Xbox was once a name that stood for innovation and legendary games. Today, the reality is different: Studio closures, a lack of exclusive titles and an unclear strategy raise questions.
While the PS5 has sold over 66 million units, the Xbox Series X/S only reached 28 million – a huge difference. What happened? And does Xbox even have a future?
Let's take a closer look at what's going on at Microsoft.
Missed Opportunities
In the late 90s, Microsoft entered the console market to compete with PlayStation. The first Xbox laid the foundation with Halo: Combat Evolved but couldn’t keep up with the dominant PS2. But then came 2005 and the Xbox 360 – everything changed. Xbox Live, Achievements, and titles like Halo 3, Gears of War, and Fable II made the console a hit. Despite issues like the “Red Ring of Death,” the 360 reached 84 million sales, almost matching the PS3.
In 2013, the Xbox One launched – and with it came a disaster. Instead of focusing on games, Microsoft concentrated on TV integration and Kinect. The PS4 clearly took the lead with over 117 million sales, while the Xbox One only reached 51 million. Additionally, Halo lost its luster, and many gamers switched to the competition.
The Game Pass
With the 2017 introduction of Game Pass, Microsoft offers access to hundreds of games for a monthly fee. Sounds good for gamers, but studios like Tango Gameworks, which was shut down in 2024 despite the success of Hi-Fi Rush, show the dark side. Microsoft's goal of 100 million subscribers by 2030 seems ambitious – but is it enough to save Xbox?
Performance
The Xbox Series X was marketed as "the most powerful console in the world," but titles like Starfield only run at 30 FPS. There's also the parity issue: Games need to run just as well on the weaker Series S as on the X. Without strong exclusives and with games releasing simultaneously on PC and PS5, the question remains: Why buy an Xbox?
Microsoft is increasingly focusing on cloud gaming and an Xbox ecosystem that works cross-platform. Does this mean the end of Xbox as hardware? While PlayStation shines with exclusives and the Switch has sold over 140 million units, Xbox is at a crossroads. The next few years will reveal whether the brand survives as a console – or only remains as a platform in the gaming market.
But in the end, only one thing matters: the games. Whether it's Xbox, PlayStation, PC, or Nintendo – as long as we're having fun playing.
Where do you stand in the "Console War"? Let us know in the comments!