The Xbox Series X and Series S launched on November 10th, 2020, mere days before Sony’s PlayStation 5, but its story begins much sooner. No, not when then-Xbox head Phil Spencer announced Project Scarlett in 2019 or even the shocking reveal of the Series X at The Game Awards alongside Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. It actually began in 2018 when Microsoft Studios confirmed the acquisition of three renowned studios (and Compulsion Games) at E3: Playground Games of Forza Horizon fame; Ninja Theory, in the spotlight after Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice; and Undead Labs, developer of State of Decay 1 and 2.
But that wasn’t all, as Spencer also announced The Initiative, a new studio with David Gallagher of Crystal Dynamics at the helm. Very little was known about their first project (which turned out to be Perfect Dark). Heck, aside from Playground, which had Forza Horizon 4 arriving later that year, each studio’s next title was a mystery. However, after a disappointing run with the Xbox One – hobbled since day one thanks to the curse of Mattrick – it felt like Microsoft made the first steps towards change.
Its first party, a running joke of Forza/Gears/Halo that ran its course during the Xbox 360 era, was finally evolving. Other acquisitions like inXile, and Double Fine would bring the total number of first-party developers at the now-Xbox Game Studios to more than 10 by 2019 end.
There were some cracks en route to the launch of the Xbox Series X/S. Crackdown 3, which finally arrived after years of delays and promises of cloud-powered destruction, was underwhelming and forgotten within weeks. However, there were more hits than misses between The Coalition’s Gears 5 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection arriving on PC to much praise. The latter also built hype for Halo Infinite, the next big chapter planned to launch alongside the Series X/S.
Further cracks appeared when 2020 started, as Ninja Theory’s Bleeding Edge flopped, but Xbox still had Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Gears Tactics, and the multiplatform Minecraft Dungeons. Unfortunately, due to the worldwide pandemic, E3 2020 would be cancelled. Microsoft would subsequently announce Xbox 20/20, a monthly showcase for its upcoming titles. It revealed several third-party titles coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in May, but even with the likes of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, The Ascent, and Dirt 5, the lack of gameplay and first-party titles drew criticism.
Though touted as a monthly event, Xbox 20/20 skipped June, thus generating even more hype for July when the first gameplay of Halo Infinite would be revealed. To say that fans were disappointed would be an understatement. The lackluster visuals undercut any excitement, with many now dreading its release during the Holiday season (despite assurances from 343 Industries that they would improve).
The rest of the show didn’t fare much better. State of Decay 3, Forza Motorsport, Everwild, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, Fable – despite so many big announcements, there was little to no gameplay, forget release dates. Yes, there was the appeal of these titles being on Game Pass from day one, but for many, it seemed like Microsoft learned nothing after all these years.
The Xbox Series X/S had bigger fish to fry, though, with semiconductor shortages due to the ongoing pandemic limiting console supplies. It may not have had the most exciting launch line-up, but since the PS5 also faced supply issues, many would settle for the Xbox, desperate to be there for the arrival of the next generation. The promise of 4K, non-existent loading times owing to the solid-state drive, HDMI 2.1 with Variable Refresh Rate, Auto HDR, Suspend and Resume, and ray tracing were just too enticing to ignore. Plus, there was no Kinect. What more could anyone possibly want?
Even though it deprived the console of a major launch title, Microsoft’s decision to delay Halo Infinite was the right call (with subsequent reports detailing how much of a mess its development had been). Sure, the Xbox Series X/S line-up consisted of enhanced Xbox One titles, but Microsoft was still expanding its first-party line-up. After acquiring ZeniMax and Bethesda in September 2020, the future suddenly looked brighter, with titles like Redfall, Starfield, and maybe even The Elder Scrolls 6 potentially exclusive to Xbox. The possibilities were as exciting as they were unrealistic – such was our innocence at the time.
When it finally launched, the Xbox Series X/S became Microsoft’s biggest console launch ever, beating the Xbox One. The Series S was also notable for its popularity, though worries about its long-term viability began to grow.
Nevertheless, whether it was due to brand recognition, more excitement over Sony’s hardware, or a lack of new first-party titles, the PS5 seemingly won out. After launching on November 12th, 2020, just two days after Xbox, it would ship 4.5 million units by December 31st, 2020. Meanwhile, Microsoft was reluctant to provide any sales numbers, which was even more bizarre considering Niko Partners estimated a sell-through of 3.5 million units by the end of the year. One million behind the PS5, even with its various disadvantages, wasn’t too shabby.
And besides, this was only the beginning. Xbox still had so much more to come, but for the first six months of 2021, it delivered no big-name exclusives. Far be it from anyone to consider Destruction AllStars for the PS5 to be much better, but the PS5 still had remasters of Nioh 1 and 2, Returnal, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart for the first half of the year.
Meanwhile, when July rolled around, we finally got Microsoft Flight Simulator (launched the year prior for PC) and Neon Giant’s The Ascent. Things did pick up from then on, with Psychonauts 2 launching in August and being the best on Xbox Series X/S, but by this point, fans on consoles were clamoring for something better.
Microsoft answered with Forza Horizon 5, the biggest launch for Xbox Game Studios to date and a smash hit on Game Pass. With over ten million players in its first week and significant acclaim from critics, it felt like the company’s first hit in a long time. Halo Infinite was set to follow in December, and despite its lack of local campaign co-op and Forge Mode at launch, there was still plenty of hype.
And though the excitement of a new Halo was enough to fuel its popularity in December, Halo Infinite was discovered to have many problems. The story felt slipshod and odd, which was all the more disappointing for fans after the abysmal campaign in Halo 5: Guardians. Multiplayer had many technical issues, while criticism was levied at it for its excessive monetization and slow progression. Not exactly the slam dunk that Xbox wanted to end the year on.
However, it kicked off the new year by announcing the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Embattled and embarrassed by numerous controversies, the publisher was still a huge get for Microsoft, adding the likes of Warcraft, Overwatch, and more. As noteworthy as it was, regulators clamped down on it quickly, drawing out the process well into 2023.
As for the rest of 2022, there were titles like As Dusk Falls (which eventually came to PlayStation)! And CrossfireX, though the less said about it, the better. Forza Horizon 5 also got some fun Hot Wheels DLC. Bethesda published GhostWire: Tokyo and Deathloop on PS5 as part of a previous one-year exclusivity agreement. Starfield and Redfall were subsequently delayed to 2023. Suddenly, it felt like Xbox was back in the dark ages, its ample first-party studios translating to very few high-profile exclusives. At least Game Pass continued to be a thing.
By the time 2023 arrived, it was clear that Microsoft wasn’t playing around (in more ways than one, as it cut 10,000 jobs in March, including from Xbox and Bethesda). It started by announcing and stealth-dropping Hi-Fi Rush, which became a huge critical hit. The push for Activision Blizzard’s acquisition continued (completed in October), and the console seemingly had some heavy hitters to look forward to.
Unfortunately, the first was Redfall, which received a negative reception from critics and fans upon launching in May. Suddenly, Xbox was back in the crosshairs, and many questioned whether titles like Starfield would face the same fate. Spencer assuaged some of those concerns, though statements like “There is no world where Starfield is an 11 out of 10, and people start selling their PS5s” didn’t inspire confidence.
The multiplatform Minecraft Legends came and went; Killer Instinct got an Anniversary Edition, adding native Xbox Series X/S support, balance changes, and matchmaking improvements; and Forza Motorsport was a disappointment for many longtime fans. It was all on Starfield to prop up the Xbox Series X/S and Game Pass. And it did that. Sort of.
As successful as it’s seemingly been on Game Pass, with an overall positive critical reception, it faced no shortage of criticism shortly after launch. Bethesda continues to release updates, including the first expansion, Shattered Space, which debuted in September 2024. Suffice it to say that it wasn’t successful.
On a side note, throughout all these years, the Xbox Series X/S Dashboard received significant updates and revamps. March 2021 saw the addition of FPS boost and Auto HDR for backwards-compatible titles. Free-to-play titles no longer required Xbox Live Gold; Quick Resume received multiple improvements; party chat would get speech-to-text and text-to-speech; and more. Perhaps the most revolutionary feature that year was the introduction of Xbox Cloud Gaming, which eventually allowed Xbox Series X/S games to be played on Xbox One through the cloud.
Multitudes of other new features arrived in subsequent years. The latest updates added touch controls for Xbox remote play and pre-downloading updates on consoles. While the UI’s layout and design may have received mixed responses, the overall feature set has been impressive.
Despite a quiet first half of 2024 with only Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (though Palworld proved immensely popular on the third-party front), Xbox has the likes of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to look forward to. Of course, not everything has been super rosy. Between more layoffs, shutting down studios like Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks – not to mention its new strategy of bringing first-party titles to other platforms like the PS5 and Nintendo Switch – Microsoft is in an odd position.
Video game revenue continues to rise courtesy of Activision Blizzard, but hardware is down. In Q1 2025, hardware revenue dropped by 29 percent. Even with all the moves it’s been making, Microsoft reaffirmed its commitment to future Xbox hardware. Rumors have also circulated regarding a potential Xbox handheld similar to the Steam Deck.
We’ll ultimately have to wait and see if it becomes a reality, but the next year is looking solid for the Series X/S in terms of games, with Towerborne early access, Fable, and South of Midnight confirmed (and Gears of War: E-Day rumored). There are also all those other undated titles, from Perfect Dark, State of Decay 3, and Contraband to Clockwork Revolution and Kojima Productions’ OD.
It feels like Microsoft is only just getting started with showcasing its titles. However, four years after the Xbox Series X/S launched, it seems like we’re still waiting for it to truly come alive with its first-party, whether it’s consistency of quality or releases. Microsoft has floundered a fair amount, between focusing so much on Game Pass and ultimately opting to bring its exclusives to other platforms (don’t even get us started on all the behind-the-scenes development troubles at almost every studio). Nevertheless, whether it lives up to expectations or not, forever remaining in third place or somehow upsetting the balance, its days are far from numbered. For now, at least.
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