Xbox Series X | S At 4 Years: Still Hanging On

As a long-time gaming enthusiast who has witnessed the rise and fall of several console generations, I must say that the Xbox Series X/S journey has been quite the rollercoaster ride. From its launch in 2020 to the present day, it’s been a fascinating spectacle to behold.

The Xbox Series X and Series S were released on November 10th, 2020, just days before the PlayStation 5. However, their origin story goes back much further. It wasn’t when Phil Spencer announced Project Scarlett in 2019 or even the surprising unveiling of the Series X at The Game Awards alongside “Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2.” Instead, it dates back to 2018. That was when Microsoft Studios confirmed the acquisition of three well-known studios (and Compulsion Games) at E3: Playground Games, famous for “Forza Horizon”; Ninja Theory, which gained attention after “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice”; and Undead Labs, developers of “State of Decay 1” and “2.

Apart from that, Spencer additionally unveiled The Initiative, a fresh studio led by David Gallagher from Crystal Dynamics. At the time, details about their debut project (later revealed as Perfect Dark) were scant. In fact, aside from Playground’s upcoming Forza Horizon 4, due out later that year, each studio’s next venture was a secret. However, following a lackluster period for Xbox One, which had been hampered since its launch by the Mattrick curse, it seemed like Microsoft was taking initial steps towards transformation.

As a passionate fan, I can’t help but feel exhilarated as we witness the evolution of a long-standing joke within the realm of Forza, Gears, and Halo, which reached its pinnacle during the Xbox 360 era. The acquisition of studios like inXile and Double Fine has propelled the number of first-party developers under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella beyond ten by the end of 2019, marking a significant expansion for this gaming powerhouse!

During the journey leading up to the debut of the Xbox Series X/S, there were a few bumps in the road. Crackdown 3, which had been anticipated for years due to its cloud-powered destruction promises, ultimately fell flat and was soon forgotten within a short period. However, The Coalition’s Gears 5 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which arrived on PC, were more successful than not. In fact, the former even generated excitement for Halo Infinite, the upcoming sequel slated to launch simultaneously with the Series X/S.

2020 brought about additional challenges as Ninja Theory’s Bleeding Edge underperformed, but Xbox boasted games like Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Gears Tactics, and Minecraft Dungeons. Regrettably, E3 2020 was called off due to global pandemic concerns. In response, Microsoft unveiled Xbox 20/20, a series of monthly presentations highlighting upcoming titles. While it showcased several third-party games like Yakuza: Like a Dragon, The Ascent, and Dirt 5 arriving on Xbox One and Series X/S in May, the absence of gameplay demonstrations and first-party titles sparked some negative feedback.

Despite being advertised as a monthly event, Xbox 20/20 missed June, causing an increased anticipation for July when the first glimpse of Halo Infinite‘s gameplay would be unveiled. To suggest that fans were just disappointed would be an understatement. The underwhelming visuals dampened any initial enthusiasm, with many now fearing its launch during the Holiday season (despite 343 Industries’ promises of improvements).

The remaining segments didn’t improve significantly: State of Decay 3, Forza Motorsport, Everwild, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, Fable – despite the excitement over numerous major announcements, there was scarcely any gameplay shown, let alone release dates mentioned. Admittedly, the advantage of these games being available on Game Pass from launch was tempting, but for many, it felt as though Microsoft hadn’t absorbed any lessons from their past experiences.

Despite not having a blockbuster launch lineup due to the pandemic-induced semiconductor shortage affecting console production, the Xbox Series X/S still attracted many gamers eager for the next generation. The allure of features like 4K resolution, fast load times thanks to a solid-state drive, HDMI 2.1 with Variable Refresh Rate, Auto HDR, Suspend and Resume, and ray tracing, along with the absence of Kinect, made it an appealing choice even without a large initial game selection.

Despite missing a flagship game at launch, Microsoft’s decision to postpone Halo Infinite was justified, given the chaotic state of its development. Although the Xbox Series X/S initially lacked original titles, Microsoft was still bolstering its first-party portfolio. The acquisition of ZeniMax and Bethesda in September 2020 opened up a promising future, with potential exclusives like Redfall, Starfield, and potentially even The Elder Scrolls 6 on the horizon. Our expectations were high, yet unreasonable – such was our optimism back then.

Upon its debut, the Xbox Series X/S marked Microsoft’s most successful console launch yet, surpassing the sales of the Xbox One. While the Series S garnered significant popularity initially, concerns about its sustainability in the long run started to emerge.

As a gamer, I can’t help but admit that the PS5 seemed to have the upper hand after its release on November 12th, 2020, just two days ahead of Xbox. By December 31st, it had shipped an impressive 4.5 million units, while Microsoft was tight-lipped about their sales numbers. This was quite surprising, especially since Niko Partners predicted a sell-through of 3.5 million units by the end of the year. Despite the PS5 having its fair share of disadvantages, finishing just one million units ahead wasn’t too bad, if you ask me.

Moreover, it’s important to note that this was just the start. Xbox had a lot more in store, but during the initial six months of 2021, they didn’t release any major exclusives. However, Sony’s PS5 didn’t lack in quality games. While it might be debatable whether Destruction AllStars for the PS5 is superior, it did have remastered versions of Nioh 1 and 2, Returnal, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart in the first half of the year.

In July, we finally received the long-awaited games: “Microsoft Flight Simulator” (launched the previous year for PC) and “The Ascent” from Neon Giant. From then on, things began to improve with the launch of “Psychonauts 2” in August, which proved to be exceptional on Xbox Series X/S. However, by this point, console gamers were eagerly seeking something more impressive.

Microsoft responded by announcing “Forza Horizon 5,” marking the biggest debut for Xbox Game Studios yet and a massive success on Game Pass. In its first week, it drew over ten million players and received critical acclaim, making it feel like their long-awaited triumph. Following closely in December was “Halo Infinite,” though it lacked local campaign co-op and Forge Mode at launch, anticipation remained high.

Despite the anticipation surrounding a fresh installment of Halo, December’s release of Halo Infinite unfortunately revealed several issues. The narrative was poorly executed, leaving fans disheartened given the lackluster campaign in Halo 5: Guardians. The multiplayer aspect experienced numerous technical glitches, and it faced criticism for its aggressive monetization strategy and slow character advancement. Clearly, this wasn’t the triumphant end Xbox had hoped for in 2021.

To start off the new year, there was an announcement about Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Despite being mired in various scandals, this deal was still a significant one for Microsoft, bringing popular franchises such as Warcraft and Overwatch under their umbrella. Regulators, however, were quick to scrutinize the deal, pushing the approval process all the way into 2023.

For the remainder of 2022, we saw titles such as “As Dusk Falls,” which later arrived on PlayStation, and “CrossfireX,” best not to dwell on it. “Forza Horizon 5” received some exciting Hot Wheels DLC. Bethesda released “GhostWire: Tokyo” and “Deathloop” for PS5 under a prior one-year exclusivity deal. “Starfield” and “Redfall” were then pushed back to 2023. This left Xbox seeming to be in a period of less prosperity, despite its numerous first-party studios delivering few significant exclusives. Fortunately, Game Pass remained a constant.

As 2023 approached, it became evident that Microsoft was not joking around, as demonstrated by its decision to eliminate approximately 10,000 jobs in March, affecting areas like Xbox and Bethesda. This seriousness was further underlined when they unveiled and quietly released “Hi-Fi Rush,” which received widespread critical acclaim. The pursuit of acquiring Activision Blizzard persisted (finalized in October), hinting at some promising heavyweights to come for the console.

Regrettably, the initial release of Redfall was met with unfavorable reviews from both critics and fans in May, putting Xbox back under scrutiny and causing some to worry about upcoming titles like Starfield potentially facing a similar outcome. However, Spencer attempted to alleviate these concerns, even though statements such as “There is no world where Starfield is a 10 out of 10 masterpiece that makes people sell their PS5s” didn’t exactly boost confidence.

The cross-platform game Minecraft Legends has come and gone; Killer Instinct received an Anniversary Edition, featuring native support for Xbox Series X/S, balance adjustments, and enhanced matchmaking; while Forza Motorsport fell short for many longtime enthusiasts. Essentially, the hope of propping up the Xbox Series X/S and Game Pass rested on Starfield. To some extent, it delivered.

Despite its apparent success on Game Pass and receiving generally favorable reviews, it didn’t lack criticism following its release. Bethesda has been consistently updating the game, including their first expansion, “Shattered Space,” launched in September 2024. To put it simply, it didn’t achieve the level of success they had hoped for.

Over the years, the dashboard for the Xbox Series X/S has undergone major updates and improvements. In March 2021 alone, enhancements were made such as the inclusion of FPS boost and Auto HDR for backward-compatible games. Additionally, free-to-play titles no longer necessitated an Xbox Live Gold subscription, and Quick Resume saw multiple upgrades. The party chat feature was set to receive speech-to-text and text-to-speech capabilities. One of the most groundbreaking features that year was the introduction of Xbox Cloud Gaming, enabling games from the Xbox Series X/S to be played on an Xbox One via cloud technology.

Over time, numerous additional features were introduced. More recently, enhancements included touch controls for Xbox Remote Play and the ability to pre-download updates directly onto consoles. Although opinions about the user interface’s appearance and structure have varied, the collection of new features has generally been noteworthy.

2024 started off relatively calm for Xbox, with just Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 as a highlight (while Palworld saw significant success among third-party games). However, there are exciting titles on the horizon such as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

The income generated from video games, particularly from Activision Blizzard, is on the upswing, however, the earnings from gaming hardware saw a decline in Q1 2025, dipping by 29 percent. Despite this setback, Microsoft remains dedicated to the development of future Xbox equipment. Furthermore, whispers about a possible portable Xbox device like the Steam Deck have been circulating.

As a gamer, I’m pretty excited about the upcoming year for the Xbox Series X/S. We’ve got some confirmed titles like Towerborne in early access, Fable, and South of Midnight. There’s also buzz surrounding Gears of War: E-Day. And let’s not forget about all those unannounced games, such as Perfect Dark, State of Decay 3, Contraband, Clockwork Revolution, and Kojima Productions’ OD that are rumored to be in the pipeline too. So, fingers crossed and let’s hope it all becomes a reality!

Microsoft appears to be just beginning to fully reveal its gaming titles, but four years after the launch of Xbox Series X/S, there’s a sense that it hasn’t quite reached its full potential yet in terms of first-party releases and consistency of quality. Microsoft has faced some challenges, including prioritizing Game Pass and later choosing to release exclusives on other platforms, with many reported issues during development at almost every studio. However, regardless of whether it meets expectations or not, or if it continues to trail behind or somehow disrupts the current order, its future is far from uncertain for now.

2024-11-13 19:13

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