fatpunkslim

@Vordus Oh right, lol — it’s the F1 game? Yeah, that’s definitely not the same audience.

@Fiendish-Beaver "3 or 4 times the number of gamers that play on a PlayStation": Where is this data coming from? You’re forgetting that the number of consoles doesn’t mean there’s the same number of engaged players behind them. Recent figures actually show that the gap isn’t that big, because Xbox players have a higher engagement rate. Whether it’s games like Forza Horizon 5 or third‑party titles like Arc Raiders or Helldivers 2, the difference isn’t 3x or 4x — far from it. The gap is much smaller.

And by the way, that’s not even the actual console gap between Xbox and PlayStation. It’s more like a 2× or 2,5x difference at most

I quote: "The second thing is the 'return to Xbox,' **we are going to start with console**, and make sure that we understand that this is our reference experience. We will meet players where they are, and build experiences that are instant and seamless and accessible"

Return to Xbox’ and ‘meet players where they are’ sound like two slightly contradictory ideas. I’m curious to see how she plans to combine both at the same time. She seems open to revisiting the exclusivity strategy, while still keeping a multiplatform approach. I think she’ll have to find the right balance between these two strategies, and that will probably involve timed exclusives.

I’m not talking about games that have historically been multiplatform like COD or Doom, nor about PC or cloud releases, but the big franchises or new IPs should probably keep some form of timed exclusivity to maintain the appeal of Xbox consoles — even if Xbox consoles continue to offer other exclusive advantages like Play Anywhere, access to multiple stores, native backward compatibility across several generations, etc. I’m almost certain she’ll eventually reach that conclusion about a better balance of exclusive games.

It’s a necessary step if she truly wants to put Xbox players and Xbox consoles at the center.

@fraserG: "we are going to start with console": It means: what exactly is she trying to say? — “push Xbox games on console first and then on other platforms afterwards?”

I’m almost certain she’ll eventually reach that conclusion about a better balance of exclusive games. It’s a necessary step if she truly wants to put Xbox players and Xbox consoles at the center.

Planet of Lana 2 is more than enough for me, and for those who haven’t played Cyberpunk yet, that’s also a great addition. And FIFA is simply one of the most‑played games in the world. Not my cup of tea, but it’ll definitely please millions of players. Hollow Knight Silksong, already played it, but it’s also an amazing game for Premium subscribers.
The people who complain all the time don’t really realize it. And honestly, for those with very narrow and very selective tastes: don’t subscribe to Game Pass, guys. Just buy the 2–3 games you like each year, but don’t come here ruining it for others who have more open and eclectic tastes, right @Fiendish-Beaver?

@Gemini53 Yeah !The game’s price hasn’t even really dropped yet, and a lot of players probably haven’t tried it for that reason — or because they didn’t have time, or their backlog is already full, or they were waiting for the bugs to be fixed and then forgot about it, etc. There are plenty of possible reasons.

Every time a game like this arrives on Game Pass, there’s a huge spike in players, which proves that the potential audience is actually massive. For example, with Star Wars Outlaws, I wanted to buy it but I was waiting for the price to go down. And right now I’m playing nothing else — I love the game.

@Weebleman Yeah, it’s strangely one of the exceptions. I’m guessing it will come with the Phantom Liberty DLC if it ends up on Game Pass, since that DLC is really huge.

"Two for the price of one", Yes, that’s exactly it. It’s really great not having to pay twice and being able to play on both Xbox console and PC. More and more big games are supporting Xbox Play Anywhere. There’s also the cloud aspect, because even if it’s not always clearly mentioned, the ability to play in the cloud often comes with it. Personally, I’m often in that situation where I start a game on one device and continue it on another.

server slam probably saved more than half the players their 40 bucks

It’s pretty clear the hype has already died down. After the small initial curiosity, it’s basically the new Concord — plain and simple. You might say I’m not being objective, but I played the free version and watched several videos, and....
The art direction is honestly awful. It looks like they just took a default Unreal Engine map, dropped their assets on it, and called it a day. There’s zero atmosphere. The characters are a complete mess, they look like bad AI. I don’t understand anything about the inventory, the text is way too small, the gameplay is extremely basic and slow… Honestly, I don’t understand why this game even exists.

And most influencers say it’s bad, except for the pro‑PlayStation channels — and even they’re not very convinced!

I’m going back to Arc Raiders.

Looking at that list brings back old memories…

Xbox Play Anywhere is not only a great advantage for players in the Xbox ecosystem, but also for game preservation.

@GuyinPA75 Yeah ! Sarah Bond was apparently disliked by developers according to some leaks. Her “this is an Xbox” message was apparently her idea, and a lot of people didn’t understand it, because it basically suggested that an Xbox console was pointless. Which is completely absurd when you consider that the next Xbox is likely their biggest investment ever, since it promises to be a revolution in the industry.

Asha Sharma has far more experience in marketing, product and platform development, and communication — and that’s exactly what Xbox has been lacking. I see the Asha Sharma (business, marketing) – Matt Booty (gaming strategy, content) duo as a very positive move.

@Cakefish I believe absolutely none of that rumor claiming PlayStation would reduce its PC support. It completely contradicts what their CEO has been saying, and what they are doing, and on top of that it would mean a huge loss of revenue for them.

As for live‑service games, I also don’t get the impression they’ve stopped: proof is they recently announced Horizon Multiplayer, and Marathon is coming soon. Sure, they’ve probably scaled things back a bit by cancelling some projects, but I really don’t think they’ve moved on to something else — far from it.

@Gemini53 I think you’re overstating things a bit. Yes, we don’t have a full official reveal from Microsoft yet, but it’s not true that “we know nothing” or that everything is just community wish‑listing. There are actually several concrete, consistent indicators pointing toward what the next Xbox will be — a Windows‑based console, open to third‑party stores, and fully compatible with the existing Xbox library.

A few examples that are hard to dismiss:

Reliable insiders like Jez Corden have been reporting for over a year that the next Xbox is built as a “Windows console,” with an OS unified across PC and Xbox and support for multiple storefronts. This isn’t random speculation — it’s repeated by people with a solid track record.

Microsoft’s strengthened partnership with AMD strongly suggests a more PC‑like architecture, which aligns perfectly with a Windows‑based console.

Phil Spencer himself hinted at this direction, saying the next Xbox would be closer in spirit to devices like the ROG Ally — essentially a Windows gaming machine, but still a console.

Microsoft’s long‑term strategy has been crystal clear: unify PC and Xbox, reduce technical barriers, and make Windows the foundation of the entire ecosystem. The next Xbox naturally fits into that trajectory.

Full backward compatibility with the Xbox library has been emphasized multiple times, and that’s far easier to achieve on a Windows‑based platform.

So yes, we’re still waiting for the official announcement — but at some point, it becomes a bit of an open secret. All the signals are pointing in the same direction, and it’s not just fans inventing things out of thin air.

Saying the next Xbox “looks promising” isn’t blind optimism; it’s simply acknowledging the very real clues we already have.

MachineGames is definitely an amazing studio. I loved the Wolfenstein games, especially Wolfenstein New Order. I also really enjoyed Indiana Jones, which was a bold move by making it mostly a first‑person experience (about 80%), and it worked incredibly well. Can’t wait to get my hands on Wolfenstein 3, a return to the roots

Now that Sarah Bond is gone, I’m feeling much more optimistic. I have to admit that Asha Sharma’s comments — highlighting the consoles, Xbox players, and leaving the door open to revisiting the exclusivity strategy — are reassuring. Xbox is already one of the biggest video game publishers, and the quality of their games has been steadily improving in recent years. The next Xbox console also looks extremely promising. For all these reasons, I’m very optimistic.

I’m only playing Star Wars Outlaws at the moment, and I’m really impressed by the game’s quality, especially the graphics and technical performance. The gameplay may seem a bit simple, but it’s effective and genuinely enjoyable to play.

1/ More focus on consoles
2/ Timed exclusives of at least one year for new franchises and sequels
3/ A better‑structured Game Pass offering. I’m fine with a more expensive Game Pass Ultimate that includes everything, but they should keep a simpler and cheaper option like PC Game Pass, with the full catalog and day‑one releases — and make sure it works with the next Xbox console.

4/ Clearer marketing messages, with the Xbox community as the priority

5/ More marketing budget: the next Xbox is a real game changer and a real opportunity to make a big difference. They need to invest in it, supported by exclusive games at launch.

6/ High‑quality games — which is already happening, since game quality has clearly improved in recent years. Keep innovating and creating, but don’t forget to make mainstream, accessible games too.

7/ Bring back great classic Xbox franchises

8/ Listen to players and developers

It’s not complicated, really. Xbox’s overall strategy is good, but it needs some adjustments (console‑first, exclusives, Game Pass…). What’s really been lacking is the marketing message, which has sometimes been clumsy

I’m starting to appreciate her — I like the straightforward way she talks to people. And yes, it’s sad to see so much hate and malice in the gaming community sometimes.

We don’t need her to be a gamer, just to listen to players and developers, and to do what’s right for Xbox

@TrollOfWar They’re not going to reverse course, but realistically, not all Xbox games are on other platforms today — and even fewer are day‑one. What’s missing is clarity around their exclusivity policy. Until the Fable announcement, no Xbox game launched day one on other consoles, except for titles that were historically multiplatform before the studio acquisitions, and remakes.

You already know my stance on this, but I’ll repeat it: they should systematically have timed exclusivity for the big franchises — at least a year, maybe a bit more. That alone would make Xbox consoles more attractive, on top of the other ecosystem advantages that only Xbox offers today, like Play Anywhere, Game Pass, backward compatibility, open ecosystem on multiple stores, etc.

@Fiendish-Beaver Yes, that’s basically what I said too. The message should have been more subtle — showing that you can play on other devices, that you can continue the game you started on your console on different platforms. That’s where they needed more nuance.
‘This is an Xbox’ became a meme because it was so over‑the‑top and caricatural.

@TrollOfWar I had completely missed that statement — "I want to return to the renegade spirit that built Xbox in the first place." Very Interresting !

It definitely suggests a real shift. I’m really looking forward to seeing the first concrete actions that back up those words.

I get the feeling there was a deep disagreement between Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond. And the fact that Phil Spencer will continue supporting Sharma for many more months seems to reinforce that idea.

@FraserG Yeah ! Fundamentally, Xbox’s strategy is solid. Aside from hardware, they’ve made progress on almost every front: content, services, cloud, PC, Game Pass, and they’re now the biggest video game publisher.
Of course, it still needs some adjustments — a stronger focus on consoles, some fine‑tuning around exclusives, and some tweaks to the Game Pass subscription structure.

But above all, what’s missing is brand perception and a clear marketing strategy. I respect Phil Spencer for the excellent work he’s done, but we have to admit that when it comes to communication and marketing, he made mistakes that hurt the brand — even if he wasn’t the only one responsible (Sarah bond ...).

The message ‘This is an Xbox’ was impactful — everyone remembers it, for better or worse — but it probably lacked subtlety. It could make people think Xbox was abandoning consoles, since “everything is an Xbox.” Which isn’t true at all, because in reality they’ve probably never invested this much in the future of Xbox hardware, with a small revolution coming in about a year or so.

Beyond the facts, the message you send and the way you communicate it are crucial to maintaining player trust. And that’s why Sharma’s experience in product, communication, and marketing seems like a good fit for Xbox right now.

On the substance, Xbox moving toward multiplatform is actually what saved the brand — especially by expanding to PC. As for other consoles, there’s probably a balance to find, with timed exclusives for the big franchises.

On the presentation side, the marketing around it was probably clumsy — I don’t know, I’m not an expert. But that’s likely part of the reason why Sharma is here: her background is heavily focused on product, communication, and marketing, much more than Phil Spencer or Sarah Bond. And that’s exactly what Xbox needs right now — clearer communication, a clearer strategy, and a leadership team that actually listens to players.

Seriously, this guy sounds bitter — what is he even talking about? He worked at Xbox for only three years, and that was 24 years ago… He’s completely out of touch with what’s happening at Xbox today.
So honestly, his opinion matters about as much as any random troll on Twitter.
Thanks for designing the first Xbox, sure — but that’s it. It’s obvious he just wants attention by siding with the haters who say anything for clicks, because that’s the easy route.
But the guy clearly has no idea what’s going on anymore

Welcome to the Xbox team.

When he took over, the division was in crisis after the failure of the Xbox One. He convinced Microsoft to keep investing in Xbox at a time when the company was considering drastically reducing its role.

He secured Xbox’s independence within Microsoft. Spencer managed to turn it into a major branch of the company — today even more important internally than Windows.

He launched backward compatibility.

He created and popularized Xbox Game Pass, a service that gave many studios stable funding and gave players access to a large game library.

He invested in cloud gaming, which allowed Xbox to reach regions where consoles are too expensive or heavily taxed.

Thanks to him, Xbox became the number one video game publisher.

Phil Spencer rebuilt Xbox, stabilized it, modernized it, and turned it into a strategic pillar for Microsoft — even if not everything was perfect.

I do criticize him for being more on the developers’ side than the players’ side. His vision of full multiplatform and zero exclusives is, in my opinion, too radical and somewhat utopian. There’s a middle ground to be found.

I think this change comes at the right time for Xbox, just before a major revolution in the industry with the next Xbox console. Contrary to what some people say, she mainly has experience in growing and modernizing products, and in marketing / communication/social media. And that’s exactly what Xbox needs: clearer communication, a clearer strategy, and a leadership team that listens more to players.

What I really liked about Phil Spencer is that he was an amazing ambassador for the brand with other publishers. It’s thanks to him that we now have Final Fantasy games on Xbox, and even Square Enix titles launching day one on Xbox. The same goes for other publishers like Konami, Capcom, and so on. His relationships with publishers made a big difference, I think — even if, of course, most publishers are now leaning toward releasing their games everywhere and reducing exclusivity because of rising production costs and the need for profitability.

I hope Asha Sharma and Matt Booty will be able to maintain that close relationship with publishers, and that Asha’s experience in product development and marketing will help bring a clear vision and communication about Xbox’s future. That would help avoid the usual doom and gloom and the wild speculation some people tend to fall into.

@FraserG When you look at her background, she only spent two years in the AI department; most of her roles were actually focused on product growth and marketing. Which, to me, is a good thing, because Xbox needs stronger marketing and clearer communication and vision.

And the fact that Nadella is putting her in charge of Xbox might mean that he actually wants to prioritize the gaming side and ease off a bit on the AI focus, by putting a brilliant woman at the head of the division. Say what you want, gaming experience or not, her career clearly shows she’s a smart person.

I also regret that she doesn’t seem to have Phil Spencer’s gaming experience, but at the same time Phil Spencer is a unique case — very few executives have a gaming background as strong as his. And she won’t be alone anyway; Matt Booty is there to handle the content and gaming side of things.

I’m not making any judgments before seeing what she does. I’m giving her a chance, and even if I remain cautious, Microsoft has clearly chosen a high‑level profile, which in my opinion shows their intention to keep Xbox strong.

As for Phil Spencer, I respect his decision to retire. I would have liked him to stay a bit longer, but after 36 years at Microsoft, I can understand that he wants to move on.

It’s pretty crazy how much care they put into the landscapes for a racing game, considering you don’t always have time to look at all the subtle details in the scenery. In any case, it’s a good sign for Fable, which is using the ForzaTech engine — even if that engine has been specially upgraded for Fable.

@Gemini53 Alright, fair enough — maybe my love for Xbox sometimes makes me see things differently, just like some people who love PlayStation tend to feel personally targeted whenever their console is criticized. I’ll try to be more careful next time, thanks

@themightyant Lol, a bit of respect please ! Honestly, I’d be the first to admit I’m talking nonsense if someone could prove that Sony’s remaster policy isn’t controversial (and I’m deliberately choosing my words carefully).
You can check Reddit, Google, ChatGPT, wherever you want — it’s well‑known that their approach to remasters is questionable. My theory is simply that it influences other publishers, that’s all!

@themightyant “I’m not talking about PlayStation all the time, but here I’m perfectly on topic with the article. We’re talking about a publisher delisting games in favor of remasters, and I’m sorry, but PlayStation is the first thing that came to mind. I don’t think I’m the only one who thought that, far from it.
As I already said, my point is that the habits of some publishers push others to do the same. That’s my theory regarding Konami, which is probably influenced by other publishers — especially since those two are very close — so it’s definitely not off‑topic.
I didn’t start this debate in the first place; I just shared my opinion and an observation directly related to the article.
But alright, that’s your point of view, no problem bro.

@Gemini53 Yes, absolutely, and thanks for understanding. Whether it’s PlayStation, Xbox, or Konami, they’re all here to do business. I just think that we, as players, should be able to call out certain practices that really aren’t very consumer‑friendly, even if we have little chance of changing the trend.

@Gemini53 Alright, no problem. It’s just that sometimes I feel like certain people (often the same ones) overreact whenever someone mentions PlayStation, even if it’s to point out something that seems obvious to me. But what’s obvious to me isn’t necessarily obvious to everyone, and I can understand that. I just hope for a bit of reciprocity regarding my point of view, which, as far as I can tell, is shared by millions of others as well.

@Kiltedhaggis ok, I trust you...

@themightyant A bit of good faith, please — you know very well it’s not the same thing. They didn’t release a remake of Forza Horizon. This is a licensing issue, and in this case it’s a loss, since we can’t buy the games anymore.

@Kiltedhaggis yes of course: Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4) / Uncharted 4: A Thief's End & Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4) / Marvel’s Spider-Man (replaced by Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered) / UNTIL DAWN / etc...

To be fair, there are a few exceptions, like TLOU Part 2. And they’re not the only ones — Square Enix does the same thing, with the Resident Evil games for example.

@Gemini53 yes, absolutely. It’s all about balance — you need to know how to use it for repetitive tasks or to boost productivity, but not at the expense of creativity and originality, which only a human can truly reproduce in the end.

Whaaaaat ? Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 ?? that's huge ! Honestly, for several months, say what you want, but Game Pass has been delivering some seriously heavy hitters.

And witcher 3, For those who’ve not already played it, it’s a classic — you really have to experience it.

@Gemini53 I think that at some point, the demand for AI components will reach a peak, then stabilize or even decrease, especially thanks to more efficient and less energy‑hungry models. It has to happen, because the planet’s resources aren’t infinite, and AI’s current needs are just stratospheric. I don’t think it’s really a bubble — maybe there’s some marketing overhype and a bit of exaggerated investment in certain areas, but AI is here to stay; it’s a revolution as significant as the industrial revolution. But I believe more in an improvement of models and systems than in a real drop in AI demand. Today everyone uses AI: developers use it, designers use it, and it’s everywhere in healthcare, the military, and so on… it’s absolutely everywhere, and we’re not going to go backwards.

AI is a real problem; whether it’s RAM, SSDs, or other components, everything goes to data centers first. As a result, there’s not much left for consumer products, demand becomes higher than supply, and prices go up.

With the next Xbox being able to play games from all stores, and PlayStation sending all its games to Steam faster and faster — even day one for some — for me the choice is clear: it’ll be Xbox next generation. The PS6 feels completely unnecessary.

Good thing I already bought mine! It’s an absolute delight to play on this handheld console.

@WVProductionsUK Yes, that’s true, it’s not like the Xbox trailer doesn’t even exist on top of that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPMnuDJcwDY

For now I’m having a good time — it really brings back the original gameplay from the first game, and the atmosphere is great. That said, it’s missing a bit of polish in the textures and animations, and there are a few bugs. I think it just needs a small update to fix that. And I get the feeling the graphics engine hasn’t evolved much

In any case, the physical version — even on other platforms — will sell very little. We’re slowly heading toward the end of physical media anyway; let’s not kid ourselves, that’s just how players consume games now.