Microsoft has made a significant move in its gaming strategy by discontinuing the production of first-party titles for Xbox One and shifting its focus entirely to its new generation of consoles, the Xbox Series S/X. According to a recent article published by Axios, Microsoft has put the Xbox One generation on hold and will no longer be creating any new first-party games for these consoles. Matt Booty, the head of Xbox Game Studios, stated, “We have advanced to Gen 9,” in reference to the Xbox Series S/X generation.
While Microsoft will continue to support hardware and games such as Minecraft in the previous generation, no internal studios will be working on developing new titles for Xbox One.
The Cloud as a Continuity Solution
In order to allow Xbox One users to continue enjoying games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, Microsoft has been promoting the use of Xbox Cloud Gaming. Although there will be no new releases for the Xbox One, the company will continue to support the console through its cloud gaming infrastructure. This will enable Xbox One users to access and play the latest games.
The Focus is on Xbox Series S/X
Microsoft’s own game developers are now focused on developing games for the Xbox Series S/X consoles. The Xbox Series S, designed to support 1440p gaming and up to 120fps, has faced some performance limitations compared to the more powerful Xbox Series X. The Xbox Series X boasts a larger GPU capacity and 16GB of RAM, while the Xbox Series S has 10GB. Despite the challenges posed by these memory restrictions for some developers, Microsoft has worked to enhance the graphics performance of the smaller Xbox and allocate more memory for developers to utilize on the Xbox Series S.
Finding the Balance between Performance and Compatibility
Developing for the Xbox Series S may require more effort, according to Booty. However, he claims that Microsoft game studios have been able to maximize the potential of their latest titles designed for the Xbox Series S. To address concerns about the limited 512GB storage capacity of the base Xbox Series S, Microsoft has also announced the release of a 1TB black version of the console during its showcase.
Bet on the Future
It appears that Microsoft is making an effort to bounce back with the Xbox Series X/S after a relatively quiet year for Xbox releases in 2022. The recent Xbox Games Showcase showcased a substantial number of first-party games scheduled for release on Xbox consoles in 2023 and 2024.
Although the decision to abandon the Xbox One may be regarded as a calculated risk, it also reflects Microsoft’s vision for the future. This strategic shift could provide Microsoft with the opportunity it needs to regain momentum and establish its new consoles as industry benchmarks.
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