Xbox has closed a disappointing year. During the recent edition of the Game Awards, the largest showcase for the video game industry, and of the few events that have managed to maintain the participation of multiple giants, those directed by Phil Spencer passed without pain or glory. It is not a joke, Microsoft only showed an Xbox Game Pass commercial during an ad break.
We knew beforehand that Xbox was not going to stand out among the nominees and consistent winners of the 2022 Game Awards. Not because of a lack of quality, but simply because they didn’t release a single decent game all year. One that managed to be recognized and applauded by the industry.
Part of the Xbox community hoped that the green brand would take advantage of the moments of world revelations to try to make up for it. After all, it is these announcements that provide a glimpse into the future of companies and also their current state.
On what were those hopes based? The people of Xbox, being aware of their release drought in 2022, have anticipated that next year will be very different. In fact, if we look at its 2023 release schedule, the outlook certainly looks much more positive.
Now, if you really have multiple projects on the horizon to debut next year, why not take advantage of such a valuable date in December to share a preview of them? Why not close the year with some joy for your community? Is there really nothing new to show about Starfield either redfall?.
Some might mistakenly mention that the Game Awards have never been Microsoft’s preferred event for making relevant announcements. Perhaps it has been forgotten that just three years ago, in 2019, we were surprised with the presentation of the Xbox Series X. It was, by far, the most significant news that that edition left. That same day, they even announced Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. At the gala the following year they did the same with the reboot from Perfect Dark.
I find it incredible that Phil Spencer attended the 2022 Game Awards just to see how Sony and Nintendo received awards and presented news. I don’t understand.
By the way… where are the aforementioned new Ninja Theory and The Initiative titles? The null response to this question shows the brand’s inability to have a solid and persistent calendar of its own launches.
A problem deeper than the absence in an event
Xbox had just closed a 2021 with a “firm” step after launching the fascinating force horizon 5 Y Halo Infinite. However, the second reached that date in an accidental way. We must remember that the 343 Industries game, so criticized today for its disappointing multiplayer, should have been released at the end of 2020. Its objective was to accompany the launch of the Xbox Series X | S, and it did not succeed due to its questionable visual quality. Be careful, these consoles came to the market without a killer app And they stayed that way for months.
Expanding the panorama towards the still short period of life of the current generation, the truth is that library first party of Xbox has not lived up to in these two years. Yes, Game Pass is the best service on the market, but it cannot be entirely dependent on third-party games or medium-sized projects.
It is inconceivable that titles like The Medium either scorn They have been taken as temporary banners of the platform -by the community itself- due to the lack of exclusive AAA titles. Such games were assigned a responsibility that was not theirs, and the consequences came quickly. Two weeks after their debut they stopped talking about them…
Sadly, Xbox 2022 will be remembered, almost entirely, for the Activision Blizzard purchase proposal and all the morbidity that has been generated around it. Those of Redmond intend to disburse 68,700 million dollars to take over all the assets of the publisher American; including widely popular franchises like call of duty, Overwatch Y world of warcraft. However, the FTC has stood in their way.
It is evident that a good part of Microsoft’s efforts, mainly in marketing issues, have been devoted to announce how the purchase of Activision is positive for the entire market. They’re doing their job of course, but I’d like to see a game as close as redfall receive the same space and attention.
Not long ago, Xbox launched a website where they explain the benefits of buying Activision. It was disseminated on their social networks and some managers shared it on their personal accounts. hopefully the latest trailer for redfall would have had a similar disclosure. Instead, they chose to share it on the same day they held the event for the 25th anniversary of Age of Empires. The diffusion in official channels was minimal.
Personally, I’m starting to get annoyed with their statements explaining how much the purchase of Activision benefits the industry, when they haven’t even been able to benefit their own platform with major releases…
It is very sad that the only thing “relevant” to Xbox in 2022 has been the hype over Activision. Your community is more aware of the crossing of statements with Sony and regulatory bodies, instead of talking or enjoying some exclusive playable experience that has made them value the platform even more. This year I saw more announcements for wireless controller designs than for games. first party. That pretty much sums up where Xbox is today.