As you know, especially in the last year, Microsoft Xbox owners, and even Microsoft itself, have been complaining that game makers have been prioritizing PC gamers with the PS4 and PS5 and bypassing the Xbox from day one. But what is the justification for this? Why do producers want Xbox versions to come out later? Here’s what you need to know…
Technical reasons are not the only problem for Microsoft!
The rivalry between the three giants of the gaming world – Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft – has been heating up in recent years. But in terms of hardware sales, Microsoft is lagging far behind its other two rivals. The Nintendo Switch is on its way to becoming the best-selling console of all time, while PlayStation 5 sales have already surpassed the previous generation Xbox One. The Xbox Series X|S family, on the other hand, is well behind with sales totaling around 28 million.
This has resulted in popular games coming to Xbox consoles late or not at all. For example, games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Black Myth: Wukong didn’t make it to the Xbox platform on their release dates. Baldur’s Gate 3 came to Xbox a few months later, but there is still no clear date for Wukong. And some smaller games are skipping Xbox altogether.
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Microsoft has moved to reverse this worrying tradition. In a September 30th developer blog, the company explicitly asked the question, “Why don’t developers make Xbox versions?” Xbox’s Chief User Researcher Dr. Deborah Hendersen said, “If you’re making video games, we want to hear from you. If you’re not on Xbox, we want to know why. If you use our competitors’ products, you probably have a great perspective we can learn from!”
Among the reasons why developers don’t prefer Xbox is the lower performance of the Xbox Series S console.
Michael Douse, Publishing Director at Larian Studios, developer of Baldur’s Gate 3, explained the reason for the game’s late arrival on Xbox as follows: “The problem was the difficulty we had getting the split-screen feature to work on Series S. That’s a big technical hurdle to overcome.”
While big titles eventually make it to Xbox, it’s not always the same for indie titles. Games like Enotria: The Last Song and HAAK have officially bypassed the Xbox, citing communication issues with Microsoft. This could be the beginning of a worrying trend for Xbox owners.
The bottom line is that Microsoft needs to take serious steps to make the Xbox platform more attractive. Strengthening communication with developers, overcoming technical challenges and expanding the gaming ecosystem are among the important steps that need to be taken. The future of Xbox will depend on how these challenges are overcome.
Still, the fact that the company has started to self-criticize is good news for gamers. You can share your views on the subject in the comments.
