Xbox has long been on the losing side of the console wars, dominated year after year by Sony and Nintendo, and there is huge ground to make up in that fight—but Microsoft made some huge strides this year.
Xbox Game Pass remains the jewel in the crown and offers day-one access to first-party titles, but they have often fallen beneath the bar that gamers have set, though Xbox is certainly showing signs of returning to its glory years.
Overall, 2023 has been a rollercoaster ride for Microsoft and Xbox following mergers, high-profile releases, and exciting developments, which could finally spark life into Microsoft’s slumbering status in the gaming world.
Activision Blizzard merge completes—but not without its issues
The console wars usually wager behind the scenes, where Sony and Microsoft plot their next move and react to their rivals, but the Activision Blizzard merger didn’t just provide a peek behind the curtain—it tore it down completely.
After a long, drawn-out process, the merger finally got the green light from UK regulators, and while it was a major success for Microsoft, the completion of the deal came too late to impact the releases of Diablo 4 and Modern Warfare 3.
Both those titles should arrive on Xbox Game Pass in 2024, and whatever Activision has up its sleeve for 2024’s Call of Duty, it now seems likely to land day one on the service. It will not, however, be an Xbox exclusive after a deal was reached with PlayStation back in July.
Given the cross-platform success that multiple Activision Blizzard titles, including Overwatch, have, it remains to be seen whether Microsoft will flex its exclusivity muscles at all—but the fact its added more huge titles to its library is a massive show of strength.
Xbox Game Pass goes from strength to strength
Xbox Game Pass has continued to cement itself as the best gaming subscription service on the market, with a staggering back catalog of games that gets stronger every month—and offering first-party titles as part of the subscription is a huge perk compared to Sony’s PlayStation Plus.
There has been something for everyone in 2023, ranging from Forza Motorsport to Exoprimal, Starfield to Remnant 2, and everything else in between. In fact, there’s so much in the Xbox Game Pass catalog that even the most dedicated gamer will struggle to try everything.
Microsoft clearly has huge plans for Xbox Game Pass, which is also available on PC, and the stronger the service gets, the deals Xbox can offer publishers to include the game in the subscription gets even more enticing.
Starfield and Redfall show first-party offerings need improvement
Despite the day-one releases on Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s first-party offerings are still dwarfed by rivals Sony. Everything PlayStation touches seems to turn to gold, with the likes of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy 16 stronger than anything Microsoft can deliver.
It seemed that 2023 would be the year to break this mold with Redfall and Starfield, both of which were highly-anticipated releases from Bethesda’s studios, yet both failed to make the impression Microsoft would have wanted.
Starfield suffered from an immense amount of hype and, in truth, could never meet the expectations placed upon it, but it was certainly a weaker game than the likes of Skyrim and Fallout 4. Redfall, meanwhile, was a huge flop, and the less said about it, the better.
Microsoft can ill afford similar disappointments with future releases, but there are some promising signs, particularly landing exclusivity for the upcoming Indiana Jones game and the recent announcement of Marvel’s Blade.
Xbox Series S hardware questions remain
Microsoft’s more affordable sibling to the powerful Xbox Series X has been under the microscope ever since its release, with questions as to whether it can truly provide a cheaper way to play the biggest AAA games—and 2023 saw that debate thrust into the limelight again.
Baldur’s Gate 3 finally arrived on Xbox in December, long after it was released on PlayStation, and there was a lot of back-and-forth regarding the status of Larian Studios’ Game of the Year winner and why it didn’t arrive on Xbox earlier.
Console parity between the two Xbox consoles was stated as a reason, then rebuffed by Phil Spencer, before an agreement was reached. While Microsoft could breathe a sigh of relief in the end, it only acted as a spark to reignite the question marks about Xbox Series S.
Amid all those questions, however, the Xbox Series S did seem to perform well enough running the likes of Starfield, so Microsoft will be hoping that further successes will erase the talking point entirely.
Huge platform to build upon
The turbulence throughout 2023 is something Microsoft will certainly be glad to see the back of, but despite all the ups and downs along the way, it could go down as the turning point for Xbox overall.
Upcoming games like Fable, Avowed, Indiana Jones, and Marvel’s Blade have raised hope that, for once, Xbox won’t be relying on the same-old characters in first-party titles, finally giving a rest to poor-old Master Chief and the Gears of War cast, who have been recycled more times than tap water.
Creating new characters to launch new franchises is nothing new for Microsoft, but the big difference is the established characters it can now turn to due to deals put in place with Disney, delivering Indiana Jones and Marvel’s Blade, and the Activision Blizzard merger which puts Spyro and Crash Bandicoot in team green.
We may have to wait a few more years to see those games release and Microsoft capitalize on the work it has put in place in 2023, but there are certainly plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
Published: Dec 20, 2023 04:13 am