Xbox’s troubles started before the latest Activision Blizzard setback

xbox A victory is needed. I’m not just talking about how Microsoft needs to get away from the breaking news we saw this week when the UK’s CMA blocked the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. It did set the company back, but it might just be a hurdle on a long, contentious road. Xbox’s bigger problems say more about the company’s long-term plans for the current generation than any ambitious acquisition proposal.

First off — and you’ve probably heard this one before — few first-party games really capture the audience’s imagination. First-party Xbox game studios have experienced a painful lull in 2022 due to a string of delays, Halo Infinite’s long public decline, and the conspicuous absence of StarCraft (slated to launch in November 2022).

Even Xbox Game Studios’ releases on its home platform have had issues: Ghostwire Tokyo fared worse on Xbox, despite a year-long development on the console and the Xbox team being there to support the developers. Redfall, the upcoming exclusive game that should really tout the power of the Xbox Series X (which, in theory, is the most powerful console on the market right now) will be limited to 30fps at launch. what is going on? These games are supposed to be tech showcases — products designed to showcase what the Series X can do for Microsoft. Instead, they became the butt of a laughingstock; an embarrassing tale spread by console war enthusiasts to make fun of the Xbox’s cost. Frankly, this is true.

When you look at what Sony’s doing — releasing triple-A behemoths like God of War or The Last of Us, Part 1 on a regular basis — it really highlights the issues with the Xbox product. This month, we have the absolutely stunning Horizon Forbidden West DLC, The Burning Shore; a proper, next-gen expression of what the PlayStation 5 can do now, as it no longer insists on dragging the aging PS4 along for the ride. By comparison, what do we get with the Xbox? Moderate review for Minecraft Legends? Are there more third-party Xbox Game Pass titles to enjoy?

It’s not just first-party games that are the problem either. Alex spoke at length about how Xbox had its embarrassing Square Enix problems back in March, and the problems persist: Xbox is struggling to please Japanese developers, many third-party games end up on PlayStation and Switch and other PC storefronts, while Skip the Microsoft-owned market. And there is little explanation as to why. Even today, Live-A-Live is out on Switch and PlayStation, with no explanation as to why it disappeared on Xbox (although we all know why, really: Square Enix Japan just doesn’t care about the Xbox console side of things) .

Among other things, the CMA’s new ruling puts a UK government-shaped wrench in the works for Xbox and Activision Blizzard. There will likely be an appeal, and the deal will move forward in some form, so the acquisition isn’t entirely in the woods yet. But it’s another stumbling block for a company already struggling to keep optics at the top of its current market.

Microsoft has previously said it badly needs the Activision-Blizzard deal. Phil Spencer said in March 2023 that Xbox is eager to use publisher properties to fill “a glaring hole in our capabilities” — Call of Duty Mobile, Diablo Immortal and Candy Crush Saga on the platform and the terms of the audience retention program. Now that the CMA blocks the acquisition, where does Microsoft go from here? What other avenues does it have in store to beef up its mobile offerings?

The result of all these different problems? We’re starting to see it all come together now, and it’s a poor read for Xbox. The company is again struggling to sell units. Just this week, we saw Xbox Series X and S sales struggle as Microsoft reported a 4% drop in gaming revenue. Compared to PS5 sales of more than 38.4 million units in the quarter (19 million of which occurred in the past 12 months alone), Xbox is significantly behind this generation. Things aren’t much better for Xbox, at least in the short term.

There’s only Minecraft Legends and Redfall for Xbox next quarter, and since the former launched with little fanfare, there are plenty of people who are – funnily enough – not going to put much stock in the latter either. With Xbox boss Phil Spencer revealing in 2023 that Game Pass growth on consoles has stalled, Xbox’s prospects look relatively bleak — a lack of first-party titles and little to push new Game Pass expansions to see. The rest of 2023 spoils the success of the Xbox generation so far.

I’m a fan of Xbox. I think it’s the best of the two consoles of this generation — at least as of this writing — and I think the ecosystem is stronger and more engaging than the PlayStation. I think Game Pass beats PlayStation Plus. I also prefer a console UI (although it’s a “lesser of two evils” kind of thing, admittedly).

But I’m worried about the Xbox; maybe soon, all the chickens will come home to roost, and the countless games in development over the years will start to bear fruit. But until then, it’s hard to look ahead to what the future holds for the Xbox, feeling anything but apathetic. Starfield is under a lot of pressure in the short term, and I hope Todd Howard and his friends can tide over the difficulties for Xbox with Bethesda’s highly anticipated new game. Because, if it lives up to the hype, things could get really, really ugly at Microsoft Tower.