In an announcement that marks the end of an era, Microsoft has officially ceased the production of first-party games for its Xbox One console. The software giant is now shifting its focus entirely towards the newer generation – the Xbox Series S/X, dubbed as “Gen 9“.
Matt Booty, the chief of Xbox Game Studios, revealed this strategic shift in a recent interview with Axios. While the company will maintain support for Xbox One hardware and continue to provide services for existing games such as Minecraft on this platform, no new titles are being developed by Microsoft’s internal studios for the older console.
No new first-party games designed to run natively on the Xbox One
Microsoft has gradually been ushering in this transition by leveraging its Xbox Cloud Gaming service to extend games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator to existing Xbox One users. In a clear indication of this change, Microsoft’s recent Xbox Games Showcase did not feature any new first-party games designed to run natively on the Xbox One.
Booty highlighted the company’s strategy to use Xbox Cloud Gaming infrastructure to deliver the latest titles to Xbox One users, remarking, “That’s how we’re going to maintain support”.
The newer Xbox Series X, a larger and more robust console, boasts superior GPU power and a larger 16GB RAM, while the smaller Series S offers a 10GB RAM. Though memory constraints have posed challenges for some developers, Microsoft has endeavored to enhance the overall graphics performance of its smaller console and make more memory accessible to developers on the Xbox Series S.
Booty acknowledged the additional effort required to develop for the Xbox Series S but asserted that Microsoft’s in-house game studios have managed to squeeze more performance from games created for the newer console. The company also revealed a black 1TB version of the Xbox Series S console during its showcase to address issues regarding the base Xbox Series S’s 512GB storage capacity.
Reflecting on the past, Xbox chief Phil Spencer confessed that the Xbox One generation had been the company’s lowest point, during which most players built their digital library of games. However, Microsoft is now looking to rebound with the Xbox Series X/S after a relatively quiet year for Xbox releases in 2022. The recent Xbox Games Showcase served as a testament to Microsoft’s comeback strategy, demonstrating a strong lineup of first-party games due to arrive on Xbox in 2023 and 2024.
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