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[Mr Hyde]

After watching todays Developer Direct from Xbox, it´s safe to say that Xbox has a very bright future ahead. As a publisher, they will be a force to be reckoned with, as 2025 looks to be one of the best years for Microsoft in terms of output, either as a third party publisher or as first party developer. Kicking off the Direct with Ninja Gaiden 4, an awesome collaboration between Team Ninja and Platinum, it was clear from the get go that Microsoft went into this Direct with a lot of confidence in their studios and their work. Four games were showcased and everyone of them looked fantastic. They even shadow dropped a UE5 remake of Ninja Gaiden 2 on Game Pass, which is pretty bonkers to say the least.

2025 might actually be the year where the infamous "wait till next year"-meme that has surrounded Xbox for years, finally comes true. They have a banger release every month up until May, and after that intense release schedule, summer arrives with more notable games such as Fable, Perfect Dark and whatever Double Fine is working on. The year hasn´t even started and MS is going out with a bang. What more surprises do they have in store? I think we´re in for a real treat. Microsoft may be losing the hardware race, but when it comes to software they are dominating like never before. Gone are the days when tepid releases like Crackdown 3 was all MS had to show.

Xbox is firing on all cylinders, keeping the video game industry healthy and alive.

 

[Prekk]

What's Xbox?

 

[IFireflyl]

Xbox as a brand/publisher? Sure. Xbox as a console? I just don't see how. They are actively working towards platform agnosticism which devalues their hardware.

 

[ZoolNL]

Xbox has a lot of amazing games!

 

[Robb]

Xbox died when they went full on 3rd party. The only future it has is in a coffin.

Give it a few years and it’ll just be “Microsoft Game Studios”.

 

[diffusionx]

What do you mean by Xbox here?

 

[RetroGamingUK]

Xbox as in the publisher shows promise

Xbox as in the console is dead

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Xbox as in the publisher shows promise

Xbox as in the console is dead

/end thread

 

[TheGodfather07]

You mean xbox game studios? Xbox as an actual console brand is finished.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

What do you mean by Xbox here?

They need to just rename them back to Microsoft Game Studios to avoid this confusion

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

They are fully commited as a publisher and fully dead as a platform-holder.

Either way, finally.

 

[UltimaKilo]

They need to just rename them back to Microsoft Game Studios to avoid this confusion

Two different departments. People would need to get fired, of which I would be all for.

 

[rm082e]

Like everyone else has said, they should rebrand all the software to "Microsoft Game Studios". In that sense, I'm very excited and hopeful for their future. As for the console hardware, ehhhh.....

Ninja Gaiden Black is one of my all time favorite games. The idea that we're getting NG4, and it might be good is fucking crazy and awesome at the same time. I'm very hopeful that turns out good.

 

[Shaki12345]

Sony is in big trouble. Getting saved by Microsoft is a bad look.

Microsoft doesn't need a console when they're the biggest publisher in the world.

Sony was aping Microsoft for years with their PS+ and look what it brought them.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

As a publisher, they will be a force to be reckoned with

I mean after buying half the industry they better be a force otherwise the industry is toast.

 

[Big Baller]

Xbox won.

 

[Unknown?]

If you look at charts for PS5, there's a lot of Microsoft there.

 

[Oppoi]

I mean after buying half the industry they better be a force otherwise the industry is toast.

I still think it's pretty amazing. A true underdog story like this is worthy our praise.

 

[Judge Magister]

Absolutely. Xbox keeps winning.

 

[Thief1987]

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Game Pass is looking particularly strong.

 

[Spitfire098]

Microsoft gaming has a bright future ahead...

 

[kiphalfton]

Xbox as in the publisher shows promise

Xbox as in the console is dead

If they dropped hardware and all the stupid pointless merchandise, and instead focused solely on game development, that would help out tremendously.

There's some stuff that showed high potential like Tunic, Hifi Rush, etc. They got it in them, they just lack focus.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

jez corden account.

 

[JORMBO]

They finally got their act together and appear to have a good lineup of games that will come out this year. So now they decide to go third party and port them to their competitor who is struggling....

 

[Synastry]

They finally got their act together and appear to have a good lineup of games that will come out this year. So now they decide to go third party and port them to their competitor who is struggling....

PS or Nintendo are struggling?

 

[MayauMiao]

Xbox has a lot of amazing games!

Yes the PC does indeed has a lot of games.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

2025 might actually be the year where the infamous "wait till next year

 

[j0hnnix]

They finally got their act together and appear to have a good lineup of games that will come out this year. So now they decide to go third party and port them to their competitor who is struggling....

 

[Shaki12345]

jez corden account.

Why does anyone even trust Jez Corden. Dude is full of it since day 1.

 

[Cakeboxer]

The brand yes, the hardware no.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Man, marketing is working overtime

Playstation 5 the worst generation in gaming that needs fixing

Meanwhile Microsoft is the savior of gaming that’s blessing us to the holy land with their third party announcements of studios they had zero responsibility in growing

 

[Embearded]

You guys were hungry as fuck.
All they showed was a couple of Ninja Gaiden games, one of which is a remake (and this forum hates remakes...).

You are also quick to congratulate MS for games that are most probably under development since before the buyouts. All they deserve for this is a big thank you for not cancelling them.
They will be responsible for the releases of the publishers and studios they bought this generation, closer to the end of it.

I truly hope they will make a great comeback, competition is critical.

 

[ProtoByte]

Xbox as in the publisher shows promise

I wouldn't even say that. Their games aren't going to sell what they need to because of Gamepass. Why are we even so sure that these games they're showing will be good?

I know everyone is (strangely) high on Indiana Jones, but the results speak for themselves, and that was greenlit before Microsoft took over operations.

 

[LordCBH]

Im looking forward to Avowed next month (unpopular opinion, I know), Doom looks sick, can’t wait to see Fable.

 

[nial]

They finally got their act together and appear to have a good lineup of games that will come out this year. So now they decide to go third party and port them to their competitor who is struggling....

There's nothing here that is leagues ahead of amything Sony does. Doom: The Dark Ages looks fantastic and some people are looking it as a GOTY contender? Sony already had a GOTY win last month. Microsoft is publishing a game from an IP that they don't own that is developed by Koei Tecmo? LITERALLY the same case with Sony publishing Rise of the Ronin last year.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

As a brand and/or publisher.....nothing more.

 

[Synastry]

Man, marketing is working overtime

Playstation 5 the worst generation in gaming that needs fixing

Meanwhile Microsoft is the savior of gaming that’s blessing us to the holy land with their third party announcements of studios they had zero responsibility in growing

You guys were hungry as fuck.
All they showed was a couple of Ninja Gaiden games, one of which is a remake (and this forum hates remakes...).

You are also quick to congratulate MS for games that are most probably under development since before the buyouts. All they deserve for this is a big thank you for not cancelling them.
They will be responsible for the releases of the publishers and studios they bought this generation, closer to the end of it.

I truly hope they will make a great comeback, competition is critical.

Fully agree but they have to follow the marching orders no matter what.

 

[LordCBH]

I wouldn't even say that. Their games aren't going to sell what they need to because of Gamepass. Why are we even so sure that these games they're showing will be good?

I know everyone is (strangely) high on Indiana Jones, but the results speak for themselves, and that was greenlit before Microsoft took over operations.

I think we need to see how it plays out when their multiplatform shift starts with the day one releases this year.

 

[LectureMaster]

Well, except all the announced games are coming to other platforms as well?

 

[Cakeboxer]

Man, marketing is working overtime

You are working overtime.

 

[Humdinger]

As a publisher, yeah, they're one of the biggest. However, cheering the success of a publisher seems weird to me. Like cheering for EA or Tencent or something. Yay?

 

[Syphon Filter]

i dont see a bright future for xbox. all games are also on pc and ps5.

 

[Loomy]

Let's not get carried away here.

The two Ninja Gaiden games are being published by Koei Tecmo, Expedition 3 is being published by Kepler Interactive, and the other 2 games we already knew about(one of them Gaf apparently hated just a few short months ago still hates).

Microsoft has yet to show their own Xbox Studios teams outside of acquisitions can actually release games.

 

[ungalo]

You guys were hungry as fuck.
All they showed was a couple of Ninja Gaiden games, one of which is a remake (and this forum hates remakes...).

You are also quick to congratulate MS for games that are most probably under development since before the buyouts. All they deserve for this is a big thank you for not cancelling them.
They will be responsible for the releases of the publishers and studios they bought this generation, closer to the end of it.

I truly hope they will make a great comeback, competition is critical.

They will not make any comeback as anything else than a publisher. This ship has sailed.

And they have the potential to be a good publisher clearly. That would be very weird if they actually became popular and liked by everyone for their content.

 

[TheGodfather07]

They finally got their act together and appear to have a good lineup of games that will come out this year. So now they decide to go third party and port them to their competitor who is struggling....

Did you check the NPD thread? ( I'll never call it Circana). Sony isn't struggling at all. They are in fact cruising. The fact that they can botch their own first party but still sell so many consoles only reinforces how strong the brand is.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

This thread is rage bait. Has to be

 

[JORMBO]

Did you check the NPD thread? ( I'll never call it Circana). Sony isn't struggling at all. They are in fact cruising. The fact that they can botch their own first party but still sell so many consoles only reinforces how strong the brand is.

Sony first party this year is struggling. Or "botched", as you said. Sales charts don't matter too much to me as a consumer. I just find it funny Sony first party will be sparse this year and MS has a pretty decent pipeline, and this is the time they decide to start mass porting everything.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

It's funny how Xbox' bright future is only possible by releasing their games on Playstation.

 

[Elfstar]

Pffffffttttt