@MinervaX76 That’s how I understood it too — we don’t yet have the breakdown between positions truly eliminated and those simply moved under new management.
I was also quite surprised when Asha mentioned in her tweet that sometimes there are up to 14 layers of management, which is huge, and in that case justifies a simplification (ideally 5 or even 3, according to her tweet).
No game cancellations and no studio closures — that’s the only positive takeaway, which is already not bad, and we can give Xbox credit for finding solutions for employees.
And this also confirms the sheer number of fake news in recent weeks: cancellations of Avowed 2, Blade, Senua, closure of Ninja Theory, closure of Obsidian (which remains at Xbox), stopping third‑party deals for Game Pass, rolling back exclusives — all fake news.
There is indeed a restructuring at Xbox, in line with Asha Sharma’s initial announcement, but all the rumors that followed were basically nonsense.
As for the 3,200 positions, if I understand correctly, it’s far from being only layoffs (@FraserG could you clarify this point ? ). Since no studio is closing, it’s more about roles no longer under Xbox’s direct management, which is quite different. We’re waiting for official details from Asha Sharma directly, and also on potential partnerships with the studios that become independent, details on the IPs , and the franchises they’ll focus on, etc.
That said, it’s a shame they didn’t give Ninja Theory a chance — they have a unique know‑how. Same for Arkane, from which I expect a lot with Blade, even if objectively Arkane hasn’t done much in many years, and the French studio probably costs a lot for not much return. Compulsion Games too, big potential in my opinion, sad to see them go. And as for Undead Labs, State of Decay 3 seems very promising and could have revived the studio — too bad they didn’t wait a bit longer before parting ways.
@Fiendish-Beaver Your desire to be right is clouding your reasoning. I was talking about having an external drive — that way, only the people who actually need it buy one, your argument doesn’t hold up
@Fiendish-Beaver Adding a disc drive costs basically nothing — as a consumer you can buy one for $15. And if it’s external, I don’t see how it would cost Xbox any money to simply allow users to plug a drive into a USB port. Helix doesn’t need to have a built‑in slot if that’s what you mean. Helix will obviously have USB ports, and that’s all that’s required. It’s just a matter of integrating a DRM‑handling system on the software side, that’s all.
After that, it’s your opinion of course — but polls on IGN, Windows Central, and Reddit clearly show a large majority of players wanting a physical drive, regardless of the fact that digital purchases are more common today than physical ones.
Whether it’s built‑in or not, internal or external, it doesn’t really matter — the main thing is simply being able to put your disc in.
Xbox has a huge opportunity to attract players who care about physical media. The question isn’t whether digital purchases are more common than physical ones — we already know they are. But that’s not the point. It’s about belonging and preserving games, and that’s what most players are attached to. That’s what really matters. Also, someone who buys digital games doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have a physical collection — and it doesn’t mean they never buy physical games from time to time.
Xbox is strongly committed to game preservation — more than PlayStation or Nintendo — especially with things like Xbox Play Anywhere, better backward compatibility, “stream your own game,” automatic enhancements for older titles (FPS Boost, Auto HDR), disc‑to‑digital, etc. And on that last point: if disc‑to‑digital is a feature specific to Helix, then to convert a physical game into a digital one, you obviously need a disc drive. Otherwise, I don’t see how it would be possible.
@oopsiezz Is this a joke? I’m the one who’s supposed to debunk rumors? lol! I don’t work at Xbox. How could I? Anyone can say anything, and as long as the person concerned doesn’t respond, rumors spread — that’s exactly why they work so well. It’s basically like Schrödinger’s cat: a rumor is both true and false until you open the box, and the box is an official statement from the person targeted by the rumor.
I can’t prove anything at all, just like the people spreading these claims. The difference with Schrödinger’s law is that I prefer to assume it’s false until someone proves it’s true. You, apparently, prefer the opposite — you treat any rumor as true. Those are two different points of view.
What I’m saying is that even Xbox doesn’t know yet — they’re still in the middle of evaluating things. So anyone claiming closures or game cancellations doesn’t actually know anything, because even Xbox hasn’t decided yet. They’re confusing evaluation with a final decision.
Alright, and now I’m going to leave you — the second half just started.
Evaluation is good ! For a long time, people criticized Xbox for giving studios too much freedom and not choosing the right franchises to focus on. The utopian Phil Spencer era — despite all the respect I have for the man — is over. With Aasha Sharma, there needs to be more efficiency, better direction of efforts, and stronger prioritization of what really matters.
And calm down, guys — you should be happy that this turned out to be fake news. Instead, it feels like you’re disappointed that it isn’t true. It’s crazy, honestly.
@Weebleman Yes, he’s been wrong several times, but only in the context of the speculation he was doing. Here, he’s stating with certainty that it’s not true, and it’s actually pretty rare for him to make definitive claims. And when he does make definitive claims, it’s because they come from someone official. I never said it was fake news when he made firm statements — only when he was speculating, and many of those speculations did indeed turn out to be false. Basically, he’s pretty bad at predicting the future, but he has good contacts when it comes to confirming actual facts.
@oopsiezz I’m not denying that there’s smoke — I’m just talking about the people who scream “fire” in every neighborhood while trying to guess where the smoke is coming from, and getting it wrong most of the time. Yes, the smoke comes from somewhere, but where exactly? Nobody knows anything for sure, and that’s the point.
And no, only bad faith could pretend this is the only fake news that’s been debunked. I’m not going to repeat myself every time, but I’ve already listed several examples that were officially denied from inside Xbox.
As for this one: Jason Schreier is someone who also gets things wrong sometimes. So yes, people can absolutely criticize me for believing someone who might be a spreader of fake news.
That said, it’s also corroborated by Jez Corden, who has internal sources at Microsoft — and in my opinion, he’s more reliable.
Now, technically, yes: a debunk of a fake news can itself be fake news if it’s not official. But the thing is, they have nothing to gain by debunking it. Debunks always make less noise than negative fake news. That’s why I’m more inclined to believe a debunk of negative fake news than the negative fake news itself, especially when it’s backed up by people I personally consider reliable.
I know I’ve probably lost some people already, but that’s my reasoning. We’ll see how things turn out in the end, but I’m willing to bet that half of what’s being claimed will end up being false — and some things already are, which will only add to the final score on July 6th, if I’m not mistaken.
Ruiner (devolver digital) is a top‑down shooter with a cyberpunk vibe, really pretty good for its genre. And I got it on sale for $1.99. For those who like this style, it’s a really good deal.
@TDHorizon Yeah I know, I like making people laugh
But at the same time, it proves, once again, that I’m right — there’s a lot of fake news, and a lot of people who jump on it without taking any precautions: you just have to look at the first comments !
Microsoft emphasizes game preservation and the continuity of libraries. At this point, it’s much safer to have your library on Xbox than on PlayStation
I already have it, I own all the Black Ops games, bought during a wave of promotions, and this one is a very good Black Ops, for sure. Not the best, but I’d say it’s in the top 3
@themightyant Nope, I sometimes do research to enrich my arguments, but I don’t copy‑paste anything. I translate my posts into English using Copilot (on Edge), because English isn’t my native language. I guess sometimes the translation picks words that don’t necessarily sound very natural.
This is a real blow for PlayStation players, because even though there’s a global trend toward digital, the proportion of disc purchases is still higher on PlayStation — not the majority, but noticeably higher.
What makes this even more problematic for PlayStation users is that digital games come with several disadvantages compared to digital games on Xbox:
PS requires you to connect every 30 days or the game becomes unusable
Xbox has a far more advanced backward compatibility system
Xbox Play Anywhere lets you play on multiple devices with a single purchase — completely absent on PlayStation
free optimization of older games with FPS Boost or Auto HDR, also absent on PS
a persistent library that doesn’t depend on hardware
a dedicated preservation team
the Muse AI project
the disc‑to‑digital project, making it easier to launch games you own even without a disc drive
Overall, Xbox is clearly much more committed to game preservation, which sharply contrasts with PlayStation — a company that offers none of these features and recently removed 500 purchased movies from users’ libraries without any refund. So the question becomes: how long until they do the same with purchased PS games?
Of course, this kind of issue could theoretically happen anywhere, but given PlayStation’s policies and Xbox’s strong commitment to preservation, I feel my game library is much safer on Xbox than on PlayStation. That said, I also appreciate GOG for offering DRM‑free games.
Almost everyone welcomed the Game Pass price drop in exchange for getting Call of Duty one year later.
As for informing players that Modern Warfare 4 will be available in Game Pass a year after release, it’s a two‑for‑one strategy: it encourages people to buy the game, and at the same time it pushes them toward subscribing to Game Pass. It targets two types of players — those who want to buy it day one, and those who prefer subscribing to play it a year later.
It’s rare enough to highlight that this is the first time we’ve seen a subscription price go down. It stands in sharp contrast with the recent PS+ price increase, which came with no added value whatsoever.
@Fiendish-Beaver Your point is interesting, and I want to clarify that I’m not blaming PureXbox, which simply presents circulating information—they even use the conditional. My criticism is more directed at people like Tom Warren, who present rumors as statements, when there’s nothing factual or official, and who have been wrong many times. I’m not saying everything he reports is false, but among it, many things are (for example: the fake news about Xbox pulling out of Europe, his claim that Starfield would release shortly after on PS5 when it actually came two years later, the supposed reversal on exclusives after Gears E-Day, etc.).
Just as he has said some true things, he has also said many false ones—about half, I’d say.
And the things that turn out true are often obvious: with Perfect Dark or Everwild, you didn’t need to be a prophet to guess they’d be canceled given the disastrous development. So in the end, it’s fairly easy to hit on certain truths.
@Weebleman You’re confirming my point: nothing you’re saying is confirmed. ‘Possible’ is not an official confirmation—it’s just a possibility, a discussion hypothesis. In fact, I even think Xbox doesn’t know at this stage. There are surely discussions happening, possibilities on the table, but from that, nobody can make any definitive statement. How could they, if even the main party involved doesn’t know yet? That’s exactly my point.
And you haven’t said anything about the fake news regarding the supposed reversal on exclusives, or the cancellation of Avowed 2—both denied. You can’t seriously deny that Xbox has been the victim of fake news, can you?
If Todd Howard and Arkane Lyon said just a few days ago that development is progressing well, don’t you find this rumor strange?
If the game were canceled, do you really think they would have said that? Do you really believe that if it were true, they would find out at the same time as these so‑called leakers, and not have known for a while already?
Do you prefer to believe Tom Warren, whose job is to publish rumors, rather than official statements from developers?
All this shows it’s just another fake news story, that's it, just my opinion.
And I repeat, it’s not up to me to prove that rumors are false, but up to those who spread them to prove they’re true. And so far, I haven’t seen anything.
We should consider everything false until proven otherwise. I’m not saying changes won’t come, but how many, will games be canceled, studios closed? Which ones? Nobody knows absolutely anything at this point
@NishimaruX I know how the media works—it’s part of my job. I also know that PlayStation spends millions on marketing; this is public information. It’s not hard to deduce that IGN makes sponsored posts, especially with affiliate links. Brands like PlayStation spend fortunes on sponsored posts with outlets like IGN. The same happens with Xbox, to reassure you, but much less. We all know Xbox spends less on marketing than PlayStation.
@oopsiezz lool ! Yes, in that case I’m an insider too — and anyone else could be as well! Given the disastrous development of Everwild and Perfect Dark, it wasn’t hard to guess they would be canceled. That’s exactly my point: there are very few real insiders with reliable sources. Many just deduce obvious things. The problem is that most people have short memories and only recall the rumors that turned out true, but not the three‑quarters that were false.
@Weebleman regarding this reset story, I can’t confirm much as long as there are no official announcements denying the rumor—that’s the problem. In the same way, a rumor cannot claim to be true; it works both ways. That said, with the alleged cancellation of Avowed 2—former Obsidian co‑founder Chris Avellone contradicted that claim.
But you know very well there have been plenty of fake news about Xbox over the years. The latest, for example, was simply the supposed reversal of the exclusivity strategy, which Matt Booty denied, if I’m not mistaken.
So, does that work for you? And do you have any proof that these rumors are true?
@Weebleman Detail what, exactly? I have nothing to detail. Are there sources? Which sources? Is it official? None of that! It’s not up to me to prove anything, but to those making such claims. It’s easy to say ‘according to my sources’—in that case anyone can call themselves a leaker and say whatever they want.
You’d have to be pretty naive not to see that many people are exploiting this trend just to get clicks, that’s all. They base it on a grain of truth—Asha Sharma’s statement about doing a reset—and from there it’s a flood of speculation and nonsense.
Let Xbox make official announcements and let’s argue based on that, not on rumors built on nothing solid, that’s all.
@NishimaruX
"There's always a bit of truth in each rumour, the trouble is finding out which bit"
Nope, not always, sorry !
More seriously, we know there will be changes, job cuts, but how many, which studios, will there be studio closures, canceled games? Nobody knows absolutely anything, and certainly not Tom Warren, who is often wrong. Of course, among ten fake news stories you might hit one that’s true, but many people are just riding this trend for clicks, period. Basically, we should consider everything false until proven otherwise.
@Fiendish-Beaver Let’s wait, guys, don’t get carried away. This still smells like another fake news story, just like we’ve been seeing for weeks. If the studio were really about to close or the game canceled, they wouldn’t be saying on Twitter that the game is in development and progressing well, don’t you think?
Sources ? Which sources ? Arkane Lyon confirmed again just a few days ago that the development of Blade was going well, so I don’t know what your sources are, but anyway…
Lots of rumors, lots of speculation, and nothing official. And lots of fake news too, so let’s wait and talk afterwards, rather than writing articles about not much in the end
Even though this game isn’t necessarily the most representative one, since it’s not really playable without a mouse, That’s why the fact that Helix is able to play PC games will be a huge game changer compared to other consoles. Every year, 30% of games are released only on PC. Sure, the quality varies, but there are plenty of hidden gems that console players miss out on.
Otherwise, the concept is simple and effective. Personally, I’m not sure it’s my thing, but I understand why it could attract players.
@Mr-Cage When it comes to rumors about studios being at risk, you have to take everything you read with caution. Right now, nobody really knows anything — it’s mostly speculation and fake news. I don’t know which studio you’re referring to, but I wouldn’t put them all in the same basket.
For Compulsion Games, before South of Midnight they made Contrast and We Happy Few, smaller titles. South of Midnight is not a bad game — it’s even a critical success, even if the commercial success wasn’t really there apparently. But in my opinion, they have huge potential, as long as they’re well managed.
For Ninja Theory, again, enormous potential. Hellblade is definitely a franchise that matters, and it remains a success — maybe not as strong as it could have been, but still a franchise that counts in the industry, and definitely a studio with unique know-how.
After that, we’ve heard a lot of fake news, like the cancellation of Avowed 2, Blade, etc. — all denied. So even if changes are coming, we need to be careful not to confuse rumors with reality.
In my opinion, in the end, the reality will probably be much less than the drama artificially created by some.
Given the mixed reception to the demo, they may have made the right decision.
Xbox has to make choices — that’s often what it’s been criticized for in the past, jumping into projects that were too risky and giving too much freedom to its studios. They need to bet on strong franchises, and when it comes to new ones, they really have to be solid and backed by reliable studios. Otherwise, it’s just too risky.
Another false information again: the supposed cancellation of Avowed 2 or Blade, the closure of Arkane or Ninja Theory, and many others. I’m starting to believe PlayStation pays influencers to create bad buzz. The worst part is that sites relaying these false informations, like IGN and others, never issue mea culpas or correction posts, leaving false information hanging in the air.
With more than 2,500 Xbox Play Anywhere games, why doesn’t Ubisoft offer its titles through Xbox Play Anywhere? It’s really a shame, especially since Ubisoft is quite close to Xbox with several partnerships (Game Pass, cloud, etc.).
That won’t stop me from buying it on Xbox, but it’s a shame. Maybe it will come later.
@Coletrain Actually, I wanted to emphasize the features, because that’s a major game changer. It will simply be the first console capable of doing this, with access to far more games than the competition, and even greater access than any PC, since a PC cannot play Xbox console games. I think in terms of marketing and communication, Xbox should be much more aggressive, because PlayStation certainly doesn’t hold back — sometimes even spreading completely false information.
Price is an important factor for the next generation. But an even more important point is the price/performance ratio, and even the price/features ratio. And on that front, Xbox has a strong card to play. In terms of performance, from what we know, Project Helix will be significantly more powerful than the PS6. And in terms of features, the difference is also very clear, since Xbox Helix will be able to play PC games — that’s 30% more games — while still offering console exclusives. That’s a major difference. And I’m not even mentioning backward compatibility, Xbox Play Anywhere, technologies like FSR, etc.
All low blows are allowed! IGN should be less ambiguous when it comes to articles and sponsored posts heavily paid for by PlayStation. Yet again, PlayStation’s influencer marketing proves capable of corrupting anyone.
Luna Abyss :I was really pulled into the game , it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that sense of freedom and scale. It’s not an open world, it’s actually quite linear, but it takes place in a massive world. So far I’m really into it; the gameplay evolves progressively and keeps getting richer as you go, which is really enjoyable.
At a time when more and more players are gaming across multiple devices, this is truly a user‑friendly feature and it genuinely pushes me toward buying. Being able to play the same game for the same price on whatever device I want — my Xbox console, my PC, my handheld, or even through the cloud — is just amazing. Xbox is the only one doing this, and they deserve credit for it.
I also agree with @Banjo- about game preservation and backward compatibility, where Xbox is also far ahead of the competition.
I feel like the Pokémon devs were so fed up with Pokémon that this time they just went all‑out and delivered a gorgeous game. In any case, it’s definitely on my radar. Game Pass really keeps delivering again and again.
More than 400 jobs were cut, which is over half the studio. PlayStation has wrecked Bungie — and many other studios, 11 since the start of this generation.
@AI-Generation It’s not just a matter of price at some point — the difference in quality on the PS5 Pro is pretty minimal for most games. You don’t get access to Xbox exclusives, you don’t get Game Pass, you don’t get Xbox Play Anywhere, and you also lose access to your existing Xbox game library. So paying $100 more ....
What’s with all these comments? It’s not like it’s a surprise, given the current component shortage. We’ve already seen the outrageous prices of the Steam Machine. Don’t worry, PlayStation and Nintendo will raise their prices soon too.
It’s better to increase prices now — and maybe offer discounts later — rather than announce a price hike right before the release of GTA 6, which will inevitably happen with the PS5
And don’t forget these are theoretical prices — you can always find cheaper
@IllusiveMan What you find funny can easily be flipped the other way around too. Maybe I’m trying to downplay things, that’s possible — but that’s still better than those who try to dramatize everything. And yes, there have been plenty of false rumors, like Avowed 2 being cancelled, Blade being cancelled, Arkane shutting down, etc. So yes, I can confirm there’s been a lot of drama over nothing real. That doesn’t mean there won’t be changes, but definitely not on the level of the usual fake drama that only exists to generate clicks (I’m not talking about PureXbox, but about certain so‑called leakers/influencers who get picked up by the media afterward).
Let’s wait for official announcements. For now, I don’t see anything dramatic, and at this point Compulsion Games doesn’t seem to be shutting down. Bungie, on the other hand, once again is seeing its workforce melt like snow in the sun, and is slowly getting closer to closure — yet another one after the 11 studios PlayStation has shut down in the past 4 years.
Meanwhile, official announcement from Bungie (playstation) saying they’re conducting another round of layoffs after ending support for Destiny 2: https://x.com/Bungie/status/2070149689127973265
Well, in the end, it’s actually a good sign — it means the studio isn’t shutting down and that an agreement has been reached to offer advantageous departure plans for those who want to leave. These are amicable solutions commonly used in companies and beneficial to both sides, so they’re absolutely not layoffs in the strict sense of the term
So we need to be careful with these statements, because I feel like they’re trying to make us believe that AI is a source of creativity, when it’s not. It’s a tool for assistance, for productivity, whatever you want, sure — but not creativity in the strict sense. AI only reproduces what it already knows, reuses patterns it has already seen. So we can’t really call that creativity, it’s more like recycling, which is the opposite of creativity and of the real work of an artist.
To take the example of OD, which was in the news recently, it’s obvious that an AI would be incapable of producing a game like that, because it strays too far from current standards.
So it bothers me when people put “AI” and “creativity” side by side, because that’s simply not possible.
Comments 973
Re: Xbox Announces 3,200 Job Losses And Four Studio Departures
@MinervaX76 That’s how I understood it too — we don’t yet have the breakdown between positions truly eliminated and those simply moved under new management.
I was also quite surprised when Asha mentioned in her tweet that sometimes there are up to 14 layers of management, which is huge, and in that case justifies a simplification (ideally 5 or even 3, according to her tweet).
Re: Xbox Announces 3,200 Job Losses And Four Studio Departures
No game cancellations and no studio closures — that’s the only positive takeaway, which is already not bad, and we can give Xbox credit for finding solutions for employees.
And this also confirms the sheer number of fake news in recent weeks: cancellations of Avowed 2, Blade, Senua, closure of Ninja Theory, closure of Obsidian (which remains at Xbox), stopping third‑party deals for Game Pass, rolling back exclusives — all fake news.
There is indeed a restructuring at Xbox, in line with Asha Sharma’s initial announcement, but all the rumors that followed were basically nonsense.
As for the 3,200 positions, if I understand correctly, it’s far from being only layoffs (@FraserG could you clarify this point ? ). Since no studio is closing, it’s more about roles no longer under Xbox’s direct management, which is quite different. We’re waiting for official details from Asha Sharma directly, and also on potential partnerships with the studios that become independent, details on the IPs , and the franchises they’ll focus on, etc.
That said, it’s a shame they didn’t give Ninja Theory a chance — they have a unique know‑how. Same for Arkane, from which I expect a lot with Blade, even if objectively Arkane hasn’t done much in many years, and the French studio probably costs a lot for not much return. Compulsion Games too, big potential in my opinion, sad to see them go. And as for Undead Labs, State of Decay 3 seems very promising and could have revived the studio — too bad they didn’t wait a bit longer before parting ways.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Still Evaluating Whether Project Helix Will Support Physical Discs
@Fiendish-Beaver Your desire to be right is clouding your reasoning. I was talking about having an external drive — that way, only the people who actually need it buy one, your argument doesn’t hold up
Re: 'I Want Them To Sponsor Me' - World Cup Star Erling Haaland Reveals His Love Of Xbox
A man of taste
Re: Rumour: Xbox Still Evaluating Whether Project Helix Will Support Physical Discs
@Fiendish-Beaver Adding a disc drive costs basically nothing — as a consumer you can buy one for $15. And if it’s external, I don’t see how it would cost Xbox any money to simply allow users to plug a drive into a USB port. Helix doesn’t need to have a built‑in slot if that’s what you mean. Helix will obviously have USB ports, and that’s all that’s required. It’s just a matter of integrating a DRM‑handling system on the software side, that’s all.
After that, it’s your opinion of course — but polls on IGN, Windows Central, and Reddit clearly show a large majority of players wanting a physical drive, regardless of the fact that digital purchases are more common today than physical ones.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Still Evaluating Whether Project Helix Will Support Physical Discs
Whether it’s built‑in or not, internal or external, it doesn’t really matter — the main thing is simply being able to put your disc in.
Xbox has a huge opportunity to attract players who care about physical media. The question isn’t whether digital purchases are more common than physical ones — we already know they are. But that’s not the point. It’s about belonging and preserving games, and that’s what most players are attached to. That’s what really matters. Also, someone who buys digital games doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have a physical collection — and it doesn’t mean they never buy physical games from time to time.
Xbox is strongly committed to game preservation — more than PlayStation or Nintendo — especially with things like Xbox Play Anywhere, better backward compatibility, “stream your own game,” automatic enhancements for older titles (FPS Boost, Auto HDR), disc‑to‑digital, etc. And on that last point: if disc‑to‑digital is a feature specific to Helix, then to convert a physical game into a digital one, you obviously need a disc drive. Otherwise, I don’t see how it would be possible.
Re: Journalist Claims Xbox Is 'Keeping' Obsidian Following Rumours Of Potential Closure
@oopsiezz Is this a joke? I’m the one who’s supposed to debunk rumors? lol! I don’t work at Xbox. How could I? Anyone can say anything, and as long as the person concerned doesn’t respond, rumors spread — that’s exactly why they work so well. It’s basically like Schrödinger’s cat: a rumor is both true and false until you open the box, and the box is an official statement from the person targeted by the rumor.
I can’t prove anything at all, just like the people spreading these claims. The difference with Schrödinger’s law is that I prefer to assume it’s false until someone proves it’s true. You, apparently, prefer the opposite — you treat any rumor as true. Those are two different points of view.
What I’m saying is that even Xbox doesn’t know yet — they’re still in the middle of evaluating things. So anyone claiming closures or game cancellations doesn’t actually know anything, because even Xbox hasn’t decided yet. They’re confusing evaluation with a final decision.
Alright, and now I’m going to leave you — the second half just started.
Re: Rumour: Halo Being 'Heavily Evaluated' At Xbox, But Remains Key Part Of Future Plans
Evaluation is good ! For a long time, people criticized Xbox for giving studios too much freedom and not choosing the right franchises to focus on. The utopian Phil Spencer era — despite all the respect I have for the man — is over. With Aasha Sharma, there needs to be more efficiency, better direction of efforts, and stronger prioritization of what really matters.
Re: Journalist Claims Xbox Is 'Keeping' Obsidian Following Rumours Of Potential Closure
And calm down, guys — you should be happy that this turned out to be fake news. Instead, it feels like you’re disappointed that it isn’t true. It’s crazy, honestly.
Re: Journalist Claims Xbox Is 'Keeping' Obsidian Following Rumours Of Potential Closure
@Weebleman Yes, he’s been wrong several times, but only in the context of the speculation he was doing. Here, he’s stating with certainty that it’s not true, and it’s actually pretty rare for him to make definitive claims. And when he does make definitive claims, it’s because they come from someone official. I never said it was fake news when he made firm statements — only when he was speculating, and many of those speculations did indeed turn out to be false. Basically, he’s pretty bad at predicting the future, but he has good contacts when it comes to confirming actual facts.
Re: Journalist Claims Xbox Is 'Keeping' Obsidian Following Rumours Of Potential Closure
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Re: Journalist Claims Xbox Is 'Keeping' Obsidian Following Rumours Of Potential Closure
@oopsiezz I’m not denying that there’s smoke — I’m just talking about the people who scream “fire” in every neighborhood while trying to guess where the smoke is coming from, and getting it wrong most of the time. Yes, the smoke comes from somewhere, but where exactly? Nobody knows anything for sure, and that’s the point.
And no, only bad faith could pretend this is the only fake news that’s been debunked. I’m not going to repeat myself every time, but I’ve already listed several examples that were officially denied from inside Xbox.
As for this one: Jason Schreier is someone who also gets things wrong sometimes. So yes, people can absolutely criticize me for believing someone who might be a spreader of fake news.
That said, it’s also corroborated by Jez Corden, who has internal sources at Microsoft — and in my opinion, he’s more reliable.
Now, technically, yes: a debunk of a fake news can itself be fake news if it’s not official. But the thing is, they have nothing to gain by debunking it. Debunks always make less noise than negative fake news. That’s why I’m more inclined to believe a debunk of negative fake news than the negative fake news itself, especially when it’s backed up by people I personally consider reliable.
I know I’ve probably lost some people already, but that’s my reasoning. We’ll see how things turn out in the end, but I’m willing to bet that half of what’s being claimed will end up being false — and some things already are, which will only add to the final score on July 6th, if I’m not mistaken.
Re: 20+ Of The Best Discounted Games From Xbox's Two New Early July 2026 Sales
Ruiner (devolver digital) is a top‑down shooter with a cyberpunk vibe, really pretty good for its genre. And I got it on sale for $1.99. For those who like this style, it’s a really good deal.
Re: Journalist Claims Xbox Is 'Keeping' Obsidian Following Rumours Of Potential Closure
@TDHorizon Yeah I know, I like making people laugh
But at the same time, it proves, once again, that I’m right — there’s a lot of fake news, and a lot of people who jump on it without taking any precautions: you just have to look at the first comments !
Re: Journalist Claims Xbox Is 'Keeping' Obsidian Following Rumours Of Potential Closure
So another fake news ! Sorry guys
Re: Report: Xbox Disc-To-Digital Feature Will Allow You To Digitise Your Physical Collection
Microsoft emphasizes game preservation and the continuity of libraries. At this point, it’s much safer to have your library on Xbox than on PlayStation
Re: Another Call Of Duty Game Is Gearing Up For Xbox Game Pass
I already have it, I own all the Black Ops games, bought during a wave of promotions, and this one is a very good Black Ops, for sure. Not the best, but I’d say it’s in the top 3
Re: As PlayStation Announces The End Of Disc-Based Releases, Will Xbox Follow Suit?
@themightyant Nope, I sometimes do research to enrich my arguments, but I don’t copy‑paste anything. I translate my posts into English using Copilot (on Edge), because English isn’t my native language. I guess sometimes the translation picks words that don’t necessarily sound very natural.
Re: As PlayStation Announces The End Of Disc-Based Releases, Will Xbox Follow Suit?
This is a real blow for PlayStation players, because even though there’s a global trend toward digital, the proportion of disc purchases is still higher on PlayStation — not the majority, but noticeably higher.
What makes this even more problematic for PlayStation users is that digital games come with several disadvantages compared to digital games on Xbox:
PS requires you to connect every 30 days or the game becomes unusable
Xbox has a far more advanced backward compatibility system
Xbox Play Anywhere lets you play on multiple devices with a single purchase — completely absent on PlayStation
free optimization of older games with FPS Boost or Auto HDR, also absent on PS
a persistent library that doesn’t depend on hardware
a dedicated preservation team
the Muse AI project
the disc‑to‑digital project, making it easier to launch games you own even without a disc drive
Overall, Xbox is clearly much more committed to game preservation, which sharply contrasts with PlayStation — a company that offers none of these features and recently removed 500 purchased movies from users’ libraries without any refund. So the question becomes: how long until they do the same with purchased PS games?
Of course, this kind of issue could theoretically happen anywhere, but given PlayStation’s policies and Xbox’s strong commitment to preservation, I feel my game library is much safer on Xbox than on PlayStation. That said, I also appreciate GOG for offering DRM‑free games.
Re: Xbox Reminds Game Pass Members To Buy Modern Warfare 4 If They Want To Play It Day One
Almost everyone welcomed the Game Pass price drop in exchange for getting Call of Duty one year later.
As for informing players that Modern Warfare 4 will be available in Game Pass a year after release, it’s a two‑for‑one strategy: it encourages people to buy the game, and at the same time it pushes them toward subscribing to Game Pass. It targets two types of players — those who want to buy it day one, and those who prefer subscribing to play it a year later.
It’s rare enough to highlight that this is the first time we’ve seen a subscription price go down. It stands in sharp contrast with the recent PS+ price increase, which came with no added value whatsoever.
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@Fiendish-Beaver Your point is interesting, and I want to clarify that I’m not blaming PureXbox, which simply presents circulating information—they even use the conditional. My criticism is more directed at people like Tom Warren, who present rumors as statements, when there’s nothing factual or official, and who have been wrong many times. I’m not saying everything he reports is false, but among it, many things are (for example: the fake news about Xbox pulling out of Europe, his claim that Starfield would release shortly after on PS5 when it actually came two years later, the supposed reversal on exclusives after Gears E-Day, etc.).
Just as he has said some true things, he has also said many false ones—about half, I’d say.
And the things that turn out true are often obvious: with Perfect Dark or Everwild, you didn’t need to be a prophet to guess they’d be canceled given the disastrous development. So in the end, it’s fairly easy to hit on certain truths.
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@Weebleman You’re confirming my point: nothing you’re saying is confirmed. ‘Possible’ is not an official confirmation—it’s just a possibility, a discussion hypothesis. In fact, I even think Xbox doesn’t know at this stage. There are surely discussions happening, possibilities on the table, but from that, nobody can make any definitive statement. How could they, if even the main party involved doesn’t know yet? That’s exactly my point.
And you haven’t said anything about the fake news regarding the supposed reversal on exclusives, or the cancellation of Avowed 2—both denied. You can’t seriously deny that Xbox has been the victim of fake news, can you?
If Todd Howard and Arkane Lyon said just a few days ago that development is progressing well, don’t you find this rumor strange?
If the game were canceled, do you really think they would have said that? Do you really believe that if it were true, they would find out at the same time as these so‑called leakers, and not have known for a while already?
Do you prefer to believe Tom Warren, whose job is to publish rumors, rather than official statements from developers?
All this shows it’s just another fake news story, that's it, just my opinion.
And I repeat, it’s not up to me to prove that rumors are false, but up to those who spread them to prove they’re true. And so far, I haven’t seen anything.
We should consider everything false until proven otherwise. I’m not saying changes won’t come, but how many, will games be canceled, studios closed? Which ones? Nobody knows absolutely anything at this point
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@NishimaruX I know how the media works—it’s part of my job. I also know that PlayStation spends millions on marketing; this is public information. It’s not hard to deduce that IGN makes sponsored posts, especially with affiliate links. Brands like PlayStation spend fortunes on sponsored posts with outlets like IGN. The same happens with Xbox, to reassure you, but much less. We all know Xbox spends less on marketing than PlayStation.
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@oopsiezz lool ! Yes, in that case I’m an insider too — and anyone else could be as well! Given the disastrous development of Everwild and Perfect Dark, it wasn’t hard to guess they would be canceled. That’s exactly my point: there are very few real insiders with reliable sources. Many just deduce obvious things. The problem is that most people have short memories and only recall the rumors that turned out true, but not the three‑quarters that were false.
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@Weebleman regarding this reset story, I can’t confirm much as long as there are no official announcements denying the rumor—that’s the problem. In the same way, a rumor cannot claim to be true; it works both ways. That said, with the alleged cancellation of Avowed 2—former Obsidian co‑founder Chris Avellone contradicted that claim.
But you know very well there have been plenty of fake news about Xbox over the years. The latest, for example, was simply the supposed reversal of the exclusivity strategy, which Matt Booty denied, if I’m not mistaken.
So, does that work for you? And do you have any proof that these rumors are true?
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@Weebleman Detail what, exactly? I have nothing to detail. Are there sources? Which sources? Is it official? None of that! It’s not up to me to prove anything, but to those making such claims. It’s easy to say ‘according to my sources’—in that case anyone can call themselves a leaker and say whatever they want.
You’d have to be pretty naive not to see that many people are exploiting this trend just to get clicks, that’s all. They base it on a grain of truth—Asha Sharma’s statement about doing a reset—and from there it’s a flood of speculation and nonsense.
Let Xbox make official announcements and let’s argue based on that, not on rumors built on nothing solid, that’s all.
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@NishimaruX
"There's always a bit of truth in each rumour, the trouble is finding out which bit"
Nope, not always, sorry !
More seriously, we know there will be changes, job cuts, but how many, which studios, will there be studio closures, canceled games? Nobody knows absolutely anything, and certainly not Tom Warren, who is often wrong. Of course, among ten fake news stories you might hit one that’s true, but many people are just riding this trend for clicks, period. Basically, we should consider everything false until proven otherwise.
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@Fiendish-Beaver Let’s wait, guys, don’t get carried away. This still smells like another fake news story, just like we’ve been seeing for weeks. If the studio were really about to close or the game canceled, they wouldn’t be saying on Twitter that the game is in development and progressing well, don’t you think?
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
Sources ? Which sources ? Arkane Lyon confirmed again just a few days ago that the development of Blade was going well, so I don’t know what your sources are, but anyway…
Lots of rumors, lots of speculation, and nothing official. And lots of fake news too, so let’s wait and talk afterwards, rather than writing articles about not much in the end
Re: Meccha Chameleon Dev Remains Tight-Lipped On Xbox Version Following PC Success
Even though this game isn’t necessarily the most representative one, since it’s not really playable without a mouse, That’s why the fact that Helix is able to play PC games will be a huge game changer compared to other consoles. Every year, 30% of games are released only on PC. Sure, the quality varies, but there are plenty of hidden gems that console players miss out on.
Otherwise, the concept is simple and effective. Personally, I’m not sure it’s my thing, but I understand why it could attract players.
Re: Report: Xbox Originally Planned To Publish New Game From Assassin's Creed Creator
@Mr-Cage When it comes to rumors about studios being at risk, you have to take everything you read with caution. Right now, nobody really knows anything — it’s mostly speculation and fake news. I don’t know which studio you’re referring to, but I wouldn’t put them all in the same basket.
For Compulsion Games, before South of Midnight they made Contrast and We Happy Few, smaller titles. South of Midnight is not a bad game — it’s even a critical success, even if the commercial success wasn’t really there apparently. But in my opinion, they have huge potential, as long as they’re well managed.
For Ninja Theory, again, enormous potential. Hellblade is definitely a franchise that matters, and it remains a success — maybe not as strong as it could have been, but still a franchise that counts in the industry, and definitely a studio with unique know-how.
After that, we’ve heard a lot of fake news, like the cancellation of Avowed 2, Blade, etc. — all denied. So even if changes are coming, we need to be careful not to confuse rumors with reality.
In my opinion, in the end, the reality will probably be much less than the drama artificially created by some.
Re: Report: Xbox Originally Planned To Publish New Game From Assassin's Creed Creator
Given the mixed reception to the demo, they may have made the right decision.
Xbox has to make choices — that’s often what it’s been criticized for in the past, jumping into projects that were too risky and giving too much freedom to its studios. They need to bet on strong franchises, and when it comes to new ones, they really have to be solid and backed by reliable studios. Otherwise, it’s just too risky.
Re: Report: Xbox Has No 'Blanket Plans' To End Funding For Third-Party Game Pass Titles
Another false information again: the supposed cancellation of Avowed 2 or Blade, the closure of Arkane or Ninja Theory, and many others. I’m starting to believe PlayStation pays influencers to create bad buzz. The worst part is that sites relaying these false informations, like IGN and others, never issue mea culpas or correction posts, leaving false information hanging in the air.
Re: Black Flag Resynced's Full Resolution & FPS Details Revealed For Xbox Series X|S
With more than 2,500 Xbox Play Anywhere games, why doesn’t Ubisoft offer its titles through Xbox Play Anywhere? It’s really a shame, especially since Ubisoft is quite close to Xbox with several partnerships (Game Pass, cloud, etc.).
That won’t stop me from buying it on Xbox, but it’s a shame. Maybe it will come later.
Re: Xbox Expects The 'Component Crisis' To Get Worse For Consoles In 2027
@Coletrain Actually, I wanted to emphasize the features, because that’s a major game changer. It will simply be the first console capable of doing this, with access to far more games than the competition, and even greater access than any PC, since a PC cannot play Xbox console games. I think in terms of marketing and communication, Xbox should be much more aggressive, because PlayStation certainly doesn’t hold back — sometimes even spreading completely false information.
Re: Xbox Expects The 'Component Crisis' To Get Worse For Consoles In 2027
Price is an important factor for the next generation. But an even more important point is the price/performance ratio, and even the price/features ratio. And on that front, Xbox has a strong card to play. In terms of performance, from what we know, Project Helix will be significantly more powerful than the PS6. And in terms of features, the difference is also very clear, since Xbox Helix will be able to play PC games — that’s 30% more games — while still offering console exclusives. That’s a major difference. And I’m not even mentioning backward compatibility, Xbox Play Anywhere, technologies like FSR, etc.
Re: All New Games Coming To Xbox In July 2026
black flag day one
Re: Xbox Announces 'Record' Pre-Orders For GTA 6 In Response To New Report
All low blows are allowed! IGN should be less ambiguous when it comes to articles and sponsored posts heavily paid for by PlayStation. Yet again, PlayStation’s influencer marketing proves capable of corrupting anyone.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 27-28)
Luna Abyss :I was really pulled into the game , it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that sense of freedom and scale. It’s not an open world, it’s actually quite linear, but it takes place in a massive world. So far I’m really into it; the gameplay evolves progressively and keeps getting richer as you go, which is really enjoyable.
Re: Xbox Play Anywhere Deserves Serious Praise After Passing 2,000 Supported Games
At a time when more and more players are gaming across multiple devices, this is truly a user‑friendly feature and it genuinely pushes me toward buying. Being able to play the same game for the same price on whatever device I want — my Xbox console, my PC, my handheld, or even through the cloud — is just amazing. Xbox is the only one doing this, and they deserve credit for it.
I also agree with @Banjo- about game preservation and backward compatibility, where Xbox is also far ahead of the competition.
Re: 'Hooked Me From Minute One' - Beast Of Reincarnation Could Be A Must-Play On Xbox Game Pass
I feel like the Pokémon devs were so fed up with Pokémon that this time they just went all‑out and delivered a gorgeous game. In any case, it’s definitely on my radar. Game Pass really keeps delivering again and again.
Re: Sony Issues Statement Announcing 'Significant' Job Cuts At Bungie
More than 400 jobs were cut, which is over half the studio. PlayStation has wrecked Bungie — and many other studios, 11 since the start of this generation.
Re: Clutch Revealed As Xbox Play Anywhere Title, Dev Shows Off 60 Minutes Of Gameplay
Love xbox play anwyhere... The game, on the other hand… I don’t know yet. For now I don’t really see the point.
Re: Here's How The New Xbox Prices Compare To PS5, Switch 2 & Steam Machine
@AI-Generation It’s not just a matter of price at some point — the difference in quality on the PS5 Pro is pretty minimal for most games. You don’t get access to Xbox exclusives, you don’t get Game Pass, you don’t get Xbox Play Anywhere, and you also lose access to your existing Xbox game library. So paying $100 more ....
Re: Here's How The New Xbox Prices Compare To PS5, Switch 2 & Steam Machine
@FraserG For now, before PlayStation and Nintendo’s price increases, who will follow soon
The most shocking thing is still the price of the Steam Machine, which is less powerful than an Xbox Series X yet costs twice as much.
Re: Xbox Announces Worldwide Price Increases For Series X|S Consoles
What’s with all these comments? It’s not like it’s a surprise, given the current component shortage. We’ve already seen the outrageous prices of the Steam Machine. Don’t worry, PlayStation and Nintendo will raise their prices soon too.
It’s better to increase prices now — and maybe offer discounts later — rather than announce a price hike right before the release of GTA 6, which will inevitably happen with the PS5
And don’t forget these are theoretical prices — you can always find cheaper
Re: Xbox Layoffs Seemingly Begin As Devs Reveal They're 'Open To Work'
@IllusiveMan What you find funny can easily be flipped the other way around too. Maybe I’m trying to downplay things, that’s possible — but that’s still better than those who try to dramatize everything. And yes, there have been plenty of false rumors, like Avowed 2 being cancelled, Blade being cancelled, Arkane shutting down, etc. So yes, I can confirm there’s been a lot of drama over nothing real. That doesn’t mean there won’t be changes, but definitely not on the level of the usual fake drama that only exists to generate clicks (I’m not talking about PureXbox, but about certain so‑called leakers/influencers who get picked up by the media afterward).
Let’s wait for official announcements. For now, I don’t see anything dramatic, and at this point Compulsion Games doesn’t seem to be shutting down. Bungie, on the other hand, once again is seeing its workforce melt like snow in the sun, and is slowly getting closer to closure — yet another one after the 11 studios PlayStation has shut down in the past 4 years.
Re: Xbox Layoffs Seemingly Begin As Devs Reveal They're 'Open To Work'
Meanwhile, official announcement from Bungie (playstation) saying they’re conducting another round of layoffs after ending support for Destiny 2: https://x.com/Bungie/status/2070149689127973265
Re: Xbox Layoffs Seemingly Begin As Devs Reveal They're 'Open To Work'
Well, in the end, it’s actually a good sign — it means the studio isn’t shutting down and that an agreement has been reached to offer advantageous departure plans for those who want to leave. These are amicable solutions commonly used in companies and beneficial to both sides, so they’re absolutely not layoffs in the strict sense of the term
Re: Senior EA Exec Credits Generative AI For A "Real Rise In Creativity"
So we need to be careful with these statements, because I feel like they’re trying to make us believe that AI is a source of creativity, when it’s not. It’s a tool for assistance, for productivity, whatever you want, sure — but not creativity in the strict sense.
AI only reproduces what it already knows, reuses patterns it has already seen. So we can’t really call that creativity, it’s more like recycling, which is the opposite of creativity and of the real work of an artist.
To take the example of OD, which was in the news recently, it’s obvious that an AI would be incapable of producing a game like that, because it strays too far from current standards.
So it bothers me when people put “AI” and “creativity” side by side, because that’s simply not possible.