They dont need a entire research initiative with a group of analysts to find the simple answer to this. Xbox has sold terribly this generation worse than the Xbox one making it the lowest install base, and in addition devs to have to make a version with parity for the Series S. So devs have to make 2 different versions for 2 different consoles to reach the smallest customer base encouraged by gamepass not to buy games.
A Phantom Blade 0 dev reportedly said “nobody needs Xbox” because “the console isnt popular in Asia and Microsoft has created a overloaded ecosystem for which it is difficult to develop for”. SMT 5 Vengance was the 4th best selling game of june but sold 11% on Xbox and 62% on PS5. I imagine asian games not made by Atlus sell even worse on Xbox.
Tacothekid
Wukong’s devs said they avoided it because there isn’t enough people playing it
ConflictConscious665
i mean isnt it obvious? there is no reason to play On xbox when all the games are already on PC/PS, not only that exclusives come to PS eventually. Xbox had potential but they lost it when they stopped listening to gamers
Bl00dEagles
Xbox 360 days were the best and Microsoft threw it all away with Xbox one, and in my opinion have never come back from it. They seem to get worse every year.
thepurplecut
Because gamers avoid their consoles
Fresh_Economics_9711
There’s a chance that the Xbox might not even exist in the next 5 years, so no developer wants to invest in a failing brand
IdidntVerify
Everyone here talking about nothing to play and not selling well but the excuse we hear most often is the limitations. Having to make a game that will also run on the series S seems to have kneecapped a few devs timeline wise.
ahack13
There have been multiple devs that have come out to say that they couldn’t get a port made because they couldn’t contact people for support at Xbox. Not even like small indies either its happened to some well known devs. They don’t have to avoid your console, you’re literally keeping them out.
ZaDu25
Because the Series S sucks and the playerbase isn’t large enough to incentivize it. Can’t really force devs to scale games back for an underpowered console when you have no leverage in the market.
VeryVideoGame
They keep making terrible decisions. Also, what’s with the phenomenon of every studio Microsoft buys, either starts making trash from that day forward, or stops making games at all. Rare, Bethesda, etc.
TechGuyDude82
Because Microsoft is trash.
BigOlympic
Lol
Frick_KD
No exclusive or trash exclusives. Simple
DaftGorilla
Because they have to optimize it for 3 different consoles. Its a pain in the ass!
__TheWaySheGoes
Probably because the market is on PC and PlayStation, and they don’t have to optimize it for the crappy Series S.
Really not sure what’s so unclear to them about that.
Bork9128
Honestly I don’t see why Microsoft keeps pushing Xbox to be anything other than a box that can play PC games. It’s really something they could be very good at, side stepping the cost of a PC from scratch and something to easily leave hooked to a tv. Most Xbox games are PC games as well anyways.
jefflukey123
Because there’s 2 versions and 1 is weaker than the other by a lot? Are they stupid??
Kahzgul
Everything I’ve heard is that the Series S is just too limiting and no one wants to deal with it, but microsoft insists that anything for xbox has to run on both X and S. If they did away with S requirements, there’d be more X development.
SilentJ87
The three big things I can think of that would give me pause as a developer are:
Series S/X parity it my title is particularly ambitious
Annoying certification process if some dev accounts are to be believed
Small market share. Until we reach a point where Xcloud really pops off, Xbox is just a really part of the console pie
p-wing
probably because devs are too busy filing unemployment paperwork right now
cheguevara_malcolmx
I had 3 XBOX 360’s red ring.
Switched over the Playstation.
UnderNoPretext_
Two consoles means two versions of a game that needs to be made. Gamespass > why even buy console/game > no sales revenue for devs. No real exclusives to speak of. Every dev studio they acquire immediately turns to shit. They have ZERO market in Asia. They’re fucking doomed. Why would any dev want to waste their time?
lolheyaj
They know exactly why devs avoid their consoles. But above forcing devs to make a versions of their game for the series S; the company, the services and hardware all seem to be moving in opposite directions. There’s nothing cohesive about Microsoft’s gaming presence or the Xbox experience currently.
CrawlerSiegfriend
A combination of the series S sucking and Sony offering millions of dollars and free blowiobs for life to anyone that agrees to skip Xbox.
ThunderBlunt777
Why would you pay more for less AND worse? It’s not that hard to figure out. On top of that, it’s usually a death sentence for smaller studios to officially partner with Xbox. They force them into a Gamepass deal that destroys any hope for decent revenue, offer zero support during development, and once they’ve managed to squeeze a game out of them they force them to close on top of making them sign a non-compete. Xbox is literally the devil.
Lolcowabunga
XBOX SUCKS
Derpykins666
Why waste your time with development for the xbox when you could start development and put something out on steam on pc. If your game does super well these huge companies will likely headhunt you to port the games to console anyway. Even all the big Xbox games come out now on PC, PC is where you should be. Get out of the ecosystem of consoles. You basically only need a PC and a Nintendo console to have access to 99.99% of all great games that will ever come out.
DGenerAsianX
Nobody wants to play with the big sibling because the parents insist you must also play with the younger sibling even though they can’t keep up so you have to slow down to accommodate them. X and S series machines, respectively.
dustofdeath
Your hardware is weak and limits developers.
DaymD
One of the reason is definitely the requirement that devs release a game for both series X and S. That’s what cost them the xbox release of baldur’s gate 3, the 2023 goty, and now, black myth wukong the strong contender for goty this year.
30 Comments
They dont need a entire research initiative with a group of analysts to find the simple answer to this. Xbox has sold terribly this generation worse than the Xbox one making it the lowest install base, and in addition devs to have to make a version with parity for the Series S. So devs have to make 2 different versions for 2 different consoles to reach the smallest customer base encouraged by gamepass not to buy games.
A Phantom Blade 0 dev reportedly said “nobody needs Xbox” because “the console isnt popular in Asia and Microsoft has created a overloaded ecosystem for which it is difficult to develop for”. SMT 5 Vengance was the 4th best selling game of june but sold 11% on Xbox and 62% on PS5. I imagine asian games not made by Atlus sell even worse on Xbox.
Wukong’s devs said they avoided it because there isn’t enough people playing it
i mean isnt it obvious? there is no reason to play On xbox when all the games are already on PC/PS, not only that exclusives come to PS eventually. Xbox had potential but they lost it when they stopped listening to gamers
Xbox 360 days were the best and Microsoft threw it all away with Xbox one, and in my opinion have never come back from it. They seem to get worse every year.
Because gamers avoid their consoles
There’s a chance that the Xbox might not even exist in the next 5 years, so no developer wants to invest in a failing brand
Everyone here talking about nothing to play and not selling well but the excuse we hear most often is the limitations. Having to make a game that will also run on the series S seems to have kneecapped a few devs timeline wise.
There have been multiple devs that have come out to say that they couldn’t get a port made because they couldn’t contact people for support at Xbox. Not even like small indies either its happened to some well known devs. They don’t have to avoid your console, you’re literally keeping them out.
Because the Series S sucks and the playerbase isn’t large enough to incentivize it. Can’t really force devs to scale games back for an underpowered console when you have no leverage in the market.
They keep making terrible decisions. Also, what’s with the phenomenon of every studio Microsoft buys, either starts making trash from that day forward, or stops making games at all. Rare, Bethesda, etc.
Because Microsoft is trash.
Lol
No exclusive or trash exclusives. Simple
Because they have to optimize it for 3 different consoles. Its a pain in the ass!
Probably because the market is on PC and PlayStation, and they don’t have to optimize it for the crappy Series S.
Really not sure what’s so unclear to them about that.
Honestly I don’t see why Microsoft keeps pushing Xbox to be anything other than a box that can play PC games. It’s really something they could be very good at, side stepping the cost of a PC from scratch and something to easily leave hooked to a tv. Most Xbox games are PC games as well anyways.
Because there’s 2 versions and 1 is weaker than the other by a lot? Are they stupid??
Everything I’ve heard is that the Series S is just too limiting and no one wants to deal with it, but microsoft insists that anything for xbox has to run on both X and S. If they did away with S requirements, there’d be more X development.
The three big things I can think of that would give me pause as a developer are:
Series S/X parity it my title is particularly ambitious
Annoying certification process if some dev accounts are to be believed
Small market share. Until we reach a point where Xcloud really pops off, Xbox is just a really part of the console pie
probably because devs are too busy filing unemployment paperwork right now
I had 3 XBOX 360’s red ring.
Switched over the Playstation.
Two consoles means two versions of a game that needs to be made. Gamespass > why even buy console/game > no sales revenue for devs. No real exclusives to speak of. Every dev studio they acquire immediately turns to shit. They have ZERO market in Asia. They’re fucking doomed. Why would any dev want to waste their time?
They know exactly why devs avoid their consoles. But above forcing devs to make a versions of their game for the series S; the company, the services and hardware all seem to be moving in opposite directions. There’s nothing cohesive about Microsoft’s gaming presence or the Xbox experience currently.
A combination of the series S sucking and Sony offering millions of dollars and free blowiobs for life to anyone that agrees to skip Xbox.
Why would you pay more for less AND worse? It’s not that hard to figure out. On top of that, it’s usually a death sentence for smaller studios to officially partner with Xbox. They force them into a Gamepass deal that destroys any hope for decent revenue, offer zero support during development, and once they’ve managed to squeeze a game out of them they force them to close on top of making them sign a non-compete. Xbox is literally the devil.
XBOX SUCKS
Why waste your time with development for the xbox when you could start development and put something out on steam on pc. If your game does super well these huge companies will likely headhunt you to port the games to console anyway. Even all the big Xbox games come out now on PC, PC is where you should be. Get out of the ecosystem of consoles. You basically only need a PC and a Nintendo console to have access to 99.99% of all great games that will ever come out.
Nobody wants to play with the big sibling because the parents insist you must also play with the younger sibling even though they can’t keep up so you have to slow down to accommodate them. X and S series machines, respectively.
Your hardware is weak and limits developers.
One of the reason is definitely the requirement that devs release a game for both series X and S. That’s what cost them the xbox release of baldur’s gate 3, the 2023 goty, and now, black myth wukong the strong contender for goty this year.