It’s been reported that parent company Mircrosoft has not been thrilled about the state of its popular gaming brandXboxin recent months.Xboxwas and still is set up to have a stellar 2023 after an underwhelming output of first party titles in 2022.
Xbox started the year off with a bangshadow dropping the highly praisedHi-Fi Rushat its Developer Direct in January. Tango Gameworks' stylish third-person action rhythm game was critically-acclaimed and remains a colorful feather in Xbox’s cap. With other major first-party titles planned for this year like the recently releasedMinecraft Legends,Arkane’sRedfallnext month, the Bethesda behemoth that isStarfieldin September,Forza Motorsport,and possibly more in the Fall, Xbox and its fans were ready to potentially enjoy its biggest and best year of games in a very long time. However, several key developments in recent weeks have taken the wind out of Xbox’s sails in April.
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On his Game Mess podcast industry journalist Jeff Grubb reported that Microsoft isn’t happy with the current state of Xbox. He mentions Xbox’s dry 2022 as a key factor and that players who bought Series X or S consoles may be regretting their purchases. Last year saw Xbox Game Studios release only four smaller projects inForza Horizon 5Hot Wheels DLC, the 1.0 release ofGrounded,Age of Empires 4: Anniversary Edition,andPentiment.Obsidian’sPentimentin particular was a critical darling, but Xbox’s severe lack of AAA output in 2022 was still disappointing for many Xbox fans.
Jeff Grubb’s report comes just a week after confirmation thatRedfallwill only be playable in 30 frames-per-second upon launch rather than the industry standard of 60 FPS, which will become available at a later date. This news has thrown a wrench inRedfall’s momentum with many fans calling for a second delay andquestioning why the game can only run at 30 FPS on Xbox’s premium Series X consoleeven after its initial year-long delay. Another contributing factor could be the fact that Xbox’s rival PlayStation has been dominating the console market in recent months with PS5 even outselling PS4 over a 29-month period. Toss in Xbox’s inadequate marketing efforts and games of all shapes and sizes fromFinal Fantasy 16toOxenfree 2:Lost Signalsskipping the console, it’s clear that Xbox is in a somewhat rough spot right now.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, as despite all the negativity Xbox can still turn things around with its big 2023 lineup in the chamber. Frame rate aside,Redfallstill has the potential to be stellarandStarfieldjust might be that massive AAA banger experience Xbox has been needing on its side for a while. With Xbox’s Summer showcase in June, who knows what else it has in store for the second half of the year as well.
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