In recent months, parent company Microsoft has reportedly been less than thrilled with the state of its popular gaming brand Xbox. After a lackluster first-party game production in 2022, Xbox was, and still is, poised for a stellar 2023.
Xbox kicked off the acclaimed Hi-Fi Rush with a huge shadow at this January’s Developer Direct. Tango Gameworks’ sleek third-person action-rhythm game was critically acclaimed and remains an Xbox highlight to this day. Along with other major first-party titles planned for this year, such as the recently released Minecraft Legends, Arkane’s Redfall next month, Starfield Bethesda Behemoth in September, Forza Motorsport, and possibly more in the fall Gaming, Xbox and its fans are ready to potentially have their biggest and best gaming year in a long time. However, several key developments in recent weeks have taken away Xbox’s sails for April.
In his Game Mess podcast industry reporter Jeff Grubb reports that Microsoft isn’t happy with the state of the Xbox. He mentioned Xbox’s dry 2022 as a key factor that gamers who bought a Series X or Series S console might regret buying. Last year, Xbox Game Studios only released four smaller projects, including version 1.0 of the Forza Horizon 5 Hot Wheels DLC, Grounded, Age of Empires 4: Anniversary Edition, and Pentiment. Obsidian’s Pentiment, in particular, was a critical darling, but the Xbox’s severe lack of AAA output in 2022 is still disappointing to many Xbox fans.
Jeff Grubb’s report comes a week after confirming that Redfall will only be playable at 30 frames per second at launch, rather than the industry standard 60 FPS, which will be available at a later date. The news took a toll on Redfall’s momentum, with many fans calling for a second delay and questioning why the game was only running at 30 FPS on Xbox’s premium Series X console, even after an initial year-long delay. run at speed. Another contributing factor could be that Xbox rival PlayStation has dominated the console market in recent months, with the PS5 outselling even the PS4 in 29 months. Given Xbox’s inadequate marketing efforts and games of all shapes and sizes, skipping consoles from Final Fantasy 16 to Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals, it’s clear that Xbox is in a bit of a tough spot right now.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though, because despite all the negativity, Xbox can still turn things around with its massive 2023 lineup. Framerate aside, Redfall still has the potential to be stellar, and Starfield might be just the kind of massive AAA experience Xbox has been needing for a while. With Xbox’s Summer Showcase in June, who knows what’s in store for the second half of the year.