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Xbox Gaf: Are you satisfied with the current state of Microsoft Game Studios?

From a campaign or MP point of view? The MP is seriously lacking compared to Halo 3, Reach and even Halo 5.





Splatoon 3 - September 9th
Mario Strikers - June 10th
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - July 29th
Fire Emblem - June 24th

Third party exclusives: Triangle Strategy & MH Sunbreak

MS have nothing currently slated for 2022. Nintendo can delay Metroid and Zelda because their release schedule is plentiful.
Campaign. Halo 5 had a brilliant multiplayer and 4 player co-op on day one. I doubt you'll hold it up to the best HALO.

3 titles coming from NCL this year. WOW! I guess that makes up for their draught last year.
BTW Intelligent systems isn't an In-House team
 

Handel

Member
This question is being preemptively asked considering there is a showcase early next month where we'll know more about the upcoming schedule and what to expect from the games.

- Are you concerned about another barebones year with Starfield and Redfall getting delayed? 2020 was fairly empty too. : Not really, given there are tons of third party games, and there are many GamePass games I've yet to play. Plus there are several first-party titles that may come this year, like Hellblade.

- Are you ok with the lack of next gen only games on xbox so far this gen? : The difference between last gen and this gen is minor compared to prior generations, and in previous gens it took a few years for devs to get the hang of the new hardware enough to put out something truly indicative of "next gen". Good games are good games, regardless of if they're making use of "new" (actually old) tech.

- They say it's darkest before the dawn. Are you confident MS will have a killer E3 conference with Perfect Dark, Forza, Hellblade, Fable, Starfield, Avowed and State of Decay 2 all making an appearance? That they are about to turn the corner? : There is a good chance that they can right the ship, in the way that most people think that they need to. Delays are just a natural part of things and have been happening to every publisher, people just can't help making a fanboy war out of things when it happens to games by platform holders.

- Everyone from Nintendo, Sony to From Software are delaying games. Should MS with their infinite war chest be held to a different standard? : Throwing money at a problem doesn't work very well when it comes to creative endeavors.
 
I just love all the doom and gloom just weeks before theyir showcase. If they have nothing to show for this year then, okay, then I'll roll my eyes at them.

But now? After delivering me a great Halo experience (I don't play multiplayer so don't care about the seasons) and Psychonauts 2 plus lots of fun stuff through game pass, I haven't had time to consider whether or not something is missing.
Yep, last year was great. This year obviously seems barren now, but they're not gonna end the year with zero games released, I refuse to believe that :messenger_beaming: If they do, I expect Uncle Phil to moneyhat us some nice day one Gampass games.
 

Kimahri

Banned
Yep, last year was great. This year obviously seems barren now, but they're not gonna end the year with zero games released, I refuse to believe that :messenger_beaming: If they do, I expect Uncle Phil to moneyhat us some nice day one Gampass games.
Yeah, and their press thing is just weeks away, of course they're gonna show something.

I couldn't be less worried.
 

CeeJay

Member
I really don't feel like I am in the middle of a drought. Having a Gamepass sub means there is a steady flow of quality games regardless of whether they are first or third party. It's obvious that since the flurry of acquisitions there are dozens of first party titles currently in development. We have also had one of the GOATs released a few months ago (ER) that has totally satisfied my gaming needs in the first half of this year. I really don't get why so many people get hung up on the exclusive output on console when the majority of gamers put more time into multiplatform titles. Sure it's a differentiator and a quality first party library increases the sales of the hardware but for me as a consumer why should it matter? All consoles are selling well and both Sony and MS are investing heavily into first party so we know that whichever console we choose is going to have done amazing first party games this generation even if they are going to be in the development oven a year or two longer than they were planned to be. We have all seen the effect on the market market of various things over the last few years, Fukushima, COVID, Suez canal to name a few which have affected or lives in ways we couldn't have guessed and disrupted many supply chains. Games take a long time to develop so it stands to reason that the effects of all these things are going to carry on being felt until every game in development during these various world events is released. There really is no need to be concerned, there are some very good reasons why games are getting some lengthy delays.
 
I really don't feel like I am in the middle of a drought. Having a Gamepass sub means there is a steady flow of quality games regardless of whether they are first or third party. It's obvious that since the flurry of acquisitions there are dozens of first party titles currently in development. We have also had one of the GOATs released a few months ago (ER) that has totally satisfied my gaming needs in the first half of this year. I really don't get why so many people get hung up on the exclusive output on console when the majority of gamers put more time into multiplatform titles. Sure it's a differentiator and a quality first party library increases the sales of the hardware but for me as a consumer why should it matter? All consoles are selling well and both Sony and MS are investing heavily into first party so we know that whichever console we choose is going to have done amazing first party games this generation even if they are going to be in the development oven a year or two longer than they were planned to be. We have all seen the effect on the market market of various things over the last few years, Fukushima, COVID, Suez canal to name a few which have affected or lives in ways we couldn't have guessed and disrupted many supply chains. Games take a long time to develop so it stands to reason that the effects of all these things are going to carry on being felt until every game in development during these various world events is released. There really is no need to be concerned, there are some very good reasons why games are getting some lengthy delays.
I'm only sad about Starfield because I was looking forward to it even before I bought my first Xbox. I wanted to play it on PC back then. It's the next big Bethesda game, being hyped for it has nothing to do with which console you prefer. I bet a lot of PC bros are sad too.
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
apart from ratchet non of them are big hitters even if they are decent games. all the big hitters got pushed to this year, GOW , gran turismo and Horizon all got delayed to this year
Yep but this doesn't change the fact that they published games what MS has announced for this year ?You are comparing a year when sony released at least 3 first party games and a shitload of updated version of their games to as far as we know now nothing....And to you this is basically the same....There was someone in this thread asking if we should ask more from MS than its competition , you are not even asking the minimum from them and are happy.
 

Hezekiah

Banned
Yeah i'm so transparently an xbox fanboy that i don't even possess an xbox but i have a ps5 at home since day one...

If you really think that having crossgen projects doesn't help with having the better/bigger library in the first 1-2 years i have a bridge to sell to you...
Didn't help the shitshow that Halo Infinite ended up being - one year delay, blatantly unfinished campaign, and still hardly any multiplayer content five months later.
 

sircaw

Banned
.
I'm only sad about Starfield because I was looking forward to it even before I bought my first Xbox. I wanted to play it on PC back then. It's the next big Bethesda game, being hyped for it has nothing to do with which console you prefer. I bet a lot of PC bros are sad too.
i am kinda in the same boat, i do like fallout games, and this is hopefully fallout in space.

My interest in the game supersedes/superseeds/supercedes(FUCK YOU DYSLEXIA) platforms. "lollipop_disappointed:
 

Y0ssarian

Banned
This is like Dragon Age Inquisition winning game of the year in 2014.
Great game!

To answer OPs question. No, I am not happy with it, but I don't really play on Xbox for the first party games. I will just check em out when they come to Game Pass
 

ToTTenTranz

Banned
To OP's question:

Well no, I can't say I'm satisfied for 2022. My wishlist for Microsoft's current studios include:

- new Gears
- new Quake
- new Fable
- new Prey
- new Outer Worlds
- new Wolfenstein
- new Elder Scrolls



Unless I'm mistaken there's not one of these releasing in 2022. I don't know if Starfield would be a game I wanted to play because I don't know what it's like, but even that one was pushed to next year.

I'm probably still going to play Halo Infinite this year though. Assuming they get the coop campaign and RT up and running before the end of the year (which they may not).
 

Hezekiah

Banned
To OP's question:

Well no, I can't say I'm satisfied for 2022. My wishlist for Microsoft's current studios include:

- new Gears
- new Quake
- new Fable
- new Prey
- new Outer Worlds
- new Wolfenstein
- new Elder Scrolls



Unless I'm mistaken there's not one of these releasing in 2022. I don't know if Starfield would be a game I wanted to play because I don't know what it's like, but even that one was pushed to next year.

I'm probably still going to play Halo Infinite this year though. Assuming they get the coop campaign and RT up and running before the end of the year (which they may not).
Unfortunately the Wolfenstein guys are working on Indiana Jones, but that could be good aswell.
 

ToTTenTranz

Banned
Unfortunately the Wolfenstein guys are working on Indiana Jones, but that could be good aswell.
For me Indiana Jones may be a good game, a great GOTY title even. But like Starfield I can't put on my wishlist something I know hardly anything about.

It is a title with very fierce competition, though. It's going right up against the Tomb Raider and Uncharted franchises.
 
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johnjohn

Member
I'm definitely satisfied with their stable of studios at this point. When the Activision deal closes they're going to have like 40 + teams... They're going to have some nice surprises at their show in a month.
 
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Kacho

Gold Member
27 and 33 months of torture. And then people wonder why I had a meltdown every time Deathloop showed up at a state of play. 33 months!
You joke but at least Sony is being proactive snagging temp exclusives to fill the void. I wish the folks running Xbox did the same. I know they did that with Ark 2 and Stalker 2 but those games are eternity away just like most of Xbox's announced lineup.
 

justiceiro

Marlboro: Other M
I didn't started gaming a year ago, I'm this for longer than Microsoft themselves. I know where they stand and what they are capable of. I would never have got a Xbox because of Microsoft first party output, i don't really care about fps, but game pass is just too good to get indies games of all tastes.

Besides, even on first party front Xbox has given me some really good games like Forza, age of empires and even Microsoft simulator. Those last 2 franchises were dead and buried before Phil took realm, so how could I complain.

Maybe I'm being complacent, but they know how to give me options to not expect a lot. A cheaper console , a cheaper way to get games, it seems they really know we're they stand, and I'm satisfied with that.
 

supernova8

Banned
When was the last time Xbox had an absolutely fantastic game? I can think of several "good" or "solid" Xbox Games Studios games but nothing springs to mind on the level of some of the stuff Playstation or Nintendo has put out. Even in the last generation, Xbox One really didn't have much in the way "woah amazing" games.


Weird thing, of course not the definitive list by any means (or even close), but look at IGN's top 100 and count how many Xbox-only (or Xbox studio at least) games are on the list versus Playstation and Nintendo exclusives (I mean first party, not money-hatted).

Xbox has 5, Playstation has 7, and Nintendo has way more (unsurprising since Nintendo has been in the game (pun intended) since the early 80s.

In other words, Xbox started the generation last (one after Playstation) and yet still has a solid number of memorable games. So... what the hell happened? Their capacity to put out amazing games seems to have gone down the pan in the last 5 years or so.
 
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johnjohn

Member
When was the last time Xbox had an absolutely fantastic game? I can think of several "good" or "solid" Xbox Games Studios games but nothing springs to mind on the level of some of the stuff Playstation or Nintendo has put out. Even in the last generation, Xbox One really didn't have much in the way "woah amazing" games.


Weird thing, of course not the definitive list by any means (or even close), but look at IGN's top 100 and count how many Xbox-only (or Xbox studio at least) games are on the list versus Playstation and Nintendo exclusives (I mean first party, not money-hatted).

Xbox has 5, Playstation has 7, and Nintendo has way more (unsurprising since Nintendo has been in the game (pun intended) since the early 80s.

In other words, Xbox started the generation last (one after Playstation) and yet still has a solid number of memorable games. So... what the hell happened? Their capacity to put out amazing games seems to have gone down the pan in the last 5 years or so.
Well they did win publisher of the year last year... Just off the top of my head, I would say Flight Sim, Forza, and Psychonauts 2 are all fantastic genre leading games from the last year.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
You joke but at least Sony is being proactive snagging temp exclusives to fill the void. I wish the folks running Xbox did the same. I know they did that with Ark 2 and Stalker 2 but those games are eternity away just like most of Xbox's announced lineup.
Eh, I didnt care for either game and I just dont equate games like Godfall, Deathloop and Ghostwire with PS. I think it dilutes the brand Shu help build with GOTY after GOTY between 2013 and 2020. I think the only years they failed to win GOTY awards was in 2015 and 2017 when once in a generation games like Witcher 3 and BOTW beat out runner ups Horizon Zero Dawn and Bloodborne. Shu's third party collabs were way better with From, Kojima and Square Enix releasing GOTY caliber titles with amazing high production values we have come to expect from Sony first party. Deathpoop, Godfail and Ghostwire felt like B games at best.

That said, Bluepoint and Housemarque were technically third party when they made and released Returnal and Demon Souls, so yes, Sony knew that their first party would have fuck all for launch and they had contigency plans in case GT7, HFW and GOW got delayed out of 2021 which they all did. MS's contigency plan was acquiring entire publishers that were going to release Starfield and Redfall on XBox anyway. Not sure if i care for that approach. They shouldve hired smaller studios to remake games or release shorter next gen games like Returnal and Ratchet. Platinum is also very productive and while no longer a critic darling, a smaller game from them wouldve filled in 2022.

I am blown away by the fact that neither Sony nor Microsoft went out and wrote Kojima a blank check at the end of 2019. He is so productive, he wouldve definitely had a next gen game ready by 2022. Instead he was forced to shop around and waste his time with Stadia.
 
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samoilaaa

Member
This question is being preemptively asked considering there is a showcase early next month where we'll know more about the upcoming schedule and what to expect from the games.

- Are you concerned about another barebones year with Starfield and Redfall getting delayed? 2020 was fairly empty too. : Not really, given there are tons of third party games, and there are many GamePass games I've yet to play. Plus there are several first-party titles that may come this year, like Hellblade.

- Are you ok with the lack of next gen only games on xbox so far this gen? : The difference between last gen and this gen is minor compared to prior generations, and in previous gens it took a few years for devs to get the hang of the new hardware enough to put out something truly indicative of "next gen". Good games are good games, regardless of if they're making use of "new" (actually old) tech.

- They say it's darkest before the dawn. Are you confident MS will have a killer E3 conference with Perfect Dark, Forza, Hellblade, Fable, Starfield, Avowed and State of Decay 2 all making an appearance? That they are about to turn the corner? : There is a good chance that they can right the ship, in the way that most people think that they need to. Delays are just a natural part of things and have been happening to every publisher, people just can't help making a fanboy war out of things when it happens to games by platform holders.

- Everyone from Nintendo, Sony to From Software are delaying games. Should MS with their infinite war chest be held to a different standard? : Throwing money at a problem doesn't work very well when it comes to creative endeavors.
wow its very rare to find a mature response around here
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
This is like Dragon Age Inquisition winning game of the year in 2014.
Man that was a rough year. I totally forgot about it lol.

IIRC, fucking Bayonetta 2 won on gaf that year because Sony phoned in that year, and while MS had a decent year with Sunset and Titanfall, neither game was OMG thats my GOTY material though i did end up giving Sunset my goty because fuck Dragon Age Hinterlands.

Last year, MS just had a great overall year. I thought FH5 was overrated by critics but there is no doubt having pschyonauts, halo and forza all hit 90 metacritic is a good year. Wish they had at least 2 next gen only games because FH5 did not impress me visually at all.
 
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Honestly I think they have been in line with how the industry has been doing post Covid.
It is a shame but it isn’t like they are the only ones.
 
I didn't started gaming a year ago, I'm this for longer than Microsoft themselves. I know where they stand and what they are capable of. I would never have got a Xbox because of Microsoft first party output, i don't really care about fps, but game pass is just too good to get indies games of all tastes.

Besides, even on first party front Xbox has given me some really good games like Forza, age of empires and even Microsoft simulator. Those last 2 franchises were dead and buried before Phil took realm, so how could I complain.

Maybe I'm being complacent, but they know how to give me options to not expect a lot. A cheaper console , a cheaper way to get games, it seems they really know we're they stand, and I'm satisfied with that.

Each to their own dude. Nothing complacent about that, it’s your money and time.
 

Pelta88

Member
No.

I'm a long time XBOX gamer. I've been fortunate enough to own both consoles since the PS2/360. But I feel like I've been holding out for something from Microsoft since Quantum Break 2016. I bought a series X at launch but despite the promises I haven't had anything besides GP offerings. Like where is the meat and potatoes?

What annoys me is that XBOX were firm on the Starfield release date. And despite never seeing gameplay I allowed myself to believe.

It's really frustrating.
 
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Give me next gen forza motorsport , the reason I bought this big black box and I dnt care about anything , everything else is chery on the top
 

MrTentakel

Member
As an Xbox owner I`m not happy with the first party output. Not even close!
It´s completely beyond me how MS owns so many brilliant studios while lacking constant quality output.
As an PS5 owner, I´m uneasy as well. Playstation is best with Microsoft breathing down their necks. The market has shown again and again that the consumer ist f*ked if there`s no strong competition.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
I think my posting history should confirm that there is no love lost between me and Xbox's first party output. There is no real reason for me to drone on and on about this stuff, but I am interested in hearing what Xbox fans think of Microsoft's lackluster output this gen.

- Are you concerned about another barebones year with Starfield and Redfall getting delayed? 2020 was fairly empty too.

Nope, my backlog is a mile long.

- Are you ok with the lack of next gen only games on xbox so far this gen?

Yep see above. I also have PS5 games to play upcoming and in the same backlog.......

- If not, who do you blame for this? Sony gaf blames Jim Ryan for everything; I blame him for the Ukraine war. Does Phil Spencer shoulder some of this blame after 9 years at the helm?

I don't know who to blame. I do think there is a crap ton of games (a lot AAA) actually coming in the next 2-4 years, so sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

- They say it's darkest before the dawn. Are you confident MS will have a killer E3 conference with Perfect Dark, Forza, Hellblade, Fable, Starfield, Avowed and State of Decay 2 all making an appearance? That they are about to turn the corner?
Exactly, see above.

- Everyone from Nintendo, Sony to From Software are delaying games. Should MS with their infinite war chest be held to a different standard?
Nope.

Note to Sony gaf: No offense, but I can predict your posts just by looking at your name tags lol so let's just see what real fans of Xbox have to say first.

Yep.
 

Handel

Member

While Sony has been better about their reveal to release windows than Microsoft (due to the backlash from having nothing new to show at E3 2018), this is a grossly misleading list.

-Several of these games were announced/revealed before Microsoft bought the respective studios (Psychonauts 2, Starfield, TES VI, Deathloop and Ghostwire)

-Grounded is an early access game that's been playable since 2020. It's a small team within Obsidian studios, while the majority of devs there are working on Avowed and Outer Worlds 2

-the Sony list while good looks better than it really is due to a 1:1 remake which can have a shorter release window due to being a known quantity (Demon's Souls), yearly sports title (MLB the Show), and new hardware tech demo that isn't on the level of a full title and can't be revealed before the tech itself (Astro's Playroom)

-Some of these hardly count as reveals and are more teasers meant to appease fans worried that a series is dead/that they have future projects. TES VI was specifically this and they've been very clear since the tease the game is far in the future, and that it's not even in active development. I would also say Starfield's actual reveal was last E3.
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
I enjoy few of their games heavily like Flight Sim 2020 and F:H 5, 4, 3 (and to an extent Gears 5), but yeah they definitely do more. I don't give a fuck about Halo, F:M and other GAAS-quality level games.

I like Gamepass a lot, discovery is nice there. But overall they still really didn't step up, from the X1 gen. Which is shame, when they have actually good console.

I am not disappointed per se, but more annoyed than anything. And it would just take...not much really. Gimme Fallout: new vegas 2, Alpha Protocol 2 and I will submit to my local green rat office.

I like their support for 3rd party devs, which I can't say about Sony (well to be honest, you don't need that much there as the SDK is more straight forward) or god forbid Ṋ̵̞̮̥̟͙̹̹͙̎͌̾͂͋̅̌͌͠ͅi̷̗̱̪̔̎̍͘n̵̡̨͙̪͈̦̗̲̩͙̒̊̐̋̈̎̈́̏t̴̫̱̘̙͕̝͊̽̓̇͂̍̚ę̴͕͚̥̼͚̮̱̲͑͝͝ͅn̴̗̦͔̏̀̀̔̈̄̌d̸̘̭̞̞̲̋̏o̴̧̢͍̮̜̬͐̐̎̈́́͊̓ͅ
 

Tiamat2san

Member
All I want is Gears 6 (won’t come until 2024 I guess) a first trilogy remastered could fill the hole in my heart..
A Forza (classic)
Coop and story DLC for halo infinite.
Fable…someday

And a new killer instinct. (Finger crossed)

Every thing in development, well , we don’t know much about avowed, star field etc…

So right now , I am not really satisfied with this year line up to say the least.

Next year, I hope.
At least I have gamepass.

To be honest I am not satisfied with PlayStation either, horizon was bad and GT….
God of war might save the year if released.
 
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bender

What time is it?
I've got Forza Horizon, Flight Sim and Psychonauts 2 so Microsoft already blew their load as far as my interest are concerned.
 

Aion002

Member
I just have one thing to say: Where's State of Decay 3?


Shocked Come On GIF by The Democrats



Overall last year was great, while this one so far is being quite bad, even game pass kinda sucks at the moment for me.

Still, I believe that great things are on the way.
 
All I want is Gears 6 (won’t come until 2024 I guess) a first trilogy remastered could fill the hole in my heart..
A Forza (classic)
Coop and story DLC for halo infinite.
Fable…someday

And a new killer instinct. (Finger crossed)

Every thing in development, well , we don’t know much about avowed, star field etc…

So right now , I am not really satisfied with this year line up to say the least.

Next year, I hope.
At least I have gamepass.

To be honest I am not satisfied with PlayStation either, horizon was bad and GT….
God of war might save the year if released.

I’m playing forbidden west at the moment and the story/characters are just dour . It looks great but I’m bored mostly and i thought the first one was cool.
 

GametimeUK

Member
I feel Microsoft Game Studios had a great year last year, but yes this year is disappointing. However, I don't think Sony are necessarily knocking it out of the park either if I'm being honest.

I think Microsoft could take a page from Sony's book and release a bite sized game like Miles Morales and a Remake of a classic to help pad out their library.
 

DavidGzz

Member
Elden Ring has saved the year for me. I own all platforms and it's the only game in a long time that I spent more than 5 hours on. The whole industry is sucking right now. No interest in Horizon and Forza was fun for a little while but I'm not too into racers.
 

OsirisBlack

Banned
Own every console and a PC in all honesty I cannot remember the last time I played my SX meanwhile I just finished Forbidden West (Kind of disappointed with that one) and am trying to finish up FF7R PS5 before FFXVI drops. So I am a bit disappointed but I knew it was going to be a while before the system paid off. Even though Starfield is coming (Super excited for this one) I'm not sure I consider it a MS first-party game more like a permanent timed acquisition. The game was in development long before MS broke out the checkbook. I really am waiting on something besides Forza and the next Gears. I didn't like the last halo and my favorite current MS game is Ori.
 
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