Xbox Official Xbox thread

[avenue94]

After today's headlines it makes me wonder if there is going to be a new XBox in a few years or if Microsoft's gaming division is just going the way of Sega.

Imagine Microsoft as a giant group of 3rd party developers for PS5&6, PC, phone apps, and Switch2.

But more realistically the new XBox will close the distance between PC & Consoles as a hybrid.

Anybody remember this?

There will be. Deals are done and capacity is already bought out. Dev kits will be out next year so engineering samples should be floating around already.

The lead times for hardware are huge.

It won't be a steam machine, the economics of that sucks and its not quite mature enough.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

There will be. Deals are done and capacity is already bought out. Dev kits will be out next year so engineering samples should be floating around already.

The lead times for hardware are huge.

It won't be a steam machine, the economics of that sucks and its not quite mature enough.

I was half-serious when I posted earlier.

But it really does make me wonder... XBox has never made Microsoft money and they're almost two and a half decades into it.
They bought dozens of development studios and even one of the biggest publishers in the industry - Activision/Blizzard.

And they got crushed not only this console generation, but also this generation.

In fact, they've never actually sold more units than PlayStation for any of the generation they've competed.
Not the XBox/PS2 era.
With the XBox360 it sold huge at first, but by the end of that console lifecycle PS3 sold more worldwide.
XboxOne/PS4... Do I need to remind how Microsoft royally fucked themselves over with that one? And they've been in the shitter for 13+ years.

For the SeriesX/S it seemed like they came into this console generation with a plan... And they're still being outsold by the PS5 by over 2 to 1.

It does make me wonder... How much worse could it get for their CEO to say "Fuck this. Microsoft is out of the console business."

 

[avenue94]

I was half-serious when I posted earlier.

But it really does make me wonder... XBox has never made Microsoft money and they're almost two and a half decades into it.
They bought dozens of development studios and even one of the biggest publishers in the industry - Activision/Blizzard.

And they got crushed not only this console generation, but also this generation.

In fact, they've never actually sold more units than PlayStation for any of the generation they've competed.
Not the XBox/PS2 era.
With the XBox360 it sold huge at first, but by the end of that console lifecycle PS3 sold more worldwide.
XboxOne/PS4... Do I need to remind how Microsoft royally fucked themselves over with that one? And they've been in the shitter for 13+ years.

For the SeriesX/S it seemed like they came into this console generation with a plan... And they're still being outsold by the PS5 by over 2 to 1.

It does make me wonder... How much worse could it get for their CEO to say "Fuck this. Microsoft is out of the console business."

I would expect sadly a long slowish death. Software has better margins but Microsoft hasn't shown much ability to leverage its acquisitions and make good, quality games consistently. Software is also much more competitive.

The cloud gaming and subscription angle is the endgame but it's a shitty business and cannabilizes too much legacy revenue. At this point, it feels like Xbox is where Intel was 10 years ago. On the downtrend but making too much money to make the necessary adaptions.

 

[rikwebb]

Just announced on a stream but Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox on August 26th

 

[method115]

Rumor is there is a big push for everyone in the company to start using AI and these cuts are part of that.

 

[Kevster]

Just announced on a stream but Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox on August 26th

 

[milliniar]

Rumor is there is a big push for everyone in the company to start using AI and these cuts are part of that.

Part of my sarcastic comment of these devs being replaced by AI.
Next announcement copilot games studio!

 

[Dizzy]

Awful seeing studio after studio announcing that they’re laying off some or all of their teams.

 

[Kevster]

Next major studio.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

Nope already debunked. He just stated he’s staying for a long time. He should absolutely go though

Executives are never 'fired' they're always say they're going to be in their positions forever until they suddenly are 'stepping down' after years of success in their positions and everyone that works with them are sorry to see them leave.

 

[Zazen]

On the bright side Xbox is getting Helldivers 2.

 

[milliniar]

While not owned by MS seems they killed Romero games studio when they pulled the funding for the game they were working on.

[UPDATE] Romero Games Employee Says 'Whole Studio' Subject to Layoffs After Microsoft Pulls Funding for New Shooter from Doom Co-Creator John Romero - IGN

Romero Games, the studio founded by Doom co-creator John Romero and Brenda Romero, has said it has been left "heartbroken" after discovering that funding for its next project has been pulled, reportedly as part of Microsoft's latest cuts, leaving the game and its team at risk.

www.ign.com

 

[KaNesDeath]

I would expect sadly a long slowish death. Software has better margins but Microsoft hasn't shown much ability to leverage its acquisitions and make good, quality games consistently. Software is also much more competitive.

Microsoft is a software company thats diversified enough to absorb stagnating and or declining gaming sector. EA last decade showed that game studio acquisitions presented long term problems. Why the model followed today by Microsoft is Netflix-esque. With Microsoft and Sony primary growth sector in gaming coming from their digital sale storefront.

When it comes to game exclusivity driving endemic revenue in the console space Nintendo is the clear winner.

 

[avenue94]

Rumor is there is a big push for everyone in the company to start using AI and these cuts are part of that.

That's all of Microsoft and most tech these days. Sad state, not like the video game giants were bursting with creativity before.

Microsoft is a software company thats diversified enough to absorb stagnating and or declining gaming sector. EA last decade showed that game studio acquisitions presented long term problems. Why the model followed today by Microsoft is Netflix-esque. With Microsoft and Sony primary growth sector in gaming coming from their digital sale storefront.

When it comes to game exclusivity driving endemic revenue in the console space Nintendo is the clear winner.

That growth isn't much to write home about when you consider the cost of it. Microsoft hasn't just missed out on good games, it's leveraging IP period and product/market mismatches over and over.

 

[clutchCAT420]

Replaying rdr undead, it still holds up. I have the original disk working on the new xbox (big black box).

 

[Strychnine]

Replaying rdr undead, it still holds up. I have the original disk working on the new xbox (big black box).

That multiplayer survival wave mode was amazing.

 

[Madmick]

I caught a hands-on impressions short review of the upcoming Xbox handheld from an outlet I don't care to link. The review raised one major criticism I'm not used to seeing, but perhaps it's warranted. It's a spec I don't usually even pay attention to, personally.

It's heavy. Probably a double edge there. It might suggest the highest possible build quality and durability. And it's only a matter of ounces. But some people really don't like that. I added in the latest standard iPad for reference to the below.

iPad (11th Gen)	477 g (16.8 oz)	Mar-2025
Nintendo Switch + Joy-Cons	398 g (14.0 oz)	Mar-2017
Nintendo Switch Lite	275 g (9.7 oz)	Sep-2019
Nintendo Switch OLED + Joy-Cons	420 g (14.8 oz)	Oct-2021
Steam Deck (LCD)	669 g (23.6 oz)	Feb-2022
ASUS ROG Ally	608 g (21.4 oz)	Jun-2023
Steam Deck OLED	640 g (22.6 oz)	Nov-2023
Lenovo Legion Go (base module)	640 g (22.6 oz)	Oct-2023
MSI Claw A1M	675 g (23.8 oz)	Mar-2024
ASUS ROG Ally X	678 g (23.9 oz)	July-2024
Nintendo Switch 2 + Joy-Cons	534 g (18.8 oz)	Jun-2025
ASUS ROG Xbox Ally	670 g (23.6 oz)	Late 2025
ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X	715 g (25.2 oz)	Late 2025

 

[KaNesDeath]

Heard about this RCE exploit on older COD games. Basically making their multiplayer unplayable outside of trusted friends. Something a third party launcher that Activision shutdown this year was partially meant to address. But this new news shows the corporate structure at Activision is further deteriorating:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/activision-took-down-call-duty-184419861.html

 

[Madmick]

The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X prices may have leaked — and if true, it's not as bad as I thought​

• Xbox Ally X: €899.
• Xbox Ally: €599.

For comparison, the previous Z1 Extreme ASUS ROG Ally X is currently also €899 in Europe at RRP, although it's currently on sale for $100 off on Amazon Germany.

ASUS and other hardware retailers rarely do 1:1 price conversions on devices like this. At the current exchange rate, an €899 euro ASUS ROG Ally X would come in at $1050 US if that were the case. Instead, the ASUS ROG Ally X typically sports a $799 RRP in the United States, although some US retailers like Best Buy have it at $899 right now, likely due to stock limitations. Indeed, purchasing power, VAT, currency fluctuations, tariffs, and other factors go towards deciding the finalized price. Flat currency conversions are not how prices are decided, so take analyses making such claims with a huge pinch of salt...

The Z1 Extreme regular ASUS ROG Ally is on sale for $649 in the United States, which is where these "leaked" prices potentially get a bit more interesting.

The regular ASUS ROG Ally (Z1 Extreme) is available to buy at around €699 in Europe and $649-ish in the United States, which would put the base model Xbox Ally around €100 cheaper than its higher-end predecessor. This could be a reflection of the power disparity. The lower-end ASUS ROG Ally is listed as $499 on ASUS' website, for reference.

The logic of that is iterated by other UK websites:

Xbox handheld prices accidentally leaked by Asus and they're super expensive

Microsoft's first range of Xbox handhelds look to be an expensive proposition, according to a leak from Asus itself.

metro.co.uk

According to these listings, the cheaper ROG Xbox Ally will be priced at €599, while the ROG Xbox Ally X will be €899. The latter is the same price as the ROG Ally X in Europe, which launched last year, so if this price is true, the higher-end model will likely be £799 in the UK.

Because as many have noted in reaction comments threads across these stories, the UK's British Pound MSRP and the USA's American dollar MSRP for Xbox hardware historically have typically been identical. For example, the Xbox Series X/S launched at an MSRP of £499/£299 in the UK, respectively, mirroring the exact price in the USA at $499/$299.

In other words, the websites reporting this converting to USD based on exchange rates are ignoring precedent. So unless tariffs or unforeseen supply-side issues bork things up, which they could, it's reasonable to expect the higher-end ROG Xbox Ally X to MSRP for $799 ($899 would seem to be the higher expectation).

We won't know until we know, but those predicting a $1K price point would seem to have been prematurely anxious.

 

[avenue94]

In other words, the websites reporting this converting to USD based on exchange rates are ignoring precedent. So unless tariffs or unforeseen supply-side issues bork things up, which they could, it's reasonable to expect the higher-end ROG Xbox Ally X to MSRP for $799 ($899 would seem to be the higher expectation).

We won't know until we know, but those predicting a $1K price point would seem to have been prematurely anxious.

Regardless of how Asus prices it, the should would be prior Asus PCs and handhelds, not consoles. And Asus has quite a bit of regional diversity in pricing identical PCs, even within Europe, not to mention they've performed the worst at navigating new ODM production sites this year.