Xbox Series X/S Microsoft - Black Ops 6 was the biggest Call of Duty release ever, setting a record for day one players as well as Game Pass
- Thread starter Gemini
- Start date
I will admit... Microsoft has been hella quiet for a minute now... getting ready for next week. Like you haven't heard shit. No leaks or anything about the first party shit.
I'm excited, but I'm also nervous...
I'm excited, but I'm also nervous...
8 more days.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is looking good.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is looking good.
As long as shark cards are selling Take Two don't give a fuck about Red Dead Online updates, sequels like Bully or Max Payne. If it's not gonna make make money from online they probably see it as a bad investment regardless of how much 2K and GTA Online has been a profit.
wait what?it comes out in 8 days?8 more days.
Naw they showing off the new 1st party games like Halo 6 on the 23rd of this month.
With next-gen Xbox Series X and PS5 games at $70, Xbox Game Pass becomes even more valuable
As we head towards next-gen, more and more details about the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are coming to light. We have the full specs and designs of both consoles, and we'll have the full roadmap of Xbox exclusives, hopefully, in late July with the next Xbox event.
Another less palatable revelation came today via 2K, who confirmed it will sell the next-gen versions of its games for $70. I fully expect to see PC games see a bump in price as well shortly, as game worlds and their complexity balloon to accommodate more powerful hardware, across an incrementally more competitive landscape. The bump also accommodates market changes, inflation, and other financial landscape realities.
NPD games industry analyst Mat Piscatella posited that the bump probably should've happened in 2013, noting that initially, game developers were nervous about the low prices being offered by mobile games. It seems though that in reality, both sections of the market overlap, rather than cannibalize each other.
Still, I feel as though the price hike may be a tough sell, particularly with a looming recession as much of the world struggles with the pandemic fallout. In that scenario, the winner could ultimately be Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Now, and other similar subscription services.
The first developer to effectively break cover on the idea of selling next-gen games at a higher price is 2K, with their upcoming title NBA 2K21. Current gen versions of the game will remain at $60, but if you want a version that will work on Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, you'll have to buy a $70 version. I thoroughly expect we'll see other developers and publishers follow suit in the coming weeks and months ahead.
Sports games, in general, have a fair amount of overheads, licensing deals have to be made, and so on, but they are also wildly popular. Seemingly popular enough that they avoid backlash for their borderline pay-to-win mechanics that would bury a shooter or RPG. The microtransactions in games like FIFA and Madden are a massive driver of revenue for companies like EA and 2K. Still, it's also true that developing these games certainly isn't getting any cheaper, particularly as the industry gets more competitive, with salaries to match.
At least, this is the mentality publishers have. You could argue big publishers pay their execs far, far too much. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick was recently in the spotlight, accused by his own shareholders of earning too much. Kotick took home $30 million in 2019, which was flanked by 800 arguably needless layoffs at Blizzard, including many roles the firm has since re-hired for. An investment group filed a motion with the US government over the criticism, which included the below quote via Gamespot.
Whether or not the price of games going up is justified is up for debate, and I certainly don't have the full business knowledge to offer a definitive answer. Whichever way you see it, though, surely Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Now, and free-to-play games are likely going to grow as a result.
Subscriptions and free to play will grow
Xbox Game Pass is already lauded for its value, with a Netflix-style subscription that offers all Xbox Game Studios title upfront as part of the relatively cheap $9.99 base monthly payment. Also, Microsoft adds a rotation of titles from the smallest indies to the biggest AAA publishers, keeping the service feeling vibrant and exciting. Sony has a competing product called PlayStation Now, but the firm hasn't offered the same breadth of content that Microsoft has with its own service.
I'm in a lucky position to get games as part of my job, but as a kid, I was lucky to get more than a couple of new games per year. Particularly in the case of Nintendo titles, which were often anywhere up to £80 or more in the UK, depending on supply. Xbox Game Pass would have been a godsend as a young 'un (as we say in my town), and those facing economic hardships either as a result of COVID-19 or otherwise will naturally gain heaps of value from services like Xbox Game Pass.
Beyond Game Pass, we've already seen how free to play can turn a game into a goldmine in the form of Fortnite and countless others. If games are going to $70 across the board, and not just for sports titles that, frankly, seem to have a forgiving fanbase, I suspect more free to play standalone components like Call of Duty's Warzone mode to become more commonplace.
We've even heard some rumors that Halo Infinite itself may ship in a two-SKU format, with a broad single-player campaign linked to a standalone free to play multiplayer client. However, we haven't been able to lock down physical verification of that rumor thus far. Would you be surprised if it happened, though? At this point, I wouldn't be.
Next-gen will evolve the landscape even more
With the switch to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, we saw digital game sales and free to play become increasingly commonplace in an industry going through rapid changes. Streaming services like Project xCloud and Google Stadia will undoubtedly have a role to play, too, as Microsoft aims to bring Xbox console-quality gaming to devices that traditionally haven't been powerful enough, like phones, smart TVs, and lower-end PCs. It's going to be a wild ride, and I'm here for it.
With next-gen Xbox Series X and PS5 games at $70, Xbox Game Pass becomes even more valuable
Next-gen games might be getting a price hike; in that scenario, the ultimate winner could be Xbox Game Pass.www.windowscentral.com
Fam, most devs are offering a free upgrade to the next gen. This mother fuckers are vicious, and people will still fucking buy the game.
all microsoft need to do is come out with more single story base games like sony have like last of us,good of war etc.also dont xbox now own santa monica? im sure they bought them last year so does that mean we can get a god of war too on the xbox? everything on xbox is first person and its time to fad that out cause i am first person drained.
Games are a source of joy, inspiration, and social connection. They have the power to bring us together, create empathy, and strengthen our social fabric. As we prepare for the next generation, our efforts to make gaming more inclusive, more immersive, more connected, and more social are as relevant and important as ever.
At Xbox, we listen to what you – players, game developers, and content creators – tell us you want from the future of gaming. Based on your feedback, we’re building a future where you and your friends can play the deepest, most immersive and interactive games ever created across your Xbox console, PC, and mobile devices.
At the dawn of the next generation, it’s important to be clear about what you can expect from the future of Xbox.
Our vision has one hero at the heart of it all: You.
And today, I want to share our commitments to you:
- You will always be welcome. We are building Xbox for you—players from all walks of life, everywhere in the world. We want to make your Xbox community safe, accessible, and welcoming – a place where you can have fun. As we say in our community standards, harassment and hate take many forms, but none have a home on Xbox. Should you feel others are behaving in ways that violate the standards, our safety team will investigate your report and support you 24/7/365 around the globe. And we continue to accelerate new technology to reduce hate speech and toxicity, giving you the tools to create the safe gaming community you want to play in.
In addition to tools, we commit to bringing more diverse stories to Xbox for you to enjoy. We are empowering creators of diverse backgrounds to develop new stories, advocating for an authentic and respectful representation in games, and championing accessibility so that all can play. Additionally, more than 300,000 Xbox Ambassadors give their time and passion to making Xbox the best place to play and we invite all players to join us on that mission. We still have so much more work to do and will not stop until everyone who plays feels welcome, heard, and valued.
- Your games will look and play best on Xbox Series X. Xbox Series X is designed to deliver a new level of fidelity, feel, performance and precision never seen before in console gaming. All games will look and play best on Xbox Series X – whether they come from our 15 Xbox Game Studios, like Halo Infinite, or from our world-class publisher and developer partners. Packing over 12 teraflops of GPU power including new technologies like hardware-accelerated Direct X raytracing and variable rate shading, and with four times the processing power of an Xbox One X, Xbox Series X enables developers to provide you with transformative gaming experiences through richer, more dynamic living worlds, more realistic AI and animations, and support for higher frame rates including support for up to 120 FPS.
Xbox Series X also enables you to spend less time waiting and more time playing, as it virtually eliminates load times with the 40x boost in I/O throughput from last generation. With our custom next-generation SSD and Xbox Velocity Architecture, nearly every aspect of playing games is improved. Game worlds are larger, more dynamic and load in a flash, and fast travel is just that – fast. The Xbox Velocity Architecture also powers new platform capabilities like Quick Resume, which enables you to seamlessly switch between multiple titles and resume instantly from where you last left off without waiting through long loading screens. Right now, Xbox Series X is in the hands of our 15 Xbox Game Studios teams and thousands of third-party developers, empowering them to create a new generation of blockbuster games for you to enjoy.
- You play new games day one with Xbox Game Pass. All Xbox Game Studios titles launch into Xbox Game Pass the same day as their global release, so you decide whether to purchase each game separately or play them all with your Xbox Game Pass membership. Xbox Game Studios franchises that will launch into Game Pass day one of release include Halo, Forza, Age of Empires, Gears of War, Minecraft, Hellblade, The Outer Worlds, Psychonauts, Microsoft Flight Simulator, State of Decay, Wasteland, Minecraft Dungeons andSea of Thieves—and more new franchises in early development. So, when Halo Infinite launches, you and your friends can decide whether to purchase the game or play it with Xbox Game Pass.
- You won’t be forced into the next generation. We want every Xbox player to play all the new games from Xbox Game Studios. That’s why Xbox Game Studios titles we release in the next couple of years—like Halo Infinite—will be available and play great on Xbox Series X and Xbox One. We won’t force you to upgrade to Xbox Series X at launch to play Xbox exclusives.
- Your games will not be left behind, thanks to backward compatibility. You will be able to play four generations of games on Xbox Series X on day one. That makes it the largest launch lineup for any new console ever, with thousands of games to play. Our backward compatibility engineers have spent years devising innovative ways for modern, next-gen technology to make the games library you’re building today even better, at no additional cost and with no work from developers. It’s our intent for all Xbox One games that do not require Kinect to play on Xbox Series X at the launch of the console. And because of the unprecedented power of Xbox Series X, most of your favorite games will load faster and look and perform many times better on the new console.
- Your Xbox One gaming accessories come into the future with you, too. The Xbox Elite Controller and Xbox Adaptive Controller all work on Xbox Series X, so you don’t have to purchase new controllers. We believe that your investments in gaming should move with you into the next generation.
- You can buy games once at no added cost. With our new Smart Delivery technology, you don’t need to buy the same game twice – once for the current console generation and once for the next generation. You always have the best available version of supported games on whatever Xbox console you are playing on, at no additional cost. If you own a title that supports Smart Delivery like Destiny 2, Gears 5 and Halo Infinite, you automatically have access to the version that plays best on your Xbox console. Highly anticipated games from the world’s biggest developers, like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077, Marvel’s Avengers and more have already committed to supporting Smart Delivery and more will be announced soon.
Xbox Play Anywhere digital titles also enable you to buy once and play on both Xbox consoles and Windows 10 PCs.
- You choose how to jump into the next generation of gaming. We hear from you that you prefer choice and value. With Xbox All Access, you can get Xbox Series X, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for a low monthly price with no up-front costs, no finance charges and no hidden fees. You get to enjoy an instant library of over 100 high-quality games, join friends with online multiplayer, and experience new Xbox Game Studios titles the day they release, including Halo Infinite, on the fastest, most powerful Xbox ever.
- You are in control of a healthy and balanced gaming lifestyle. If you are a parent, guardian or caregiver, the new Xbox Family Settings app (Preview) for iOS and Android provides a simple and convenient way to create child accounts, customize family settings, and ensure that your kids have access to gaming that you feel is appropriate.
- You will get more from your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership. Finally, today we’re announcing that this September, in supported countries, we’re bringing Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud together at no additional cost for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members. With cloud gaming in Game Pass Ultimate, you will be able to play over 100 Xbox Game Pass titles on your phone or tablet. And because Xbox Live connects across devices, you can play along with the nearly 100 million Xbox Live players around the world. So when Halo Infinite launches, you and your friends can play together and immerse yourselves in the Halo universe as Master Chief—anywhere you go and across devices.
Cloud gaming in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate means your games are no longer locked to the living room. You can connect more than ever with friends and family through gaming. And just like you do with your movie and music streaming services, when cloud gaming launches into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can continue your game wherever you left off on any of your devices.
When you add it all up, Xbox Series X is the only next generation console that lets you play new blockbuster games at the highest console fidelity, enjoy the latest blockbuster games the day they launch for one monthly price, play four generations of your games at higher fidelity than ever before, and play with friends wherever you want across your TV, PC, and mobile device. And with Xbox All Access, you can jump into the next generation for one low monthly payment and no up-front costs.
The future of gaming has never been more exciting and limitless. It’s a future you’ll explore on your terms, not constrained by restrictive policies. Where your gaming legacy will not be left behind and where you will not be locked out of new exclusive Xbox Game Studios games even if you choose to stay with your current console for a while.
It’s a future where you and your friends play the most immersive, responsive, and vivid games together on every screen in your life, and where games reach across the world and bring you stories you’ve never experienced before. It’s a future in which you get more value from your games. And where everyone is welcome.
We hope you’ll join us next Thursday, July 23rd for the Xbox Games Showcase for the first look at the Halo Infinite Campaign and more.
Thanks so much for shaping the future of gaming.
-Phil
Surely The Medium will also be on PC...