If he took the game pass money, then he is part of the said problem that he is trying to demonstrate.

@Fiendish-Beaver

I see Gears as a single-player game with a multiplayer mode, like Halo.

I see Forza and COD as live-service games with single-player modes.

State of Decay has a single-player mode, but all the marketing has been around multiplayer to make it more appealing to PS5 and PC players, who play a lot of online games.

I think that's how it is decided what is exclusive and what will be deemed as live service.

@IllusiveMan

The difference is Matt Ball, he is the one who will drive strategy, and he has been highly critical of Xbox's approach, especially with the "only 4 games" situation. Satya will be on board with this strategy, but as we can see, things need to be cut to make Xbox more sustainable. They aren't just throwing money around anymore.

@Fishmasterflex96 Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond aren't in charge anymore. Asha Sharma and Matt Ball have very different views on the role of exclusive content in driving an ecosystem.

Matt Ball was criticizing Xbox heavily over the "Just 4 games" thing before he joined.

They will only port games that will actually make money, and that's live Service/Online games. Fable/State of Decay 3 are going over because the previous leadership spent too much on those games.

I don't see Clockwork Revolution or Gears making much money on PS5. It's just a waste of time, resources and money to port over games that aren't going to be big hitters.

I probably won't even see 6 seconds on this menu haha. I will check out the game on Game Pass.

I aim to pre-order it for my Series X at some point before launch, but mainly for the pre-load rather than the need to have it.

Copa City took its sweet time lol

I think the safe studios will be:

Halo Studios
Playground Games
Bethesda Game Studios
Studios that make COD
King Mobile Games

Who might get some smaller cuts

Machine Games
Most Activision Studios
Most Blizzard Studios

Who will get cuts:
Obsidian
InExile (Once Clockwork Ships in 2027)
Undead Labs (Once State of Decay Ships in 2027)

At high risk:
Double Fine
Arkane Lyon
Compulsion
Ninja Theory

Other smaller/lower revenue teams.

Sadly, SoM did not do well commercially, even with the multi-platform push.

Sad but not at all surprising as Xbox tightens up and redirects investment into tenpole games like Forza, COD, Halo, Gears, State of Decay (in a live service format), Fallout and TES

Even something like Clockwork Revolution and Marvel's Blade (if it doesn't get cancelled) should be appreciated because we won't be seeing any new IP from Xbox anytime soon.

It's the same with Sony and even Nintendo now.

Sony will focus on Marvel games, TLOU, GOW, Astro, and maybe another Ghost game. They might revive some old IP's with remakes and remasters.

Nintendo will carry on with Pokémon, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Zelda, Mario, Fire Emblem, and Xenoblade

The Era of risk-taking is over after the next slate of new IP launches.

The right changes as hard as they may be.

I think as a JRPG fan, the Nintendo Direct Showcase was the best for any JRPG fan. The Xbox showcase was a close second as Persona 6 was there, and I love the upcoming RPG style games like Fable and Clockwork Revolution.

SOP and SGF didn't offer too much for me beyond the odd announcement/release date update.

I will be buying gears to support Xbox's choice.

Maybe she just wants to make a cheaper, lower-powered console?

Question 3 - Matt Ball can't talk about contracts with Sony due to an NDA.

Sarah Bond/Phil Spencer must have done deals for Halo, Fable, and Senua, which Asha and Team chose not to buy out due to a high cost.

Senua makes some sense as the first 2 were on PlayStation and it is a smaller game that benefits from a larger audience. We will see what happens with games as we get into the Helix Gen.

Great Nintendo Direct, some more RPGs and JRPG's to add to the wishlist.

@Fiendish-Beaver

I see E-day has a single player game with an Online element (Not live service), whereas State of Decay 3 seems to be going for a main multiplayer focus (is there a single player?).

It makes sense that the 2 bigger single player releases of each year (that don't have a deal already done with other platforms) become exclusive.

You already know, as an avid reader/writer of hookshot sites, that gaming companies need some form of exclusive content to draw players in. Netflix has some exclusive shows, the same as HBO.

PlayStation and Nintendo only have a small handful of exclusives themselves, and it works for them, so I don't see why Xbox can't try to move in a positive direction by trying the same. They have more than enough games to make exclusive (They could have done it with Spyro), but they don't need to. They just need enough to draw people into the ecosystem rather than the consoles themselves. We will see how it pans out in the future, but either way, MS will find success with the large volume of games it has to publish and sell across at least one console and a growing PC market.

A really good show, the best of the summer for me.

Persona 6 reveal will be huge. Xbox will be the best showcase this year.

@mac_da_man Long-term view of rebuilding Xbox as a serious platform contender, you have to spend/eat money to make money. I think they will go for a mixed approach in the end, like Sony with Forza and COD going multiplat as they make the most money. Single-player games make less money these days, but actually help a brand grow, as exclusive content is valued across all media.

@Tasuki My takeaway is a return to a mixed approach, going off the full interview. She clearly acknowledges the need for exclusives on a platform.

They either don't have enough time, money, or talent. They have the issue, not the Series S.

Remedy already struggles to break even on its games, and this bad PR won't help.

What I expect now that things have become even clearer:

Halo (June/July)

There are No Ghosts at the Grand - Game Pass (June - August)

Minecraft Legends 2 (August)

(Avoid September as it is stacked with AAA games)

Gears of War (Early October)

COD MW4 (23 October)

November/December (No-go zone)

January (Stranger Than Heaven or Persona 4 Revival on Game Pass)

Fable - February

March (Stranger Than Heaven or Persona 4 Revival on Game Pass)

April - June - Clockwork Revolution

August - October - State of Decay 3

Nov/Dec - Marvel's Blade & Persona 6

If PlayStation and Nintendo stick to thier own logos i don't mind Xbox doing the same

I am feeling much more positive about the future of XBOX after the leadership change.

@Fiendish-Beaver I feel like I have seen this post several times lol. Technically, Feb 2026 is Winter. I expect Stranger than Heaven to take the Jan spot as the big Game Pass release for that month.

Not surprised by the Fable delay, they did the same for Avowed when the end of 2024 got crowded. Probably the best move.

Good attach rate for XBOX there, I was one of the 25% who got this for my Series X!

I am feeling significantly more positive about XBOX's future than I am with PlayStation. That is because Asha will push the brand forward and try to improve things. PlayStation will continue to obsess over live-service games with Hulst, as they stagnate on everything but prices.

As for exclusives, we will see. It won't be 100% exclusive like Nintendo games, but maybe a hybrid like PlayStation with live service games (COD/Forza/Sea of Theives/MineCraft) going everywhere and single player IPs exclusive going forward.

You might see Bethesda games like Marvel's Blade and TES6 come either day one or timed.

Asha probably looked at The Outer Worlds 2, Starfield, and Flight Sim 24, Gear of War Reloaded sales on PS5 and thought," Is this really worth it?

COD and Game Pass did not make sense, and she axed it. If the game does not make a good ROI on PS5, she will axe it. I expect Halo and Fable to go to PS5 as the agreements are in place, as for Gears of War E-Day and Clockwork Revolution, we will see soon enough.

I think with Gears of War taking the October spot, I expect Fable between Jan- March 2027, along with Stranger than Heaven (in separate months).

My guess

June/July - Halo

Sept - (Wolverine)

Oct - Gears and maybe Persona 4 Revival (Game Pass)

Nov GTA 6

Dec - No planned launches for most AAA games

Jan - Stranger than Heaven (Game Pass)

Feb- Fable

Mar onwards - Persona 4 Revival if not October

Like with Avowed, XBOX is not afraid to delay a game out of an Autumn slot into an early next year slot if things get too crowded (which they will). I would be super happy if Fable makes 2026, though.

@BacklogBrad "Hurts the bottom line". That is the short-term thinking that has gotten Xbox into a position where it is no longer growing, damaging its brand resonance with sales on PS5 outside of Forza and Oblivion, not even breaking 1 million copies.

Outside of Forza and other live service games, they are better off not wasting dev time and money on ports that only a few hundred thousand people at most will appreciate for the cost of the long-term brand reputation.

Asha's actions are clearly user acquisition strategies (something that has been noted by other high-level execs that she is extremely good at). She also seems not to be under the financial pressure that Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond were under.

She must have convinced Satya that all these new initiatives and hires (which are not cheap, btw) will result in more money to MS and give less to competitors (Which Sony and Nintendo very much are).

She is a long-term thinker, and I do think some single player exclusives " will come back as part of her long-term XBOX user acquisition strategy.

No waiting for the PS5 version, I will play it tonight!

I really enjoyed the game! 9/10 for me.

I think it's reasonable to give this game a 10/10 or a 6/10 depending on your tastes. Any reasonable person should be able to see that. I thought Expedition 33 was overrated by critics but I didn't invalidate anyone's 10/10 as it's all just subjective at that end of the day.

I spend my time focusing on what I enjoy rather than going online trying to invalidate others opinions.

A way to trade in your played games for credit via a digital store would be a great step forward.

Lots of options there, depending on playstyles, which is great

@dePaige22 More to do with someone who paid for it vs someone who did not.

I got the upgrade pack on Loaded for a hefty discount (£39.99), which feels like a more reasonable price alongside Game Pass.

@Banjo- Depends on how you grew up and what you have achieved in adult life. I grew up pretty poor, but now I am self-employed with a significantly higher disposable income and less time to spend it.

So the older we get, the stingier we get? Not surprised lol. I would argue that older people often have a far higher disposable income but less free time (pre-retirement).

The summer showcase will show us if Fable makes this year or gets pushed into early next year. My gut says Jan-Mar 2027.

Forza 6, Coffee Talk Tokyo, Lego Batman, and 007 First Light. I think this is the strongest month for me so far! I will also check out Mixtape on Game Pass.

In some ways, it's good as I think June - Late August is going to be quite barren.

Don't Nod, more like Don't Bother.

@AI-Generation Xbox owners buy mostly digital games, and often have the best console-to-game sales attach rate out of the big 3.

I expect late 2027 to late 2028. A lot will be dependant on availability of SSDs and RAM.

As for the dev kits, the series X/S kits got to many of the larger publisher's in 2020 hence the many cross gen games on both platforms.

The turnaround is pretty quick as the EAs and Ubisofts of this world will cross gen for the next 2-3 years after the new consoles release.

As for 1st party games, they already have the dev kits so native versions of upcoming games will be able to hit a late 2027 or late 2028 date.

So far, we have had some positive messages from Asha and 2 confirmed positive changes (UI Improvements and Game Pass) in 60 days. Asha appears not only to talk about change but also to enact it.

I don't expect overnight change, but I am looking forward to seeing what Asha does over the next couple of years.

She really put a big emphasis on Xbox being affordable, and if that filters down to the next console, then that could have a huge impact on the optical success.

The crazy thing is that Game Pass and Xbox themselves were a financially profitable business before Asha came. 22% of profit came from the 5 billion pounds Game Pass generated alone.

The main issue was the optics. I think Satya realised that while Xbox was making more money than ever, growth was beginning to stagnate, and things could have swung the other way within a couple of years. The old model was a typical Don Matrick style "too fast, too soon". Don Matrick had good ideas, but they were implemented way too early and damaged the brand for years.

I feel Satya probably has a sense of deja vu with Asha's positive news cycle, just as it was with Phil Spencer when he showed up in 2014.

I just hope Asha is allowed to eat some costs now to give Xbox a really positive long-term outlook.

There is a lot of positive news circulating about Xbox at the moment, and while this is one isolated case, this will filter down to casuals, and it could end up having a bigger impact than we expect.

Optics is everything for a brand, and Xbox is slowly rebuilding positive optics after 2-3 years of mostly negative ones.

We won't be hearing "Xbox is dead" from anyone logical, as Asha has made it very clear in her first 60 days as CEO that Xbox is very much alive and here to stay, regardless of what anti-Xbox fanatics want.

She has demonstrated that she will take action over just words. Game Pass and UI improvements are just the start.

Logo looks great! Seeing some salty comments here lol

@Balaam_ I am guessing you aren't the new generation she is talking about lol

I have not yet been to Push Square today... I need to get some popcorn lol

Helix has me very interested. I am curious to learn more about this first-party developed console in the near future.

I am looking for a route into PC gaming, so this has more appeal to me than a closed-off PS6 at the moment.

Great stuff, glad to see they are listening to feedback.