Recap: Xbox's February 15 Updates

by William Hernandez

Xbox is committed to their Game Pass Service. Defines them premierly.

There have been a lot of concerns and rumors surrounding Xbox over the past few weeks. Clearly enough to the point that Xbox felt the need to clear the air. Even then, many assumed that their press updates would come strictly with bad news. So what's going on with Xbox? Spoiler alert: their end doesn't seem to be coming any time soon.

Addressing the Exclusivity Flexibility

One of the first things that Phil Spencer felt the need to clarify was Xbox's announcement of bringing first-party titles to other platforms. As things stand now, it will only be 4 games - not their whole library or anything like that. While the games wouldn't be named specifically, we do know that Starfield and the upcoming Indiana Jones game will not be among those multi-platform titles. This slight change in exclusivity with a few games doesn't mean anything in terms of Xbox's long-term exclusivity strategy. Or at least, that's what the company claims. Part of the rationale for this decision has a lot to do with the simple fact that it would be healthier for the longevity of their community-driven and live-service games. Xbox believes that games can absolutely be bigger than a platform. And so, although we don't know any names yet, I think it's pretty safe to expect some well-lauded titles.

Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Guilty Gear Strive, Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising, Under Night In-Birth II, Mortal Kombat 1, King of Fighters XV, and Street Fighter 3: Third Strike are the 8 main tournament games this year

Lots of GamePass Talk

It's quite apparent that Xbox is more than happy with its GamePass service. With over 34 millions of active GamePass members, it definitely seems to be an attractive model for consumers as well. There aren't really any logistical changes going on with the service. Instead, Xbox took the opportunity to announce that several Activision and Blizzard games would be coming to GamePass. Diablo IV will be the first of those games and it will be available starting on March 28th. Not much else to say at this point other than the fact that GamePass has allowed many a game to grow in recent times (Palworld absolutely being worth the mention).

West Hall of Las Vegas Convention Center

Commitment to Hardware

While many thought that Xbox would be announcing their departure from the video game console market, nothing could be further from the truth. Hardware continues to be a critical priority for Xbox even as they allow players to play on all kinds of different devices such as their phone. The Xbox hardware is ultimately the most flagship experience. It establishes a floor and a ceiling for the developers within Xbox Game Studios. Lots of money is invested in making it a friendly platform for developers to work with. But to look ahead, the current Xbox roadmap definitely seems to have a new generation in mind. With evolution comes expectations and Xbox will continue to be committed to accessibility as well as compatibility. Old software and old saves will be respected. So yeah, Xbox has got at least one more in them. Oh and there's something new hardware-related dropping this holiday season. Could just be a new controller, but, hey, that's something.

Did we learn a whole lot? Surprisingly, no, but I suppose that's a good thing in terms of Xbox's current health. Things certainly aren't as doom and gloom as some made it out to be. While it's certainly possible that Xbox suffers the same eventual fate as Sega, the console market will remain a three horse race for the foreseeable future.