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Xbox Gaf: Are you satisfied with the current state of Microsoft Game Studios?

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
I'm quite pissed tbh.

We know the genuine complaints. Xbox release schedule, outside of a couple repeat sequel franchises has been weak.

I fully expected, after them getting the hardware so on point that we were set for a really strong generation of steady released games and this still hasn't come to fruition.

Luckily for me I game on all platforms and there is great games everywhere. Gamepass continues to be awesome but I do and did not expect to say that my favourite xbox releases this year look to be Tunic and rogue legacy 2. (Not taking anything away from those games)

I'll be happily playing third party games like lego star wars etc but man. Sort your shit out Microsoft I think your goodwill from fans should be pretty much over.

2023 better be back to back bangers. If it is I'll let you off, but if its like 2 triple AAA games in the whole year then there will be love lost from me. A considerable amount of love lost.
 

reksveks

Member
This is why I avoided stacking up on the XBL Gold glitch. It's a great deal but I am like all you have done is show CG trailers of your next gen games and then you skip showing them the next year, when are you actually planning on showing the gameplay let alone releasing them?

Forza 8 was announced in 2020 and was supposed to be a 2022 title. Is there anyone who is confident that the game will release this year? They have shown no gameplay in the last two years.
Yeah, see my other post about the kind of games. I am definitely making my money back on GP.

I do think FM8 will be out, there has been closed beta but there was beta for Redfall so who knows.
 

deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
I'm concerned that it has too much to deal with, and maybe doesn't live it to the hype

I mean, it has:
- Hellblade 2, great showcase, where's the game?
- Perfect Dark, at least on par with the N64
- Everwild, very pretty, but we don't know shit about it
- Starfield, it's Skyrim ON SPAAAAAAAAAAACE, but we need less bugs, so yeah
- Wolfenstein 3? Machine Games is way too quiet
- State of Decay 3 will be more of the same?
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Yes but don't really have a good solution of what he could have done
I think this probably needs to be its own thread, but with everyone struggling, it begs the question why is making video games so hard? Why are they not able to hire enough talent in an industry that has grown 20x in the last 20 years. In 2020, Sony made more profit in one year than they did in the entire decade of selling PS2s. So why wasnt that invested right back into acquiring talent? The movie industry seems to be churning out movies just fine. Covid didnt affect Baseball, NFL, Soccer recruitment and front office hiring. They played infront of empty crowds for a few months and went back to normal. So why is gaming the only entertainment industry thats struggling?
 

reksveks

Member
I think this probably needs to be its own thread, but with everyone struggling, it begs the question why is making video games so hard? Why are they not able to hire enough talent in an industry that has grown 20x in the last 20 years. In 2020, Sony made more profit in one year than they did in the entire decade of selling PS2s. So why wasnt that invested right back into acquiring talent? The movie industry seems to be churning out movies just fine. Covid didnt affect Baseball, NFL, Soccer recruitment and front office hiring. They played infront of empty crowds for a few months and went back to normal. So why is gaming the only entertainment industry thats struggling?
I would need to double check the Marvel delays because I have a feeling there has been a couple of delays but they have been able to move things into those gaps.

Gaming has had a long term issue with devs burning out and moving into more lucrative industries.
 
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Rykan

Member
I am still very excited about the Xbox series console's future. I like the direction Microsoft is taking, I like how aggressive they are and I think, hardware wise, the Xbox series X is by far the best console ever made in terms of hardware design and featureset.

But i'm not going to deny that so far, Xbox has been fairly disappointing and I'm kind of wondering what went wrong. The Xbox one was one of the worst major consoles ever released. It had no identity of its own Sometimes, even bad consoles have good things about them, but Xbox one was something worse than bad: it was bland. It was the place to play worse versions of multiplatform games and basically no exclusive games outside of the typical Halo, Gears & Forza trifecta. It was a console without an identity. The last few years were especially barren with little to no exclusive games to get excited for.

The Xbox one was a mess and everyone knew it. I'm sure I'm not the only one that thought that Microsoft had written the Xbone off and would instead focus its effort on the next generation. That's the reason why Xbone's games lineup was so bad, right? MS was developing games for its next generation instead.

Well, then the Xbox series X launched and somehow MS managed to launch the console with one of the worst launch lineups of any major console with not a single exclusive game. How!? How do you not have a single game ready for launch? We're now nearly two years in and the only major titles so far have been Halo, which was delayed for a year and Forza Horizon. Playstation, on the other hand, was not only able to send off the PS4 with some incredible games for its last few years, they were also able to launch games in several of their most important franchises like Horizon, R&C, Spiderman, GT and GoW on the way (We think...) to be released soon.

The difference is just baffling and this latest delay just makes it even more irksome. There's just not been a whole lot to get excited for the past 2 years.

I'm still super optimistic about the Series' future. I think in 3 years or so, when MS investment start paying off and their acquired studios start producing a steady stream of games, I think the console will be hard to beat. But there's no denying that right now, we're playing mostly multiplatforms and CGI trailers of announced games on our Xbox.
 
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kyoji

Member
This is why putting all your chips into sub service as a consumer is bad, i feel bad for the people who have all of there access to xbox content locked behind a paywall, because even if you wanted to unsub from GP you really cant. Youre trapped unless youve purchased the games just to have access to your content.

I made a post about this right after xbox had there 2020 launch reveal… (this was before xbox pickied up bethesda as a publisher was even a thing) their 2020 showcase wasnt as great as you would have expected it to be, especially considering they had so much time to really get themselves together coming out of xbox one gen compared to playstation. And yet you had so many people running to defend xbox as normal. Now just IMAGINE if bethesda had not even been for sale and fallen right into ms lap where xbox would be right now, think about that.

The starfield and redfall delays arent an indictment on beth. its an indictment on phil spencer aaron greenberg and everyone associated in that camp, its about time to stop ignoring all this.
 
What games does mS studios have for this year?

I'm not trying to be funny or anything...i'm actually curious. As a PlayStation guy i'm really not that into what they release (apart from Forza tbh...i'd love to play those games).
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
I think this probably needs to be its own thread, but with everyone struggling, it begs the question why is making video games so hard? Why are they not able to hire enough talent in an industry that has grown 20x in the last 20 years. In 2020, Sony made more profit in one year than they did in the entire decade of selling PS2s. So why wasnt that invested right back into acquiring talent? The movie industry seems to be churning out movies just fine. Covid didnt affect Baseball, NFL, Soccer recruitment and front office hiring. They played infront of empty crowds for a few months and went back to normal. So why is gaming the only entertainment industry thats struggling?
Games are far harder to make than any other entertainment medium in the world, it requires a massive amount of coders, artists, writers, designers, and all the other shit just so they can get somethin out the gate. That being said, i think it's less cuz of covid and more because of just how the graphics focus is causing games to take way longer than they have any right to. Many games these days are less complex than their 2000s counterparts gameplay wise, and yet they take 2x the development time. We really should just follow what nintendo is doing and put a major focus into gameplay and leave graphics for later. I hate nintendo, i think they're the worst of the big 3 for many reasons, but that's the one thing i think they have going for them and if the rest of the industry followed that apathy for graphics we'd see way more games coming out quicker.
 
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II_JumPeR_I

Member
Nope.
Since this gen started almost all their studios struggle to deliver anything.
And covid isnt a good excuse anymore with its new variants that dont do much sickness. Most studios should be back in office since end of last year.
I really dont think this offhand approach is working well.

343i for example is doing one fuck up after another and no one at xbox seems to give a fuck which is weird.

Then all this shit announced in 2020 and 2021 with a cgi trailer and no peeps since then.

I miss the OG Xbox Microsoft.
 

Leyasu

Banned
I think my posting history should confirm that there is no love lost between me and Xbox's first party output. There is no real reason for me to drone on and on about this stuff, but I am interested in hearing what Xbox fans think of Microsoft's lackluster output this gen.

- Are you concerned about another barebones year with Starfield and Redfall getting delayed? 2020 was fairly empty too.
- Are you ok with the lack of next gen only games on xbox so far this gen?
- If not, who do you blame for this? Sony gaf blames Jim Ryan for everything; I blame him for the Ukraine war. Does Phil Spencer shoulder some of this blame after 9 years at the helm?
- They say it's darkest before the dawn. Are you confident MS will have a killer E3 conference with Perfect Dark, Forza, Hellblade, Fable, Starfield, Avowed and State of Decay 2 all making an appearance? That they are about to turn the corner?
- Everyone from Nintendo, Sony to From Software are delaying games. Should MS with their infinite war chest be held to a different standard?

Note to Sony gaf: No offense, but I can predict your posts just by looking at your name tags lol so let's just see what real fans of Xbox have to say first.


- Barebones would mean that there are no 3rd party games to play. It is what it is with the delays
- How can anyone be ok with the continued amount of cross-gen software? But current gen only games would have been in development for years already. How does anyone know that there weren't secretly canned last gen versions made too?
- I blame COVID and the upheaval of society over the last two years. Plus the fact that a lot of studios have been finishing games that they were making prior to acquisition.
- PD won't be there, Forza will, HB might be, Fable wont, Starfield might show, Avowed wont show, SoD I think that they have tried to be too ambitious and the game is still 2yrs away.
- Money doesn't speed up time. Tis a stupid question and opens the door to console warring.

Your note on the bottom is nothing but cosmetic. You knew exactly what you were doing when you created this thread. This is going to be a shitshow and you know it
 

I Master l

Banned
There is no longer a defense anyone can put up for MS anymore .. other than Gamepass and the Series X
console being an incredible machine in itself it's honestly reached the point of being pathetic when it
comes to expecting games from them
 
Phil Spencer has been in charge since 2014 so he's had 8 years as head of Xbox. As for how much of Xbox's current situation is Phil's fault is up for debate. Part of it is because of what's leftover from Don Matrick's era and part of it is because of the pandemic delaying almost every game being developed . He's done some things well IMO like the Backwards Comptability, Gamepass, Xcloud (yes even that) and The Xbox One X & Series S/X. What he hasn't done so well is manage the studios. I've liked the games they've produced but they've not been in the same league as 1st party output at Sony or Nintendo. Spencer's solution was to acquire studios for their dev's & IP but he has to actually translate that into great games. I honestly don't really care though as I'll own all the consoles at some point to experience the games anyway and I'm not a MS shareholder either.
 

graywolf323

Gold Member
honestly if it weren't for GamePass and BC I probably wouldn't have bought a Series X at launch

MS has had this problem for more than a generation now and so far all their studio acquisitions have done is further magnify that they struggle with studio management, and this goes all the way back to Phil's time as the head of 1st party studios but it hasn't gotten any better really under Matt Booty

note I would say Playground Games is the exception to this rule, I think at this point they have enough studios to just brute force their way through once the games start releasing at least
 

sircaw

Banned
Having Starfield being delayed must hurt like hell for Xbox fans but you got a Microsoft show coming up soon, the next few months if i am not mistaken.

A new quake game announcement will go a long way in soothing the anger and disappointment.
 

TexMex

Member
No and I don’t know how anyone could be. I bought new hardware in late 2020 and to date there’s really only a couple of games. Forza and Halo - the latter of which is still comically unfinished.

And now it seems like we have another year until we get anything in the can.

Pathetic.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
I would need to double check the Marvel delays because I have a feeling there has been a couple of delays but they have been able to move things into those gaps.

Gaming has had a long term issue with devs burning out and moving into more lucrative industries.
there were some delays because hollywood essentially shut down for 6 months, but once it opened back up they were able to churn out movies and tv shows like they always have. I always look at the CG studios like ILM and Pixar because they are direct competition for the video game industry poaching artists, animators and some programmers, and they seem to be on the ball. WFH didnt impact those guys. I bet you are a 100% on the money about devs moving into other industries. Programmers are in really high demand right now with Salesforce, Facebook and Netflix offering insane $100k bonuses plus $300k-400k salaries. Video game programmers make $100k-150k tops.

As for artitsts, Jason Rubin the ex-CEO of Naughty Dog once said that he had to pay extra to hire hollywood artists and animators in the early 2000s because otherwise there was no talent left in the city. I wonder if movie studios decided to pay extra to get those guys back while Sony and Microsoft just pocked the profits they made instead of investing them back in the studio. SSM, ND and Insomniac are still only around 200-350 employees. Thats tiny for studios based out of LA.
 

Chukhopops

Member
I’m sad I won’t get to play Starfield this year but those days everything gets delayed, just the way it is. I don’t blame MS for it though.

I’ll be playing a lot of Switch games in the coming months it seems, better get my eyes ready for 30 fps again.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
- Barebones would mean that there are no 3rd party games to play. It is what it is with the delays
- How can anyone be ok with the continued amount of cross-gen software? But current gen only games would have been in development for years already. How does anyone know that there weren't secretly canned last gen versions made too?
- I blame COVID and the upheaval of society over the last two years. Plus the fact that a lot of studios have been finishing games that they were making prior to acquisition.
- PD won't be there, Forza will, HB might be, Fable wont, Starfield might show, Avowed wont show, SoD I think that they have tried to be too ambitious and the game is still 2yrs away.
- Money doesn't speed up time. Tis a stupid question and opens the door to console warring.

Your note on the bottom is nothing but cosmetic. You knew exactly what you were doing when you created this thread. This is going to be a shitshow and you know it
Eh it's been fine so far. I dont see the same faces I typically associate with Sony gaf. Have some faith.

I do think Xbox fans need to raise more stink because I know Phil listens. He delayed Halo by a full year, reversed the Xbox Gold price hike and if the fanbase makes their displeasure known then who knows, it might result in a positive development.
 

kingpotato

Ask me about my Stream Deck
All the major titles were already going to be released after my current GP sub ends, so it might mean a little more dust on the console before I boot it back up, but I'm in no rush. Take all the time you need.

If you set your expectations low you'll never be disappointed. Mine couldn't get any lower.
 

kyliethicc

Member
I think my posting history should confirm that there is no love lost between me and Xbox's first party output. There is no real reason for me to drone on and on about this stuff, but I am interested in hearing what Xbox fans think of Microsoft's lackluster output this gen.

- Are you concerned about another barebones year with Starfield and Redfall getting delayed? 2020 was fairly empty too.
- Are you ok with the lack of next gen only games on xbox so far this gen?
- If not, who do you blame for this? Sony gaf blames Jim Ryan for everything; I blame him for the Ukraine war. Does Phil Spencer shoulder some of this blame after 9 years at the helm?
- They say it's darkest before the dawn. Are you confident MS will have a killer E3 conference with Perfect Dark, Forza, Hellblade, Fable, Starfield, Avowed and State of Decay 2 all making an appearance? That they are about to turn the corner?
- Everyone from Nintendo, Sony to From Software are delaying games. Should MS with their infinite war chest be held to a different standard?

Note to Sony gaf: No offense, but I can predict your posts just by looking at your name tags lol so let's just see what real fans of Xbox have to say first.
Wait til E3
 
Phil Spencer has been in charge since 2014 so he's had 8 years as head of Xbox. As for how much of Xbox's current situation is Phil's fault is up for debate. Part of it is because of what's leftover from Don Matrick's era and part of it is because of the pandemic delaying almost every game being developed . He's done some things well IMO like the Backwards Comptability, Gamepass, Xcloud (yes even that) and The Xbox One X & Series S/X. What he hasn't done so well is manage the studios. I've liked the games they've produced but they've not been in the same league as 1st party output at Sony or Nintendo. Spencer's solution was to acquire studios for their dev's & IP but he has to actually translate that into great games. I honestly don't really care though as I'll own all the consoles at some point to experience the games anyway and I'm not a MS shareholder either.

I think davidjaffe davidjaffe is spot on with Phil

I’m sure he’s good with the whole ecosystem business side of things, but his team has repeatedly failed to deliver content. They just do not understand game development
 
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It's better than Xone generation where Xbox drove me to ps4 for a solid majority of the generation. But i think this is the last year we give them a pass on first party game gaps. Starting 2023 if they have another barren year they deserve all the criticism in the world. Its been about 4 years since their major acquisition blowouts, gave them time for the news studios to integrate and work on the games. Year 5 is enough for the fruits of the labor to come to fruition. A constant treadmill of "soon soon soon" is becoming unacceptable. Their utter dominance when it comes to QoL is keeping them afloat rn, but game management has to deliver in 2023.
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
- Are you concerned about another barebones year with Starfield and Redfall getting delayed? 2020 was fairly empty too.
I'm not concerned. By the looks of it, it's already a given. lmao
But I still think it can be a good year for Xbox, if the Game Pass offerings get better.

- Are you ok with the lack of next gen only games on xbox so far this gen?
Yes! As a PS4 and Series S owner, I don't care about this too much. If the game is good is all that matters to me.

- They say it's darkest before the dawn. Are you confident MS will have a killer E3 conference with Perfect Dark, Forza, Hellblade, Fable, Starfield, Avowed and State of Decay 2 all making an appearance? That they are about to turn the corner?
No. I don't think at all all these games will make an appearance. I don't believe for a second we will see Perfect Dark and Fable yet. Maybe not even Avowed, but hopefully yes. But if Starfield looks good, and they appear with a couple of surprises for either game pass or some gameplay of their to be released games, I'm fine. Just hope they don't waste our time talking about Halo updates... that can be made over social media.

- Everyone from Nintendo, Sony to From Software are delaying games. Should MS with their infinite war chest be held to a different standard?
No different standards. But I have to tell that I HATE this new trend to not give a fuck about release dates anymore. Everyone talks about dates that they know very well they will not fulfill. If you can't deliver a game in certain date, or you're not sure, please, stop giving us fake release dates.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
What is the best strategy for GamePass?

Just do a 1-2 month sub and then wait another year or whatever until more games come out?
On PC, they have two types of subs available. A $10 one for PC only, and a $15 that includes Xbox Live for consoles. They are good about offering free months especially during the holiday seasons so I just sub whenever I see a free month offer for either of the two subscription types.

As for how many months, whenever I take advantage of the three month deals, I end up not playing it for more than a month and then I forget and they end up charging me for another month. I think 1 month is fine. I do this with Origin whenever EA comes out with a new game I want to play. Played Jedi Fallen order and It Takes two for just $15 and had a blast.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
I was satisfied last year. This year.....pretty much impossible to be satisfied with nothing. I do think Microsoft needs to beef up their Game Pass offering this year. Without Starfield on deck, it needs something to give it a boost.

What big 3rd party titles are coming this year? Batman, Cod?
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Also, for the Xbox fanboys mad that they don't have anything to play this year
do remember that us valve fanboys have had nothing to play for an entire decade :messenger_loudly_crying:
 

DukeNukem00

Banned
Microsoft had the second highest rated game in 2020 with Flight Sim. Together with Gears Tactics and Ori. In 2021 it had the highest rated game of the year, Forza. Also Age of Empires 4, Psychonauts 2 and Halo.

The following year, once the dozens of studios start pumping out games, i expect there will be even more.



Does sony or nintendo release more than 4 games per year from their studios ?
 

Jaybe

Member
I’ve been noting the lack of first party and scheduled release dates this year. It’s been 4 years since the 2018 5 studios joining XGS and nothing to show from them aside from Playground Games. 343 is terrible. The Coalition is technically fine, but not 10/10 GOTG material. Announcing a Starfield release date so confidently only to walk it back is disappointing. Studio and content management is simply abysmal. Maybe this is the year Phil finally stops calling the upcoming holiday, Xbox’s best yet. Thankfully the hardware and services are strong and third party can at least get some games out. They need to bring their wallet for some third party game pass day one this summer and holiday. If I wasn’t locked in I’d unsubscribe.
 
Microsoft had the second highest rated game in 2020 with Flight Sim. Together with Gears Tactics and Ori. In 2021 it had the highest rated game of the year, Forza. Also Age of Empires 4, Psychonauts 2 and Halo.

The following year, once the dozens of studios start pumping out games, i expect there will be even more.



Does sony or nintendo release more than 4 games per year from their studios ?
Nintendo routinely exceeds 4 per year. They're beast mode. This year I think they'll double that.
 
Eh it's been fine so far. I dont see the same faces I typically associate with Sony gaf. Have some faith.

I do think Xbox fans need to raise more stink because I know Phil listens. He delayed Halo by a full year, reversed the Xbox Gold price hike and if the fanbase makes their displeasure known then who knows, it might result in a positive development.

Tried that. People don’t want to know. It’s like a cult, speaking from personal experience.

I’ll say this, if this was PlayStation or Nintendo some of them would not be putting this guy on a pedestal and they know it.

Most of the vocal ones in the community ignore or offer nothing constructive in criticism. It’s very mild at best.

Look at today, suddenly they all have backlogs .
 

sendit

Member
Phil Spencer has been in charge since 2014 so he's had 8 years as head of Xbox. As for how much of Xbox's current situation is Phil's fault is up for debate. Part of it is because of what's leftover from Don Matrick's era and part of it is because of the pandemic delaying almost every game being developed . He's done some things well IMO like the Backwards Comptability, Gamepass, Xcloud (yes even that) and The Xbox One X & Series S/X. What he hasn't done so well is manage the studios. I've liked the games they've produced but they've not been in the same league as 1st party output at Sony or Nintendo. Spencer's solution was to acquire studios for their dev's & IP but he has to actually translate that into great games. I honestly don't really care though as I'll own all the consoles at some point to experience the games anyway and I'm not a MS shareholder either.
I see we are still blaming Mattick with almost a decades worth of Phil’s leadership.
 
To me they seem to be doing better than ever and that isn't a complement. They bougth a bunch of studios so something good is bound to come out of it at some point.

They just have history of being pretty bad producing and nurturing quality games. They still have a long way to go and now that they are multiple times larger in terms of studios there will be more oportunities than ever to missmanage them.

They are so far behind Sony and Nintendo that it is impressive how Xbox is still doing somewhat well. Xbox One gen wad brutal in term of their games and this one didn't start that much better.
 
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Codes 208

Member
My xbox is mainly just for elden ring, gamepass and third parties.

As for first parties? Hahahaha no.

Halo infinite has a good campaign but they absolutely shat the bed with the multiplayer so the longevity is already gone and done with for me.

This gen so far has been nintendo > ps5 > xbox for me
I did, which proves the fan in me over ruled the brain side of things. Which makes me a idiot.
if anything it just reinforces your critiques because you at least have hands on experience.
 
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