Xbox’s Future Hinges on Starfield’s Success After Redfall’s Failure
Xbox’s Phil Spencer recently acknowledged the failure of Redfall and talked about the future of the console. But with Starfield on the horizon, Microsoft’s console is now at a critical point that will determine its fortunes.
Xbox’s Success Rests on Starfield’s Shoulders
In a recent interview with Kinda Funny, Phil Spencer addressed the poor reception of Redfall, acknowledging that things didn’t go as planned and discussing what the future holds. While some may make light fun of Spencer, his upfront and candid approach stands out in the big corporate console game. He even admitted that Xbox can’t “out-console” Sony and Nintendo. This is a pretty obvious statement considering that Xbox has evolved into a cross-platform brand with PC over the last decade through Game Pass, cloud gaming, and Day One “exclusives” on PC.
However, things are about to get critical for Microsoft’s strategy with Starfield. The poor reception of Redfall has damaged Xbox’s reputation, with Arkane, a well-respected studio, receiving the brunt of the backlash. Redfall being the only Arkane game exclusively under the Xbox umbrella has also created a bad look for the company. With Arkane known for not being big sellers, Redfall’s failure has put more pressure on Starfield to succeed.
Starfield will be the first-party jewel in the crown that Microsoft has been craving, and its success or failure will have a seismic impact on public perception of Xbox. Spencer has tried to downplay this by saying that “even if Starfield was an 11 out of 10 game, it’s not going to get people to start selling their PS5s.” However, should Starfield fail, that will put a huge dent in customer confidence in Microsoft’s whole project with Xbox and its handling of big single-player studios it’s acquired.
Overall, Starfield will be critical in defining Xbox’s fortunes going forward, and Bethesda has to deliver a well-received game to restore trust in Microsoft’s acquisition of these big single-player studios.
Pokdepinion: I genuinely believed they were going very strong given how popular their Game Pass has been. I guess that wasn’t enough, but they definitely need a number of exclusive hits on their platform. Otherwise, it’s gonna be another big “L” for the green camp.
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