We’re still hungover from The Game Awards gala. A show that in its 2022 edition has left us with great announcements, such as Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, and new previews of highly anticipated titles, such as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. But it also left us with a great absence: Xbox.
Those in Redmond haven’t made an appearance beyond a brief trailer for Xbox Game Pass, a service that’s become their spearhead in 2022. Either because of Activision’s buying process and not not put more obstacles, either because of the famous “timings” that they always mention, the reality is that Microsoft missed a show at the that the last three years have always left us with great announcements. In 2019, it was the revelation of Xbox Series X and Hellblade II. In 2020, Perfect Dark. And in 2021 a new in-game preview of Hellblade II.
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We went from this to nothing in one concert dominated by Sony, both in prices and ads. But he doesn’t forget that in terms of reveals, anything exclusive to PlayStation is temporary.
Thus, the scenario for 2023 appears most curious, with a change of roles, a priori, which no one could expect. Because if in 2022 we had a rare year in big releases on Xbox, on PlayStation they had two powerful AAAs. Something that in 2023 can turn around. Because we know that those of Redmond They will launch in the first six months of the year three major games: Forza Motorsport, Redfall and, perhaps the most anticipated, Starfield. And to this must be added the temporary exclusive games themselves or the titles that coming to Xbox Game Pass at launch even if they are cross-platform. (Wu Long: Fallen Dynasty, Lies of Pi, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, etc.). Yes, we still need to know the content of the second half, but the prospects at Sony are no better.
It’s even worse than you think. After a pretty good 2022, next year is looking pretty weak for Sony, at least for now. And it is that with the exception of Spider-Man 2, which is announced for 2023 but only has one CGI trailer and nothing else (it smacks of delay as has already happened with Ragnarok and its famous 2021), the sequel exclusive to ps5 are temporary.
Final Fantasy XVI, Silent Hill 2 Remake or Forspoken are titles announced as PlayStation exclusives, but the reality is, as always, very different. Yes, they will have an exclusive version in the Sony ecosystem, but sooner or later they will be released on other systems. All are expected to come to PC, and several may come to Xbox Series X|S. And we must not forget that Forspoken is coming to the Windows Store on computers…
So the scenario for 2023 is, at least, ideal for Xbox. A year to hit the table once and for all. If you really want to grow Xbox and not be overshadowed by Sony, the next 365 days are key. Faced with a Horizon Zero Dawn expansion and a title that we don’t know anything about right now (not even if it will arrive safely in 2023), Microsoft can demonstrate once and for all that all studio purchases are finally bearing their fruits.
Whether the Activision takeover materializes or not, those in Redmond have the opportunity of those who show up very rarely. And after a year of Sony being involved in big launches, Xbox can and should respond. Maybe in any other situation with Forza Motorsport, Redfall and Starfield, that would be enough. But this time it’s not. We fans have been waiting for results for a long time, waiting for that eternal promise of “this year, yes, it’s Xbox” to come true. Yes, Xbox Game Pass has been spearheading and supporting the company’s strategy for the past few years. But the apologies are over. Pandemic, lockdown or recent acquisition of studies are no longer worth it. Some of them have been with Xbox Game Studios for almost five years (they will be in June 2023) and it’s time to see, once and for all, the result of all of Phil Spencer’s strategy.
With Sony perhaps at its weakest when it comes to big releases of its own exclusives (at least as of this writing), it’s time to flex some muscle, put all the meat on the grill. A good shot would be this rumored event at the beginning of the year to show the date of the three titles mentioned and start giving hints as to what is to come in the rest of the year.
And it might as well keep the format at E3 (or whatever event happens in June) to only show what happens over a twelve-month period. It’s a more short-term strategy, of course, but with all that has been announced, there’s no need to show more titles that will arrive in several years. It’s time to focus on the here and now. Something that has already started in 2022 and should continue in 2023. But, above all, Xbox must show once and for all that it really wants to go head-to-head like in the days of Xbox 360. The moment is came. If Xbox has a real stinger, it’s time to bring it out.
