@Kiltedhaggis Do you really think Insomniac is the one making the decisions? Back in 2017, they said their games wouldn’t come to PC or Xbox. And yet, now everything ends up on Steam and some games on Xbox
@carlos17589 Yeah You probably right. As a developer, your goal is logically to have your game played by as many people as possible. Their answer just lacked a bit of empathy and nuance — they could have said “unfortunately” or mentioned that you can still play it on Xbox through Steam. But I guess communication is pretty restricted on Sony’s side, and they can only say what they’re allowed to, so this way they don’t take any risks.
What’s certain is that the company is clearly moving toward a more multiplatform direction. Games like death stranding, Helldivers 2 or Marathon are only the beginning — it’s just a matter of time before PlayStation fans get used to this new paradigm.
It looks like damage control from Insomniac. Spider‑Man is already playable on the Xbox ROG Ally and on all Windows‑based handheld consoles through the Steam platform. And it will be the same for the next generation of Xbox consoles. Whether there’s a direct port to Xbox or not doesn’t change anything in practice.
I also find this mentality from Insomniac a bit disappointing. They would have everything to gain by having as many players as possible play their games… but in the end, it’s the same for the player anyway. We’re no longer in the era of exclusives and consoles, but in the era of ecosystems.
Back in 2017, Insomniac made a very similar claim, stating that Spider-Man would never appear on Xbox or PC. We all know how that turned out. The entire trilogy is now playable on PC via Steam.
They’ve already lied in the past, and they’re not the ones who make the final decisions anyway. If Sony’s CEO decides that everything should be multiplatform, then that’s how it will be. And it turns out that Sony’s CEO seems much more open, based on his statements about expanding to more multiplatform releases — mentioning PC, but also Xbox and Switch.
In any case, 90% of PlayStation’s exclusive games are third‑party titles, and there are fewer and fewer of them. And when they do get exclusives, they’re temporary ones with increasingly shorter durations.
Meanwhile, Replaced is an Xbox exclusive — take that, Insomniac 😉
@Titntin 17 titles from over 30 ??? Yeah The copium here is clear ....
Personally, I’m counting Kena, Saros, the Ghost of Yotei DLC, the God of War trilogy, God of War: the little 2D game, and the latest Silent Hill — which makes 6 exclusive games out of 35. And among those 6, you have a remake and a DLC, which I normally wouldn’t even count, but I’ll leave them in just to be nice.
So 35 – 6 = 29 multiplatform games that are also coming to Xbox, PC, or both, knowing that Kena and Silent Hill will also release on Xbox — those two being the only third‑party games that aren’t multiplatform at launch.
But I understand your confusion, because PlayStation deliberately maintains that confusion by not showing which platforms the games are coming to. It’s basically disguised misinformation.
So yeah, almost everything is multiplatform or temporary exclusive for some
It feels like the devs were tired of Pokémon, and here they really treated themselves with a game that looks genuinely well‑made: Another great addition to Game Pass
@Gabrie Your point is interesting, even if it’s a bit off‑topic compared to the article. But to answer briefly, Microsoft is already starting to walk back on the AI saturation, and I think they’re right to do so. Because even if AI remains an important element for any company today — whether it’s Microsoft, Amazon, or Google — there’s a kind of bubble forming around it, and a real risk of consumer fatigue. source: windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-is-reevaluating-its-ai-efforts-on-windows-11-plans-to-reduce-copilot-integrations-and-evolve-recall
I found this State of Play pretty mediocre, and when I saw they ended with their “God of War 2.5” game (which honestly looks like it was made by interns — even the Castlevania game they showed seemed better produced), I really laughed, just like everyone else in the livestream I was watching. For a conference with 95% multiplatform games, I was surprised that this Silent Hill was excluded, even if only temporarily. It’s a shame that PlayStation keeps spending money on timed exclusives, while on the side they barely showed anything first‑party, apart from a Ghost of Yotei DLC, Saros, and the remake of the God of War trilogy. You really wonder what they’re doing besides multiplayer games, with Marathon looking like a future Concord, not to mention the upcoming multiplayer Horizon.
Anyway, among the games shown, the ones that hyped me the most were John Wick, Pragmata, Kena: Scars of Kosmora (it’ll probably end up on Game Pass), Control, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, Resident Evil Requiem, and the badass chicken game.
@fraserG It’s not very clear who the winner is for each category. Only the image shows who won, and the list under each image is confusing — it’s alphabetical, so it’s not a ranking. Is it the list of nominees who didn’t win?
Honestly, I think you need to rethink the layout 😉
I loved the first one. I’m actually surprised it didn’t get more attention, because it’s a really great game — not just for its humor, but also for its gameplay and technical execution. A nice addition to Game Pass
@FraserG Okay thanks, it was mainly to clarify things, because the news focuses on the Xbox ROG Ally, but the feature is actually global. Which makes sense — it fits with Xbox’s goal of unifying its interface across all devices
@fraserG The Xbox Full Screen Experience can be enabled on any Windows 11 PC, including the standard ROG Ally. So Are these changes also applicable to to standard ROG Ally units that have installed the Xbox Full Experience, or any other Windows handheld running the Xbox Full Experience ?
In any case, these are the kinds of small changes that make all the difference and really contribute to a good experience. The sounds, the animations, the transitions… they make the interface feel more alive, they strengthen the brand identity, and they bring the experience closer to that of a real Xbox. It gives everything a polished, finished-product feel.
I’m not sure we can call it an “indie AAA” game, but it definitely feels like it belongs in that category based on what I’ve seen. In any case, I’m definitely going to play it on Game Pass — maybe even buy it afterward.
The article says it’s releasing only on Xbox and PC, but it doesn’t mention whether it’s Xbox Play Anywhere ??
@Fiendish-Beaver I’m not totally sure I understand your question, but Microsoft will keep producing the Xbox Series consoles until the new generation launches — especially with GTA 6 coming out. Even if it won’t sell as much as its direct competitor, it will still move hardware.
As for your second point: if you’re asking whether they’ll offer two next‑gen Xbox models — a premium one and a cheaper one — I’m not sure. It’s possible. But even if Microsoft doesn’t do it, another manufacturer will. So either way, players will have options.
About the whole “made by Microsoft or by another manufacturer” debate — to me, it doesn’t really make sense. When you look at the components inside any machine, they come from everywhere, from tons of different brands. In the end, it’s just assembly. What actually matters is who designed the device and which ecosystem you enter when you turn it on. The rest is just rhetoric.
It’s the same with the ROG Ally Xbox: the device was designed by Xbox and Asus together, which is why it feels like an Xbox controller in your hands, for example. And the interface is Xbox too. So in the end, it is an Xbox — the rest is just semantics and pointless debate.
The only real reason to say it’s “not an Xbox” isn’t that Asus built it — it’s that it isn’t compatible with the full Xbox console game catalog. That’s the only meaningful difference. The next‑gen console, on the other hand, will be able to run the entire Xbox library.
Not sure if I fully understood your question, though.
@Fiendish-Beaver No, precisely because of what I just explained — we’re moving into a completely different world, and that’s probably one of the reasons Microsoft is shifting toward a hybrid console/PC running Windows. They don’t need to target games for weaker machines anymore, just like PC developers don’t design their games around low‑end hardware.
Developers don’t need to build for a specific machine; games simply adapt to the hardware. High‑end configurations will support higher resolutions, path tracing, and advanced technologies, while less powerful machines will just run lower specs — exactly like any PC. As I already said, Xbox would only need a simple ‘default game profile’ system, which is already on the roadmap, similar to GeForce Experience — automatically configuring each game based on the machine it’s running on. Much easier than forcing developers to manually optimize for specific hardware. If a system can handle more, it can handle less.
@Fiendish-Beaver @Coletrain There’s no parity issue here. Comparing this to the Series S doesn’t really make sense. The Series S and Series X are two closed consoles with strict parity requirements. The next model would be a hybrid PC, and developers already work with dozens of different configurations on PC. Games aren’t “held back” by weaker hardware — they simply scale.
Porting games between PC and Xbox would be almost instant, since it’s the same OS, the same libraries, and the same development environment. It would be very easy and inexpensive for developers, with fewer bugs and far less risk of hitting hardware limits.
Xbox would only need a simple “default game profile” system — basically what GeForce Experience already does — to automatically configure each game for the machine it’s running on. That’s much easier than forcing developers to manually optimize for specific hardware. You see what I mean.
@ilyn Windows PCs have existed for 40 years with dozens of manufacturers, and the Windows brand has never been weakened by that — if anything, it’s what made it so dominant. OEM models don’t replace an “official” device; they just expand the lineup, the same way Android devices do without harming Google.
A single machine would be a really bad idea — good thing you’re not the one running Microsoft 😉. The Series S sold extremely well precisely because it offered a cheaper option. So letting other manufacturers offer more choices at different price points is better for players overall and better for Xbox.
It also means more hardware sold, whether first‑party or third‑party, more games sold, more developers interested in supporting Xbox, and so on.
A first-party Xbox console and Letting partners build cheaper versions is smart too, since it gives players more budget‑friendly options.
This will allow the Xbox ecosystem to be present on more devices, reaching different types of players. Games will be able to sell on more platforms, which also encourages developers to create for the Xbox ecosystem. And since development will be easier with the next Xbox being a PC‑hybrid, it means using the same OS, the same tools, engines, pipelines, libraries, and APIs as on PC. So porting becomes almost immediate and much cheaper — essentially the end of “double development” between PC and console.
Xbox has a more balanced approach to highlighting third‑party publishers than PlayStation.
Sony prevents third‑party retailers from selling digital game codes. As a result, players have no alternative to the PlayStation Store, which effectively creates a monopoly.
Third‑party game prices are often lower on Xbox than on PlayStation. You can see it easily on price‑comparison sites like gg.deals. . There are certainly exceptions, but it’s quite common for prices to be higher on PlayStation. For example, right now Death Stranding Director’s Cut is €10 on Xbox and €20 on PlayStation.
Also, they currently have ongoing lawsuits about artificially inflating the prices of games on their store.
Several developers have publicly complained about the way Sony handles the visibility and promotion of games on the PlayStation Store. Some indie developers have even claimed that Sony charges high amounts for getting featured on the Store.
What’s certain is that they’re under pressure now. They really can’t afford to mess this up, because their recent Game Pass changes clearly weren’t well received.
The price increase of Game Pass Ultimate did come with added value: the Fortnite Crew, improvements to xCloud (now running at 1440p), Ubisoft Classics, and so on. It’s also worth noting that since October, every subscription tier includes xCloud.
But at some point, the problem is that they keep adding things people don’t necessarily want, and we end up paying for features we don’t use. I’m fine with Game Pass Ultimate being the ‘everything included’ tier — it’s called Ultimate for a reason — and paying for that.
What matters is keeping simpler subscriptions with fewer extras, focused on the essentials: **full catalog access and day-one releases**. That’s what Game Pass originally was — a game library. I really hope they don’t start stuffing PC Game Pass with extra features and raising its price for no reason.
I also hope that with the next Xbox console, PC Game Pass will still let you play on it. Logically, it should, since it already works on the ROG Ally and other Windows-based handhelds. There’s no reason for that to change. And I don’t expect another price hike — I think they got the message.
The real issue today is that there’s no dedicated Game Pass tier for current consoles anymore. But honestly, I think Microsoft anticipated this a long time ago by removing Game Pass Console, because it won’t be relevant going forward — PC Game Pass is basically replacing it. I just hope they don’t mess things up with PC Game Pass.
On the other hand, PC Game Pass really needs a rebrand, because calling it ‘PC Game Pass’ doesn’t make much sense anymore in a world where Xbox games are basically platform‑agnostic
For me, a game like Planet of Lana 2 has as much — if not more — impact than other big Game Pass titles like Resident Evil Village, Star Wars Outlaws, High on Life 2, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Death Stranding, etc.
They’re not really comparable, of course, but it’s the kind of chill game that just feels good
@Fiendish-Beaver Pragmata and turok are also the kind of game I can enjoy (looks like we have things in common, yay!).
Planet of Lana 2 was a really great discovery on Game Pass, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth as well
@FraserG Also worth noting: according to a rumor, Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 should hit Xbox on day one, which is quite plausible given Square Enix’s (and other publishers’) shift toward multiplatform releases.
The RAM‑related delay could make them miss their window, because an early launch was their only real chance to capture a few players. If the Steam Machine ends up releasing at the same time — or even close to — the next Xbox, that's more complicated for them, knowing that Microsoft secured a guaranteed RAM supply through SK Hynix.
On top of that, their specs are already very weak for the current generation, and with this additional delay I really don’t see how they’re supposed to run recent games, especially with only 8GB of VRAM and FSR 3.1. (if it's confirmed)
At this point it feels more like a risky bet than a reliable platform. It risks ending up with the same flop as ten years ago, with the console reaching an early end of life.
Pretty solid stuff from Xbox here. The numbers are huge, and it’s good to see that most of the harmful content gets filtered out before anyone even has to deal with it. The mix of AI and human review seems to be working pretty well.
I also like that they’re being transparent about reports, appeals, and how everything is handled. It’s not perfect, but it really feels like they’re taking safety seriously and improving things year after year. Nice to see this side of the platform getting real attention.
@Old_Man_Harper Yeah, I’ve noticed that too — seems like it’s always the same people behind this.
Great news for what’s shaping up to be a huge game. I was already planning to buy it, and this gives me one more reason to pick it up on the Xbox Store. I’ll still wait for reviews, but things are looking really good.
From what I understand, Xbox Play Anywhere mainly applies to current‑gen and older titles, but for the next generation of Xbox consoles, all new games will be Play Anywhere by default, right @Kezelpaso ?
I’m hoping they pull off the same kind of comeback as Cyberpunk, but for now I’m waiting to see more reviews before taking the risk of buying the game.
Honestly, Souls-likes have kind of put me off. It does look cool — at least visually — but given my skills with that genre, I think I’ll sit this one out.
@FraserG Yeah, sorry and thanks for the correction — I don’t really believe in 2026 either Still, it’s an anniversary date 😉. It’s totally possible they’ll make a big splash and officially announce the next Xbox on November 15, 2026, with a release set for the following year. That would be pretty cool.
@FraserG November 15, 2027, for Xbox’s 25th anniversary makes perfect sense. And considering Xbox didn’t release a mid-gen refresh (which would’ve been pointless anyway — just look at the PS5 Pro flopping both in sales and reviews), it’s only logical for Xbox to launch its next-gen console around that time. Especially since it wouldn’t be too long after the Steam Machine — though that one won’t offer the same store flexibility as the next Xbox, nor full compatibility with all games, nor the same level of power. And even in terms of pricing, based on statements from their CEO, it might not end up being cheaper than the next Xbox either.
Let’s not forget: the Xbox Series consoles will already be seven years old by then — which is the standard generational cycle.
As for pricing and the RAM situation, that’s still an open question. But it’s reassuring to know Microsoft has signed a massive, exclusive RAM supply deal with SK Hynix. Wait and see.
@Fiendish-Beaver
"All of that suggests to me lower quality games, and games that take fewer risks."
You’ll have to explain how making lower-quality games is supposed to lead to more sales…
And let’s be real — you can’t seriously say Xbox isn’t taking risks, when it’s the publisher that’s launched the most new IPs and the most diverse lineup lately, with games like Keeper, Grounded, Pentiment, and more.
Also, not taking risks has nothing to do with a game's quality — those are two completely different things. By that logic, Spider-Man 2 or God of War would be trash, along with pretty much everything PlayStation has released in recent years, since when it comes to risk-taking, they’re actually the most conservative.
"Microsoft are pushing for smaller scale games that can be made quickly"
The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed each took 6 or 7 years to develop — if you’d read the article, you’d know that. So the fact that they didn’t meet sales expectations has nothing to do with development time or budget.
"It sounds like Microsoft are now pushing for is cookie-cutter games that can be rushed out the door, score 6s and 7s at best, and be ignored by the majority"
You’ll have to explain how that logic holds up when we’re talking about games like Indiana Jones, Doom: The Dark Ages, Black Ops 6, Forza Horizon 5, Hellblade II, South of Midnight, and upcoming titles like Fable, Gears E-Day, Elder Scrolls VI, State of Decay 3, or Clockwork Revolution (which is inXile’s most ambitious project to date). These aren’t small-scale games — they’re major productions that have been in development for over five years.
On top of that, your argument contradicts Xbox’s multiplatform strategy. If the goal were just to flood Game Pass with quantity over quality, how exactly would they expect to sell these games on other platforms? At some point, you need to be consistent with your own narrative.
Once again, your relentless urge to bash Xbox leads you to say anything — even if it means contradicting yourself completely.
Obsidian’s situation is specific to Obsidian. It’s not about making “small, low-quality games.” Quite the opposite — their issue lies in design choices that are more or less accessible to a broader audience. And let’s be clear: you can absolutely make high-quality, popular games without spending six or seven years in development. Elden Ring took five years, Spider-Man 2 four, God of War four, Forza Horizon 5 around three to four.
The heavy RPG focus in Obsidian’s games is expensive and time-consuming, and I don’t think most players are necessarily drawn to that — especially when it comes at the cost of cinematics, gameplay fluidity, animations, visuals, and so on.
So no, it’s not about budget or dev time. Baldur’s Gate 3, for instance, had a relatively modest budget (around $100 million) and reached early access in just three years — even if the final release came three years later. Starfield, on the other hand, had a $300 million budget and eight years of development. Strategic choices and creative direction matter far more than raw time or money — and they don’t always correlate with quality or popularity.
@Aniscape Peter Molyneux: "hardcore" RPG mechanics toward an action-adventure focus to increase accessibility and sales, aiming for a 30% increase over Fable II."
That’s exactly what I’m trying to say in terms of boosting sales. I’m not saying they should completely abandon the RPG side — just that it shouldn’t come at the expense of the action-adventure aspect, which is far more accessible.
Of course, there’s always the risk of disappointing purists, but they’re not the ones driving the bulk of sales.
@Jordan1278 When I say "technical," I’m not just talking about the game engine or performance — I mean the whole package. The combat, while improved compared to the first game, still could’ve used more polish. The world feels a bit lifeless at times. And purely on the technical side, at least early on, there were issues like frame rate drops and texture problems — if you remember.
Just to be clear — I really enjoyed Avowed, and The Outer Worlds 2 a bit less, personally. I just couldn’t quite get into it.
@CallMeDuraSouka That’s just my opinion, and I’d appreciate it if you respected it — just like yours is your own. Obsidian are undeniably great writers; they excel at building lore, crafting narratives, and designing branching storylines — I don’t think any serious observer would argue otherwise. But I also pointed out that this often comes at the expense of other key aspects like gameplay, visuals, technical polish, animations, and combat — and those elements matter a lot when it comes to winning over a broader player base.
Obsidian definitely has a bit of an old-school vibe, and their games lean heavily into the RPG side of things. They’re brilliant writers, no doubt, but they tend to lag behind technically — and let’s be honest, most players today focus first on visuals, animations, gameplay, and combat. That’s what’s holding their games back from reaching full AAA status. The thing is, the RPG depth in titles like Avowed or The Outer Worlds 2 is often very ambitious, which probably explains the long dev cycles — and that eats into time and budget for polishing other aspects. It’s part of their identity, sure, but if they want to appeal to a broader audience, they might need to dial back the hardcore RPG elements a bit and lean more into action-adventure, which is more accessible.
Obsidian’s style clearly isn’t very mainstream — let’s not kid ourselves. It’s a type of game design that can be quite polarizing. For an action-RPG fan, Avowed is a solid title, but it sits somewhere between a true RPG and an action-adventure game. It doesn’t have the same level of polish as an action-RPG like The Witcher 3, which, to be fair, leans more toward action-adventure and less RPG anyway. Avowed offers more player choice, which brings it closer to the RPG side.
What I’m getting at is this: Obsidian needs to make a choice. If they lean more toward action-adventure, they’ll appeal to a broader audience. Going full RPG is more niche and demands a higher production cost — massive dialogue trees, branching narratives, and all that.
I totally missed the addition of Kingdom Come: Deliverance! Looks like it’s going to be a solid lineup with High on Life 2 and Kingdom Come locked in — might even give Avatar a shot, especially since I’m a big fan of the movies. Game Pass just keeps delivering heavy hitters month after month lately.
@Fiendish-Beaver But what does that have to do with anything? Who told you that MAUs are counted multiple times based on the platform? That’s yet another one of your assumptions you’re turning into a categorical statement. When does the article even mention MAUs? A Game Pass user is easily identifiable — it’s a single Microsoft account tied to the subscription, regardless of the device. It’s really not that hard to grasp.
Once again, before diving headfirst into saying something negative, maybe take a moment to think it through. You don’t have to say “this is amazing” all the time, but you also don’t have to say “this sucks” every time either.
@Fiendish-Beaver lool, Everything I say, you feel the irresistible need to contradict me. You claim that “Sony will continue to bolster their own exclusive games with AA and AAA third-party exclusives.” But that’s not up to Sony — that’s the problem. Just look at Square Enix, Capcom, Koei Tecmo, Konami, and others: all the major studios no longer want to make PlayStation exclusives, for obvious reasons — production costs and the simple fact that it’s not worth it anymore, given the low sales on PlayStation. All the Resident Evils, Final Fantasies, and many more are multiplatform now. There’s no need to defend your beloved PlayStation — this is just the raw reality. Everyone has noticed, except you, that Sony has fewer and fewer exclusives, whether first-party or third-party. No need to invent a parallel reality.
So no, even if PlayStation wanted to, Sony is not going to keep pushing for AA and AAA third-party exclusives like before, and inevitably much less than before.
Third-party publishers are increasingly reluctant, and it’s getting more and more expensive for Sony. Case in point: 6-month exclusivity deals. It’s ridiculous that Sony is still wasting money for just 6 months of exclusivity.
It’s just the reality of the video game industry, bro.
Comments 608
Re: Ubisoft Says Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition Support Is Planned, Physical Version Skips Xbox
@TrollOfWar It seems to me that games used to be harder, sometimes excessively so.
Re: New Report On PS6 Delay Throws Next-Gen Timing Into Doubt
@Kezelpaso You’re forgetting that Microsoft has already negotiated a supply contract with SK Hynix
Re: Insomniac Shares Cold-Hearted Response To The Chances Of Spider-Man 2 Coming To Xbox
@Kiltedhaggis Do you really think Insomniac is the one making the decisions? Back in 2017, they said their games wouldn’t come to PC or Xbox. And yet, now everything ends up on Steam and some games on Xbox
@carlos17589 Yeah You probably right. As a developer, your goal is logically to have your game played by as many people as possible. Their answer just lacked a bit of empathy and nuance — they could have said “unfortunately” or mentioned that you can still play it on Xbox through Steam. But I guess communication is pretty restricted on Sony’s side, and they can only say what they’re allowed to, so this way they don’t take any risks.
What’s certain is that the company is clearly moving toward a more multiplatform direction. Games like death stranding, Helldivers 2 or Marathon are only the beginning — it’s just a matter of time before PlayStation fans get used to this new paradigm.
Re: Silent Hill 2 Dev Announces Layers Of Fear 3 To Celebrate Series' 10-Year Anniversary
I loved the first and second game on Xbox. If you haven’t played them yet, I really recommend them while waiting for the third one.
Re: Insomniac Shares Cold-Hearted Response To The Chances Of Spider-Man 2 Coming To Xbox
It looks like damage control from Insomniac. Spider‑Man is already playable on the Xbox ROG Ally and on all Windows‑based handheld consoles through the Steam platform. And it will be the same for the next generation of Xbox consoles. Whether there’s a direct port to Xbox or not doesn’t change anything in practice.
I also find this mentality from Insomniac a bit disappointing. They would have everything to gain by having as many players as possible play their games… but in the end, it’s the same for the player anyway. We’re no longer in the era of exclusives and consoles, but in the era of ecosystems.
Back in 2017, Insomniac made a very similar claim, stating that Spider-Man would never appear on Xbox or PC. We all know how that turned out. The entire trilogy is now playable on PC via Steam.
They’ve already lied in the past, and they’re not the ones who make the final decisions anyway. If Sony’s CEO decides that everything should be multiplatform, then that’s how it will be. And it turns out that Sony’s CEO seems much more open, based on his statements about expanding to more multiplatform releases — mentioning PC, but also Xbox and Switch.
In any case, 90% of PlayStation’s exclusive games are third‑party titles, and there are fewer and fewer of them. And when they do get exclusives, they’re temporary ones with increasingly shorter durations.
Meanwhile, Replaced is an Xbox exclusive — take that, Insomniac 😉
Re: 'I Felt Incredibly Emotional' - Peter Molyneux Shares His Reaction To Xbox's Fable Reveal
Playground clearly respected Peter Molyneux’s spirit and vision by creating the game he originally wanted to make.
Re: Three Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In March 2026 So Far
Too many great games:
Planet of Lana 2 : I’m sure it will be a good game if it stays in the spirit of the first one.
Replaced : I’m curious to try it, and the early previews look very promising
Re: Gorgeous Xbox Adventure South Of Midnight Wins 'Outstanding Achievement' Award At DICE 2026
@Fiendish-Beaver Do some small 30‑minute sessions after your current games. It’s really enjoyable, and it brings something fresh and new.
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Reveals From February 2026's State Of Play
@Titntin 17 titles from over 30 ??? Yeah The copium here is clear ....
Personally, I’m counting Kena, Saros, the Ghost of Yotei DLC, the God of War trilogy, God of War: the little 2D game, and the latest Silent Hill — which makes 6 exclusive games out of 35. And among those 6, you have a remake and a DLC, which I normally wouldn’t even count, but I’ll leave them in just to be nice.
So 35 – 6 = 29 multiplatform games that are also coming to Xbox, PC, or both, knowing that Kena and Silent Hill will also release on Xbox — those two being the only third‑party games that aren’t multiplatform at launch.
But I understand your confusion, because PlayStation deliberately maintains that confusion by not showing which platforms the games are coming to. It’s basically disguised misinformation.
So yeah, almost everything is multiplatform or temporary exclusive for some
Re: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Confirmed For Xbox, And Konami Says It Marks A New 'Beginning'
One of the games I’m most excited about — I love this kind of game. Perfect for the Xbox ROG Ally X
Re: Game Freak's Beast Of Reincarnation Gets August 2026 Xbox Game Pass Release Date
It feels like the devs were tired of Pokémon, and here they really treated themselves with a game that looks genuinely well‑made: Another great addition to Game Pass
Re: Silent Hill: Townfall Not Coming To Xbox At Launch, Along With A Few Other State Of Play Titles
@Gabrie Your point is interesting, even if it’s a bit off‑topic compared to the article. But to answer briefly, Microsoft is already starting to walk back on the AI saturation, and I think they’re right to do so. Because even if AI remains an important element for any company today — whether it’s Microsoft, Amazon, or Google — there’s a kind of bubble forming around it, and a real risk of consumer fatigue. source: windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-is-reevaluating-its-ai-efforts-on-windows-11-plans-to-reduce-copilot-integrations-and-evolve-recall
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Reveals From February 2026's State Of Play
@fraserG "Don't worry, they're not all PS5 exclusives!"
I would have said…
"Don't worry, almost everything is mutiplatform"
it’s closer to reality.
Re: Silent Hill: Townfall Not Coming To Xbox At Launch, Along With A Few Other State Of Play Titles
I found this State of Play pretty mediocre, and when I saw they ended with their “God of War 2.5” game (which honestly looks like it was made by interns — even the Castlevania game they showed seemed better produced), I really laughed, just like everyone else in the livestream I was watching. For a conference with 95% multiplatform games, I was surprised that this Silent Hill was excluded, even if only temporarily. It’s a shame that PlayStation keeps spending money on timed exclusives, while on the side they barely showed anything first‑party, apart from a Ghost of Yotei DLC, Saros, and the remake of the God of War trilogy. You really wonder what they’re doing besides multiplayer games, with Marathon looking like a future Concord, not to mention the upcoming multiplayer Horizon.
Anyway, among the games shown, the ones that hyped me the most were John Wick, Pragmata, Kena: Scars of Kosmora (it’ll probably end up on Game Pass), Control, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, Resident Evil Requiem, and the badass chicken game.
Re: Xbox Announces Excellence Awards Winners, Including For 20 Best-Selling Games
@BacklogBrad Oh ok, thanks, I understand better now — and sorry @fraserG . I’m not used to this kind of awards.
Re: Xbox Announces Excellence Awards Winners, Including For 20 Best-Selling Games
@fraserG It’s not very clear who the winner is for each category. Only the image shows who won, and the list under each image is confusing — it’s alphabetical, so it’s not a ranking. Is it the list of nominees who didn’t win?
Honestly, I think you need to rethink the layout 😉
Re: High On Life 2: Release Date, Release Time & Download Size On Xbox Game Pass
I loved the first one. I’m actually surprised it didn’t get more attention, because it’s a really great game — not just for its humor, but also for its gameplay and technical execution. A nice addition to Game Pass
Re: Xbox Adds Sounds To PC & ROG Xbox Ally Dashboard For A More Console-Like Experience
@FraserG Okay thanks, it was mainly to clarify things, because the news focuses on the Xbox ROG Ally, but the feature is actually global. Which makes sense — it fits with Xbox’s goal of unifying its interface across all devices
Re: Xbox Adds Sounds To PC & ROG Xbox Ally Dashboard For A More Console-Like Experience
@fraserG The Xbox Full Screen Experience can be enabled on any Windows 11 PC, including the standard ROG Ally. So Are these changes also applicable to to standard ROG Ally units that have installed the Xbox Full Experience, or any other Windows handheld running the Xbox Full Experience ?
In any case, these are the kinds of small changes that make all the difference and really contribute to a good experience. The sounds, the animations, the transitions… they make the interface feel more alive, they strengthen the brand identity, and they bring the experience closer to that of a real Xbox. It gives everything a polished, finished-product feel.
Re: Replaced's Final Previews Are In, And We Could Be In For A Big Surprise On Xbox Game Pass
I’m not sure we can call it an “indie AAA” game, but it definitely feels like it belongs in that category based on what I’ve seen. In any case, I’m definitely going to play it on Game Pass — maybe even buy it afterward.
The article says it’s releasing only on Xbox and PC, but it doesn’t mention whether it’s Xbox Play Anywhere ??
Re: Report: Xbox Working With OEMs To Build Next-Gen Options For 'A Range Of Price Points'
@Fiendish-Beaver I’m not totally sure I understand your question, but Microsoft will keep producing the Xbox Series consoles until the new generation launches — especially with GTA 6 coming out. Even if it won’t sell as much as its direct competitor, it will still move hardware.
As for your second point: if you’re asking whether they’ll offer two next‑gen Xbox models — a premium one and a cheaper one — I’m not sure. It’s possible. But even if Microsoft doesn’t do it, another manufacturer will. So either way, players will have options.
About the whole “made by Microsoft or by another manufacturer” debate — to me, it doesn’t really make sense. When you look at the components inside any machine, they come from everywhere, from tons of different brands. In the end, it’s just assembly. What actually matters is who designed the device and which ecosystem you enter when you turn it on. The rest is just rhetoric.
It’s the same with the ROG Ally Xbox: the device was designed by Xbox and Asus together, which is why it feels like an Xbox controller in your hands, for example. And the interface is Xbox too. So in the end, it is an Xbox — the rest is just semantics and pointless debate.
The only real reason to say it’s “not an Xbox” isn’t that Asus built it — it’s that it isn’t compatible with the full Xbox console game catalog. That’s the only meaningful difference. The next‑gen console, on the other hand, will be able to run the entire Xbox library.
Not sure if I fully understood your question, though.
Re: Report: Xbox Working With OEMs To Build Next-Gen Options For 'A Range Of Price Points'
@Fiendish-Beaver No, precisely because of what I just explained — we’re moving into a completely different world, and that’s probably one of the reasons Microsoft is shifting toward a hybrid console/PC running Windows. They don’t need to target games for weaker machines anymore, just like PC developers don’t design their games around low‑end hardware.
Developers don’t need to build for a specific machine; games simply adapt to the hardware. High‑end configurations will support higher resolutions, path tracing, and advanced technologies, while less powerful machines will just run lower specs — exactly like any PC. As I already said, Xbox would only need a simple ‘default game profile’ system, which is already on the roadmap, similar to GeForce Experience — automatically configuring each game based on the machine it’s running on. Much easier than forcing developers to manually optimize for specific hardware. If a system can handle more, it can handle less.
Re: Report: Xbox Working With OEMs To Build Next-Gen Options For 'A Range Of Price Points'
@Fiendish-Beaver @Coletrain There’s no parity issue here. Comparing this to the Series S doesn’t really make sense. The Series S and Series X are two closed consoles with strict parity requirements. The next model would be a hybrid PC, and developers already work with dozens of different configurations on PC. Games aren’t “held back” by weaker hardware — they simply scale.
Porting games between PC and Xbox would be almost instant, since it’s the same OS, the same libraries, and the same development environment. It would be very easy and inexpensive for developers, with fewer bugs and far less risk of hitting hardware limits.
Xbox would only need a simple “default game profile” system — basically what GeForce Experience already does — to automatically configure each game for the machine it’s running on. That’s much easier than forcing developers to manually optimize for specific hardware. You see what I mean.
@ilyn Windows PCs have existed for 40 years with dozens of manufacturers, and the Windows brand has never been weakened by that — if anything, it’s what made it so dominant. OEM models don’t replace an “official” device; they just expand the lineup, the same way Android devices do without harming Google.
A single machine would be a really bad idea — good thing you’re not the one running Microsoft 😉. The Series S sold extremely well precisely because it offered a cheaper option. So letting other manufacturers offer more choices at different price points is better for players overall and better for Xbox.
It also means more hardware sold, whether first‑party or third‑party, more games sold, more developers interested in supporting Xbox, and so on.
Re: Report: Xbox Working With OEMs To Build Next-Gen Options For 'A Range Of Price Points'
A first-party Xbox console and Letting partners build cheaper versions is smart too, since it gives players more budget‑friendly options.
This will allow the Xbox ecosystem to be present on more devices, reaching different types of players. Games will be able to sell on more platforms, which also encourages developers to create for the Xbox ecosystem. And since development will be easier with the next Xbox being a PC‑hybrid, it means using the same OS, the same tools, engines, pipelines, libraries, and APIs as on PC. So porting becomes almost immediate and much cheaper — essentially the end of “double development” between PC and console.
Re: Indie Publisher Spends $0 Marketing Their New Game, Sells Most Copies On Xbox
There are several reasons:
Re: Report: Microsoft Is In The Early Stages Of 'Expanding' Xbox Game Pass
What’s certain is that they’re under pressure now. They really can’t afford to mess this up, because their recent Game Pass changes clearly weren’t well received.
Re: Report: Microsoft Is In The Early Stages Of 'Expanding' Xbox Game Pass
The price increase of Game Pass Ultimate did come with added value: the Fortnite Crew, improvements to xCloud (now running at 1440p), Ubisoft Classics, and so on. It’s also worth noting that since October, every subscription tier includes xCloud.
But at some point, the problem is that they keep adding things people don’t necessarily want, and we end up paying for features we don’t use. I’m fine with Game Pass Ultimate being the ‘everything included’ tier — it’s called Ultimate for a reason — and paying for that.
What matters is keeping simpler subscriptions with fewer extras, focused on the essentials: **full catalog access and day-one releases**. That’s what Game Pass originally was — a game library. I really hope they don’t start stuffing PC Game Pass with extra features and raising its price for no reason.
I also hope that with the next Xbox console, PC Game Pass will still let you play on it. Logically, it should, since it already works on the ROG Ally and other Windows-based handhelds. There’s no reason for that to change. And I don’t expect another price hike — I think they got the message.
The real issue today is that there’s no dedicated Game Pass tier for current consoles anymore. But honestly, I think Microsoft anticipated this a long time ago by removing Game Pass Console, because it won’t be relevant going forward — PC Game Pass is basically replacing it. I just hope they don’t mess things up with PC Game Pass.
On the other hand, PC Game Pass really needs a rebrand, because calling it ‘PC Game Pass’ doesn’t make much sense anymore in a world where Xbox games are basically platform‑agnostic
Re: One Of 2026's Prettiest Xbox Game Pass Titles Gets New March Release Date
For me, a game like Planet of Lana 2 has as much — if not more — impact than other big Game Pass titles like Resident Evil Village, Star Wars Outlaws, High on Life 2, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Death Stranding, etc.
They’re not really comparable, of course, but it’s the kind of chill game that just feels good
Re: Xbox Drops Multiple Games To Their 'Lowest Price Ever' In Five New Sales
the column "lowest orice ever" is very useful thanks @FraserG
Re: Multiple Games Announced For Xbox Following February 2026's Nintendo Direct
@Fiendish-Beaver Pragmata and turok are also the kind of game I can enjoy (looks like we have things in common, yay!).
Planet of Lana 2 was a really great discovery on Game Pass, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth as well
@FraserG Also worth noting: according to a rumor, Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 should hit Xbox on day one, which is quite plausible given Square Enix’s (and other publishers’) shift toward multiplatform releases.
Re: Valve Admits Its New Console Plans Have Been Affected By Component Crisis
The RAM‑related delay could make them miss their window, because an early launch was their only real chance to capture a few players. If the Steam Machine ends up releasing at the same time — or even close to — the next Xbox, that's more complicated for them, knowing that Microsoft secured a guaranteed RAM supply through SK Hynix.
On top of that, their specs are already very weak for the current generation, and with this additional delay I really don’t see how they’re supposed to run recent games, especially with only 8GB of VRAM and FSR 3.1. (if it's confirmed)
At this point it feels more like a risky bet than a reliable platform. It risks ending up with the same flop as ten years ago, with the console reaching an early end of life.
Re: Xbox Reveals New Safety Data, With Over 300 Million Pieces Of Content Removed In 2025
Pretty solid stuff from Xbox here. The numbers are huge, and it’s good to see that most of the harmful content gets filtered out before anyone even has to deal with it. The mix of AI and human review seems to be working pretty well.
I also like that they’re being transparent about reports, appeals, and how everything is handled. It’s not perfect, but it really feels like they’re taking safety seriously and improving things year after year. Nice to see this side of the platform getting real attention.
@Old_Man_Harper Yeah, I’ve noticed that too — seems like it’s always the same people behind this.
Re: Huge Fantasy RPG Crimson Desert Launches Next Month With Xbox Play Anywhere
Great news for what’s shaping up to be a huge game. I was already planning to buy it, and this gives me one more reason to pick it up on the Xbox Store. I’ll still wait for reviews, but things are looking really good.
From what I understand, Xbox Play Anywhere mainly applies to current‑gen and older titles, but for the next generation of Xbox consoles, all new games will be Play Anywhere by default, right @Kezelpaso ?
Re: MindsEye's 'Most Significant' Update Has Just Arrived On Xbox, Here Are The Patch Notes
I’m hoping they pull off the same kind of comeback as Cyberpunk, but for now I’m waiting to see more reviews before taking the risk of buying the game.
Re: Black Myth: Wukong Gets Its First Xbox Discount Since Launching Last Summer
Honestly, Souls-likes have kind of put me off. It does look cool — at least visually — but given my skills with that genre, I think I’ll sit this one out.
Re: AMD Mentions Next-Gen Xbox Console, Says It's 'Progressing Well' To Release In 2027
@FraserG Yeah, sorry and thanks for the correction — I don’t really believe in 2026 either Still, it’s an anniversary date 😉. It’s totally possible they’ll make a big splash and officially announce the next Xbox on November 15, 2026, with a release set for the following year. That would be pretty cool.
Re: AMD Mentions Next-Gen Xbox Console, Says It's 'Progressing Well' To Release In 2027
@FraserG November 15, 2027, for Xbox’s 25th anniversary makes perfect sense. And considering Xbox didn’t release a mid-gen refresh (which would’ve been pointless anyway — just look at the PS5 Pro flopping both in sales and reviews), it’s only logical for Xbox to launch its next-gen console around that time. Especially since it wouldn’t be too long after the Steam Machine — though that one won’t offer the same store flexibility as the next Xbox, nor full compatibility with all games, nor the same level of power. And even in terms of pricing, based on statements from their CEO, it might not end up being cheaper than the next Xbox either.
Let’s not forget: the Xbox Series consoles will already be seven years old by then — which is the standard generational cycle.
As for pricing and the RAM situation, that’s still an open question. But it’s reassuring to know Microsoft has signed a massive, exclusive RAM supply deal with SK Hynix. Wait and see.
Re: Obsidian Says Two Of Its 2025 Titles Didn't Meet Sales Targets, Vows To Learn For The Future
@Fiendish-Beaver
"All of that suggests to me lower quality games, and games that take fewer risks."
You’ll have to explain how making lower-quality games is supposed to lead to more sales…
And let’s be real — you can’t seriously say Xbox isn’t taking risks, when it’s the publisher that’s launched the most new IPs and the most diverse lineup lately, with games like Keeper, Grounded, Pentiment, and more.
Also, not taking risks has nothing to do with a game's quality — those are two completely different things. By that logic, Spider-Man 2 or God of War would be trash, along with pretty much everything PlayStation has released in recent years, since when it comes to risk-taking, they’re actually the most conservative.
"Microsoft are pushing for smaller scale games that can be made quickly"
The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed each took 6 or 7 years to develop — if you’d read the article, you’d know that. So the fact that they didn’t meet sales expectations has nothing to do with development time or budget.
"It sounds like Microsoft are now pushing for is cookie-cutter games that can be rushed out the door, score 6s and 7s at best, and be ignored by the majority"
You’ll have to explain how that logic holds up when we’re talking about games like Indiana Jones, Doom: The Dark Ages, Black Ops 6, Forza Horizon 5, Hellblade II, South of Midnight, and upcoming titles like Fable, Gears E-Day, Elder Scrolls VI, State of Decay 3, or Clockwork Revolution (which is inXile’s most ambitious project to date). These aren’t small-scale games — they’re major productions that have been in development for over five years.
On top of that, your argument contradicts Xbox’s multiplatform strategy. If the goal were just to flood Game Pass with quantity over quality, how exactly would they expect to sell these games on other platforms? At some point, you need to be consistent with your own narrative.
Once again, your relentless urge to bash Xbox leads you to say anything — even if it means contradicting yourself completely.
Obsidian’s situation is specific to Obsidian. It’s not about making “small, low-quality games.” Quite the opposite — their issue lies in design choices that are more or less accessible to a broader audience. And let’s be clear: you can absolutely make high-quality, popular games without spending six or seven years in development. Elden Ring took five years, Spider-Man 2 four, God of War four, Forza Horizon 5 around three to four.
The heavy RPG focus in Obsidian’s games is expensive and time-consuming, and I don’t think most players are necessarily drawn to that — especially when it comes at the cost of cinematics, gameplay fluidity, animations, visuals, and so on.
So no, it’s not about budget or dev time. Baldur’s Gate 3, for instance, had a relatively modest budget (around $100 million) and reached early access in just three years — even if the final release came three years later. Starfield, on the other hand, had a $300 million budget and eight years of development. Strategic choices and creative direction matter far more than raw time or money — and they don’t always correlate with quality or popularity.
Re: Obsidian Says Two Of Its 2025 Titles Didn't Meet Sales Targets, Vows To Learn For The Future
@Aniscape Peter Molyneux: "hardcore" RPG mechanics toward an action-adventure focus to increase accessibility and sales, aiming for a 30% increase over Fable II."
That’s exactly what I’m trying to say in terms of boosting sales. I’m not saying they should completely abandon the RPG side — just that it shouldn’t come at the expense of the action-adventure aspect, which is far more accessible.
Of course, there’s always the risk of disappointing purists, but they’re not the ones driving the bulk of sales.
Re: Obsidian Says Two Of Its 2025 Titles Didn't Meet Sales Targets, Vows To Learn For The Future
@Jordan1278 When I say "technical," I’m not just talking about the game engine or performance — I mean the whole package. The combat, while improved compared to the first game, still could’ve used more polish. The world feels a bit lifeless at times. And purely on the technical side, at least early on, there were issues like frame rate drops and texture problems — if you remember.
Just to be clear — I really enjoyed Avowed, and The Outer Worlds 2 a bit less, personally. I just couldn’t quite get into it.
Re: Obsidian Says Two Of Its 2025 Titles Didn't Meet Sales Targets, Vows To Learn For The Future
@CallMeDuraSouka That’s just my opinion, and I’d appreciate it if you respected it — just like yours is your own. Obsidian are undeniably great writers; they excel at building lore, crafting narratives, and designing branching storylines — I don’t think any serious observer would argue otherwise. But I also pointed out that this often comes at the expense of other key aspects like gameplay, visuals, technical polish, animations, and combat — and those elements matter a lot when it comes to winning over a broader player base.
Re: Obsidian Says Two Of Its 2025 Titles Didn't Meet Sales Targets, Vows To Learn For The Future
Obsidian definitely has a bit of an old-school vibe, and their games lean heavily into the RPG side of things. They’re brilliant writers, no doubt, but they tend to lag behind technically — and let’s be honest, most players today focus first on visuals, animations, gameplay, and combat. That’s what’s holding their games back from reaching full AAA status. The thing is, the RPG depth in titles like Avowed or The Outer Worlds 2 is often very ambitious, which probably explains the long dev cycles — and that eats into time and budget for polishing other aspects. It’s part of their identity, sure, but if they want to appeal to a broader audience, they might need to dial back the hardcore RPG elements a bit and lean more into action-adventure, which is more accessible.
Re: Obsidian Says Two Of Its 2025 Titles Didn't Meet Sales Targets, Vows To Learn For The Future
Obsidian’s style clearly isn’t very mainstream — let’s not kid ourselves. It’s a type of game design that can be quite polarizing. For an action-RPG fan, Avowed is a solid title, but it sits somewhere between a true RPG and an action-adventure game. It doesn’t have the same level of polish as an action-RPG like The Witcher 3, which, to be fair, leans more toward action-adventure and less RPG anyway. Avowed offers more player choice, which brings it closer to the RPG side.
What I’m getting at is this: Obsidian needs to make a choice. If they lean more toward action-adventure, they’ll appeal to a broader audience. Going full RPG is more niche and demands a higher production cost — massive dialogue trees, branching narratives, and all that.
Re: These 10 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass, Including Three Major Additions (February 5-17)
I totally missed the addition of Kingdom Come: Deliverance! Looks like it’s going to be a solid lineup with High on Life 2 and Kingdom Come locked in — might even give Avatar a shot, especially since I’m a big fan of the movies. Game Pass just keeps delivering heavy hitters month after month lately.
Re: Xbox Begins Testing New Monthly Quest For Microsoft Rewards Users
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Re: Xbox Begins Testing New Monthly Quest For Microsoft Rewards Users
@Fiendish-Beaver But what does that have to do with anything? Who told you that MAUs are counted multiple times based on the platform? That’s yet another one of your assumptions you’re turning into a categorical statement. When does the article even mention MAUs? A Game Pass user is easily identifiable — it’s a single Microsoft account tied to the subscription, regardless of the device. It’s really not that hard to grasp.
Once again, before diving headfirst into saying something negative, maybe take a moment to think it through. You don’t have to say “this is amazing” all the time, but you also don’t have to say “this sucks” every time either.
Re: Xbox Begins Testing New Monthly Quest For Microsoft Rewards Users
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Re: Nioh 3 Could Mark The Series' Xbox Debut As Sony Confirms 6-Month PS5 Exclusivity
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Re: Nioh 3 Could Mark The Series' Xbox Debut As Sony Confirms 6-Month PS5 Exclusivity
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Re: Nioh 3 Could Mark The Series' Xbox Debut As Sony Confirms 6-Month PS5 Exclusivity
@Fiendish-Beaver lool, Everything I say, you feel the irresistible need to contradict me. You claim that “Sony will continue to bolster their own exclusive games with AA and AAA third-party exclusives.” But that’s not up to Sony — that’s the problem. Just look at Square Enix, Capcom, Koei Tecmo, Konami, and others: all the major studios no longer want to make PlayStation exclusives, for obvious reasons — production costs and the simple fact that it’s not worth it anymore, given the low sales on PlayStation. All the Resident Evils, Final Fantasies, and many more are multiplatform now. There’s no need to defend your beloved PlayStation — this is just the raw reality. Everyone has noticed, except you, that Sony has fewer and fewer exclusives, whether first-party or third-party. No need to invent a parallel reality.
So no, even if PlayStation wanted to, Sony is not going to keep pushing for AA and AAA third-party exclusives like before, and inevitably much less than before.
Third-party publishers are increasingly reluctant, and it’s getting more and more expensive for Sony. Case in point: 6-month exclusivity deals. It’s ridiculous that Sony is still wasting money for just 6 months of exclusivity.
It’s just the reality of the video game industry, bro.