Thirdly, we have experience that aims to "fix the fundamentals" for players and partners. The letter mentioned earlier mentioned how developers are increasingly looking for better tools and insights to not only make their games, but also grow them, too. Xbox is working toward becoming the best place for devs and creators since the new generation of gamers are not just consumers; they're prosumers who want to create as well. The brand will also overhaul discovery, optimization, social, and personalization to better connect with the community as part of the "experience."
Lastly, there are services, which sounds exactly like what it is. The new leadership wants to fortify Game Pass with "cost discipline," which basically means looking at the bigger picture instead of only considering short-term profit maximization. The recently cut prices are an example of this.
Cloud gaming has been a huge push from Xbox for almost a decade now, and the brand wants to continue to make it faster and more reliable, matching native fidelity, as if you were playing on the hardware in-person. As all these things are set in motion, the letter also says that Xbox will reevaluate its approach to exclusivity and AI. Those are likely two of the most polarizing topics concerning the Xbox brand, given just how insistent Microsoft has been with shoving AI everywhere.
But, hey, even the Redmont giant, too big to fail, has admitted Windows is a mess right now and vowed to fix it, so perhaps the ethos is trickling down. The letter ends with a similar admission of being in a tough place, and how "meeting this moment will require a level of self-critique that should feel uncomfortable." There are ten short taglines included at the very bottom describing what Xbox is at its very best, and we felt like the most important one out of those was: "Core before more."
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News , or add us as a preferred source , to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he\u2019s not working, you\u2019ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-22/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Hassam Nasir Social Links Navigation Contributing Writer Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.
DS426 Microsoft's smart play here is indeed making a hybrid console-PC. Where some can't afford a gaming PC and/or want a simplified, gaming-centric device, the Xbox can and should fill that gap. Let Sony and Nintendo put up their walls and pretend to be superior when in reality, no one is — it's just a matter of what product makes the most sense for the individual. Looks like Steam will beat MS to the punchbowl with the Steam Machine, but it wouldn't have to go uncontested. I'm one to prefer the Steam Machine (especially on the basis of the OS), but hey, it's a big market. Reply
blppt "Hence, the common sentiment in the community has been one of inferiority, that Xbox simply cannot compete with the likes of Sony and Nintendo when it comes to hardware and exclusives" Exclusives, sure, but the current Xbox Series X hardware is at least as powerful as PS5, if not slightly more so. Not sure why they can't 'compete on hardware'. Reply
Notton Yeah, I was about to say… The specs on Xbox Series X is technically better than the PS5. It's not even an apples to orange comparison, as they're both Zen 2 and RDNA2. Sure, the PS5 Pro has even higher specs, but that's not the best selling in the PS5/Slim/Pro lineup. PS5 was outselling Xbox X/S by a factor of roughly 2:1 in 2021, despite having the same price. If I had to take a guess, it's the PS5 exclusive titles and general unpopularity of Xbox outside of NA. Xbox did really poorly in Japan, EU, etc. If Xbox does poorly despite a competitive price, and good exclusive titles in the next gen console, I think it would be because their sales take a nosedive outside of the US market. Reply
usertests blppt said: Exclusives, sure, but the current Xbox Series X hardware is at least as powerful as PS5, if not slightly more so. Not sure why they can't 'compete on hardware'. Notton said: Yeah, I was about to say… The specs on Xbox Series X is technically better than the PS5. It's not even an apples to orange comparison, as they're both Zen 2 and RDNA2. Consoles tend to modify the cores. For example, PS5 modifies the FPUs in Zen 2 to make them smaller and weaker. They may have added/removed features from RDNA2. PS5 has been found to have equivalent or superior performance than XSX in some cases. Probably due to weird choices like the split memory in the XSX. Xbox Helix may be using an unmodified graphics chiplet shared with RDNA5 dGPUs, so it will at least be easy to talk about its performance compared to PCs. Reply
TerryLaze DS426 said: Looks like Steam will beat MS to the punchbowl with the Steam Machine, but it wouldn't have to go uncontested. I'm one to prefer the Steam Machine (especially on the basis of the OS), but hey, it's a big market. The steam machine isn't a console at all though, it's just a PC made to work similar to a console by running an OS, that you can change out, also steam is like the biggest 3rd party reseller of microsoft/xbox games since all of the are available for PC, anything steam does to further steam sales is helping MS make more sales as well. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/xbox/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/xbox/xbox-outlines-broad-plan-to-revitalize-brand-with-a-back-to-basics-approach-that-focuses-on-console-new-xbox-strategy-reprioritizes-console-while-bolstering-cloud-and-services#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/subscription
- Linux may be ending support for older network drivers due to influx of false AI-generated bug reports — maintenance has become too burdensome for old largely-un
- Iran claims US exploited networking equipment backdoors during strikes — says devices from Cisco and others failed despite blackout in attack that 'indicates de
- OpenAI’s New GPT-5.5 Powers Codex on NVIDIA Infrastructure — and NVIDIA Is Already Putting It to Work
- Hands On: Corsair’s Frame Configurator brings dozens of customization options (and rippling wood) to its 4000 Series PC cases
- Save a massive $520 on a gaming PC upgrade with this mega Newegg DDR5 RAM combo worth $1,159 separately — free 1TB SSD thrown in ramps up the value of this $639
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.