At the GDC 2024 event, where major publishers and developers gather, there was a buzz about big problems for Xbox, as described by Christopher Dring, head of one of the main analytical publications in the GamesIndustry industry. According to Dring:
In 2024, Xbox's console sales are down even more significantly than last year. Let us remind you that earlier there was information about a decrease in sales of Xbox Series X | S year-on-year by 47% in February. Christopher Dring said that a certain large game publisher, which released its project on Xbox in 2023, expressed dissatisfaction with sales. To the point where porting the game doesn't seem to have paid off at all. Some publishers say that they see no point in releasing games on the Xbox platform, especially given the need for additional optimization of projects for the Xbox Series S, which takes up a lot of resources. Dring also said that “Microsoft has begun to pay less attention to Game Pass.” He didn't reveal any more details on this. It appears that Xbox had high hopes for Starfield in terms of console sales and Game Pass subscriber growth after the game's release, but that didn't happen. Christopher believes that almost all of Microsoft's big projects coming to Playstation soon. Despite the challenges, Dring said he is confident that Microsoft has a solution to the problems. The analyst did not provide specific information; it seems that we are talking about the release of new equipment, plans for which Sarah Bond spoke about earlier this year. There are rumors that this could be a handheld gaming console or an Xbox platform for handheld devices from other manufacturers. Also, Microsoft's plans to exit the gaming business from the crisis may be associated with Activision Blizzard King.
You can watch Dring's interview with information about the current Xbox situation below.