Subject: "Xbox & Enshittification"
The Xbox was my childhood console. Specifically the 360. My dad got me one as a kid and I have fond memories of playing kinect since I wasnāt really allowed to play anything else. As I grew up, I got access to some of the more heavy hitters on the platform and had a blast playing through. I think back then, it was a time when Xbox had ambition. It was a time when Xbox wanted to segment itself into the market and that it did. Sure, There was the whole RROD controversy but even despite that, Xbox became a household name.
Donāt get me wrong, Iām not here to start some console wars bullshit. Itās just sad to see Xbox losing touch with what consumers actually want. 2025 was a rough year for Xbox but if I had to be honest with you, I donāt think 2026 will be any better. The upper management has just been making the most god-awful choices turn after turn just to drive up their bottom line and it just seems to end up backfiring in their face in the worst way possible. Xbox, as a hardware company, is dead. Hereās the autopsy reportā¦
Sky-high Prices
Firstly, The rampant price increase has just been making the Xbox very, and I mean very uncompetitive. The console has jumped up in price from $500 to $650. At that price point, man, you might as well just go the extra length and buy a PC. The barrier to entry has jumped up so much for a console that is essentially the same as the Xbox One just with access to newer titles. I mean, what can an Xbox really do that any other console or device canāt?
On top of the already expensive console, you still have to buy a subscription to play your online titles. Game Pass was quite a reasonably priced service for quite some time. Even I had a 3 month plan at one point in time. Now that had a price increase recently as well, with PC Game Pass being completely axed for an enshittified āPremiumā tier that offers substantially less than what you initially paid for.
At this point, everyone has the right to ask. Why even bother buying an Xbox? And youāre right. Microsoft has realized it too! If youāve seen their recent marketing campaign, you would know that anything is an Xbox. Your TV? Xbox. Your Microwave? Thatās an Xbox right there. Your Washing Machine? I bet you can play Halo on that if you try hard enough. Microsoft has been strongly shifting their sights to game streaming and a SaaS model but consumers know better.
Lack of Exclusives
Xboxsā game lineup was meh this year. Doom The Dark Ages was the only really good release. The Outer Wilds 2 popped up on my radar but the price tag kind of blew me away. There was also South Of Midnight, Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2. So yea, thatās more exclusives than PlayStation but these feel more like a AA or indie release than First-party AAA Xbox titles. Black Ops 7? Forget about it.
Iām not against to the idea of Xbox exploring new genres and bringing new IPs but I just feel like these games are catered towards a more specific niche. These are interesting games no doubt but the staple franchises that Xbox should be putting out games in have went radio silent. Fable? Nothing. Perfect Dark? Axed. Halo? Just a remake of a remake. Elder Scrolls? Not in this life time unfortunately.
There were also some absolute stinkers released. Do you guys still remember Redfall? Well, I didnāt forget. Forza Motorsport, my childhood game, also got a doodoo entry in the franchise as well. Recently, FM8ās development team got the boot and now development of the game has fully ceased.
It probably wonāt come back anytime soon because Forza Horizon 6 is right around the corner and there just isnāt any interest in the Motorsport franchise anymore to warrant a new entry. Player count has dropped to the hundreds even including game pass.
Clankerā¢ Assisted
Microsoft laid off about 9000 people totally and has shut down multiple studios in the past year or two. It was reported that āa lot of 2D artistsā were laid off because of the adoption of generative AI. No kidding. Black Ops 7 has lots of in-game AI generated assets and itās pretty obvious people arenāt happy. They have been laying off people so that shareholders are happy and the chart on Microsoft Stocks will be green for another quarter.
They also released a GenAI model known as Muse that can generate 3D realms and simulate realistic enough games and respond to player input and more. I genuinely donāt have the words to describe how much I despise this. I think AI is an impressive tool but manā¦ this is just messed up. We are gonna have slop published and nothing else. Just what some algorithm thinks will be the next blockbuster.
Another report suggests that the company is hiring AI engineer and investing tons more to implement it into the upcoming Halo CE Remake and other franchises as well. The shift to replacing people with machines is typically because Xbox (and Microsoft in the large) has invested so much money into OpenAI so they need workers to use ChatGPT, DALL-E and much more to recoup costs and pray it helps productivity.
Even a single worker not using AI is at least a $1000 dollar loss to them so now they have quotas to reach for their AI usage. Iām sure AI can remove some of the tedium in work but their use of AI replaces raw talent instead of assisting and nurturing it.
My Thoughtsā¦
I can't quite articulate the words to describe how far Xbox has fallen. It feels like they have just taken the worst possible decision at every crossroads somehow. All of these has just lead to them screwing over consumers and destroying their fanbaseās goodwill. This has been a problem since the Xbox One days and itās still crazy that its going on to this day. Itās about damn time they pull their head out of the sand and actually focus on running the company instead of driving it to the ground.
Donāt get me wrong here, I have no ill-will towards any company. Xbox has contributed a lot to the gaming space and more or less filled in the vacuum that Sega left. If Xbox wasn't there, believe me, PlayStation would have jacked up their prices to god knows how much. Xbox leadership is just plain incompetent. I think the moment I realized how out of touch they were was when they told the staff they laid off to use ChatGPT as emotional therapy. Like what in the actual fuck were they thinking?
Whatās Next?
Nobody knows. Xbox has some exclusives launching. A Halo Remake for the umpteenth time and a mainline Gears Of War game. I just donāt see them becoming any better. If anything, they would probably port their games to PS5 and other platforms earlier than usual. Knowing Xbox, it is impossible for them to make a good choice that doesnāt involve them chopping of an arm and blowing off a foot.
The next few Halo games releasing are rumoured to be plain remakes of the older titles. Fable 4 has been delayed to 2027 and beyond. The future is looking bleak but hey, thatās just another day at Xbox. I want them to succeed as much as the next person but I just feel disillusioned with their current state. I donāt want to be all doom and gloom but we just have to wait and seeā¦