiderman.

@BacklogBrad I mean, sure, they cancelled two games. Let's not forget the thousands that lost there jobs and a studio was shuttered.

Theres a lot more to take away than two games getting cancelled.

Excellent news for those xbox only folks amongst us. I look forwarding to joining you all for some liberty

@Kaloudz every team needs a lead (or a head in this case) mate. Otherwise it will be an even bigger mess than what's unfolding at the minute.

Ultimately phil wanted ABK. He just had to get folks above to fund it, likely on the promise that the money will roll in. That decision drew consequences and Microsoft Gaming was born. Xbox will still exist as basically an os overlay on 3rd party hardware.

'Xbox is doing better than ever.'

Phil spencer, 2025.

Don't even start me on the fact he tries to say that success is because they laid people off previously.

The best thing about the xbox rog ally is it seems to be a decent machine and you can delete the OS and install a better one on it that isnt windows.

@Fiendish-Beaver I was just going to comment the same. Folks are gonna realise pretty quickly on release that the rog ally is not an xbox, despite carrying the name.

My favourite AC. Would be a rare day one purchase for me.

@Moby mate, you just come across as a fanboy using financials as a metric because your favourite box ain't doing as well as you want. Both companies used the same tactics but you only claim one is underhand. Funny that isnt it.

Enjoy your stocks mate. Have a good day.

@Ricky-Spanish who’d have thought we would miss the days of arguing about single frame drops and imperceptible differences in resolution. I much prefer those arguments to people bickering over a giant companies wealth.

@Fiendish-Beaver steam games are already optimised for various set ups. There’s no guarantee that those games will even run on the next Xbox. So many folks seem to think this is evidence of Xbox running steam and don’t understand what is actually happening beneath the hood.

The big take away from all of this is that it’s looking more and more likely that the next Xbox will run windows, Xbox will be reduced to an overlay launch screen with a sticker on a third party box, and nobody wants that.

I saw a line somewhere that said while MS are trying there hardest to be everywhere, they run a significant risk of being nowhere in particular. Thayer about sums up my feelings on them at the moment.

@HonestHick I wouldn’t celebrate the steam to Xbox guarantee just yet. What we have at the minute is windows running pc games you can launch via an Xbox shortcut. It is not an Xbox running steam or it’s games. You need steam installed in the background to buy/download games first. That won’t necessarily translate to a console running steam games. It might but it’s no guarantee as of yet.

@Millionski Yeah, I know. I just meant that on the xbox ally it won't let you access your uninstalled steam games via the app, you will need to access Steam to download them and then they will show in the xbox app and run just as you say.

Its essentially just a file app for viewing installed games on the device. The xbox rog ally will work in the same way as you will have to access Steam to buy/download games for licencing purposes. Once installed though they will all pop up in the xbox overlay.

Terrible news and I wish the best to anyone affected by it (when it eventually comes out).

@Millionski true and, at the end of the day, all we can do is speculate as we will likely never know the inner workings of any of these companies.

I was just looking at the way things are at the minute and, for me, it paints a pretty clear picture when you look at the events. I do completley agree the abk deal was a massive factor. I just think that they made that deal to get more people into the eco system and, as a result, get more GP subs . It didn't work so they had to pivot massively.

Which ultimately again boils down to gamepass being the driver. Phil did say its on 15% of revenue, but thats the reality now. They wanted it to be much higher and it never happened. They made that clear in previous statements where they said their planned sub numbers by x year, which were massively over where they are now.

To be honest, the main reason why people aren't buying it is because they built a massive digital library last gen. As phil said, they lost the most important cycle. Getting folks to walk away from that library isnt gonna happen. The biggest group of gamers aren't like me or you. They are the casual market. As soon as they see 'take all your games with you', thats the way they will go.

On a side note, enjoyed the discussion my man. Always good to share opinions respectfully 🙂

@StonyKL hard to argue against anything you have said there my friend. Folks always leave these kind of points out when accusing other companies of greed. They all want our money and they all do whatever they can to get it out of us.

@Moby exclusives hurting growth while they massively outsell their direct competitor and continue to shift consoles month on month is the wildest logic I've seen in some time.

Do you honestly think MS would be porting games if they were in Sonys position?

@Millionski Apologies man, I meant they had more subs and dont put games day one, not because of that. While numbers sold are also a likely factor, among many others no doubt, I just meant that as well as the sub fee, they also get the cut of the game sale as well.

Gamepass is not just to compliment the strategy for folks that want it, it is the strategy to bring customers in and, unfortunately, it hasn't worked out as they hoped. Its a brilliant service and exceptional value, but if it had been a success to the level they hoped, they wouldn't be porting games elsewhere.

They are struggling to shift consoles. They thought buying large publishers and putting all their games on gamepass day one would shift the needle. It didn't. They started releasing their games on rival machines. Let's not forget, phil implied that all these publishers games would be exclusives. Instead, we have Forza and Gears on playstation.

If Gamepass ceased tomorrow we would be hearing that xbox was done shortly after. They can't do that as aside from going full publisher, Gamepass is the main draw they have.

@BacklogBrad theres a lot more games on plus than gamepass and, depending on your tastes, there are some real gems in there. As I said above, between the two, theres something for all. Especially if you aren't bothered by playing games on release (or you just want to buy them).

@Isolte absolutely. I do wonder if they could go back, would they do it the same way. By not putting games day one, Sony has more subs (off last official released figures) and game sales as well. Where as xbox is porting all its major franchises.

Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn't. The fact they locked day one (or four) games behind the highest tier makes me think they may have a tinge of regret as there's no putting that back in the box now its out. As you say though, Gamepass tips it but they both offer superb value and depending on where your tastes lie, you are well covered between them both.

@TheGameThrifter '...or playing while I poop on a phone.'

I mean, thats one hell of an admission. Im not sure what that adds to the experience but I support your choices my man.

No. Simply because the direction they are heading seems to be to slap an xbox logo on anything and class it as such. This feels like a very slippy slope.

@Kaloudz ahh man, sorry to hear you've been under it. Im ginger so sunshine is my natural enemy 😂.

@Questionable_Duck all good points my friend that I dont disagree with.

@Kaloudz Hey man, hope you're good. Ultimately its Sony's platform and they have the final say on the services available on it. Gamepass in its current state would mean a loss of third party sales. They'd likely have no issue with in house games, similar to ubisofts service or ea play, although I think they initially said no to one or more of them.

Ultimately they will take a cut of the sub for MS in house games, but a lot of money comes from 3rd party stuff and if that launched on GP it would eat into sales on the system. And we all know these companies dont like to give up their share of the monies.

@Fiendish-Beaver I let my GP run out last last year as, at the time, there wasn't much I wanted to play on there and my two boys basically played minecraft and flight sim. It was cheaper just to buy the games than pay an endless fee every month. Now I just dip a toe every few months when theres been a few releases built up and, honestly, this is how I will likely stay using gamepass as I only really play single player stuff these days. The curse of being mid 40's with 3 kids means my free time ain't what it used to be so a game can last me months 😂

@Fiendish-Beaver I imagine an easy way to get a huge bump in subs would be to release a 1st party only version on PS. That way MS get to shout about a big increase in numbers, Sony will get a cut of the subs so everybody wins.

The biggest issue with subscription services these days is that everybody seems to have wised up to cancelling and resubbing when a backlog has built up. You will always get the few who just leave it going but folks seem to dip in and out these days. Then get a cheap month on special offer.

Sure, folks on here and others who consider it a main hobbey will have it stacked for a few years but most have done so via loopholes and MS already have that money. Even with the odd full game purchase or dlc, they make very little money of people who are subbed. They want new money off fresh subs from the market and that ain't easy to come by when you aren't shifting boxes (despite everything being an xbox).

Considering 90% or something games I own on my xbox wont carry over to the rog ally x, I sure as hell hope they dont use this operating system for the next xbox console. Im hoping that instead of planning something big, they plan to figure that out before releasing a console using it.

It will be interesting to see the performance difference in this when you wipe windows off it and install steam os. Just purely for a straight comparison between windows with the xbox overlay and steam.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner The DLC thing has been noticeable massively of late. When they announced the Indiana Jones DLC, it was only a matter of time before folks started to ask if it would be included in Gamepass. I know some loved it and will buy it. Others will just leave it for that very reason.

Once people get pushed into the subscription model, they start to expect more and more from it at the same price. Every xbox show people always ask is it on Gamepass. If it isnt, you can almost hear the interest plummet.

Like I said though, brilliant value but it has consequences elsewhere. When someone highlights them, the cult turns its disdain towards them.

Edit: Case in point with the comment just up there that randomly brings Sony into it.

The amount of folks jumping on the dev is pretty grim reading. Its almost like any negative comment against Gamepass and people decide the person making them has an agenda or the game is rubbish. It reviewed pretty solidly.

He raises good points from a perspective that we dont have. That isnt a bad thing. Gamepass is great value for us gamers, it just has a reverse impact elsewhere. That's usually how these things pan out in any medium. Its okay to find faults with things and still appreciate the benefits without writing things/people off because they dared to be critical of gamepass.