GAMERS picking up the new Xbox won’t have any major exclusives to play when the next-gen console launches later this year.
That’s because the Xbox Series X will be Microsoft’s first console without any exclusive “first party” games those made by Microsoft or an affiliated studio.
Microsoft unveiled the Xbox Series X in December 2019
Instead, new entries to big-hitter series like Halo and Gears of War will be available across several Microsoft platforms, such as the Xbox One and Windows 10 operating system.
The shock revelation was made by Microsoft Studios head Matt Booty last week.
He told UK gaming site MCV: “Over the next year, two years, all of our games, sort of like PC, will play up and down that family of devices.
“We want to make sure that if someone invests in Xbox between now and [Series X] that they feel that they made a good investment and that were committed to them with content.”
The new console has a strange vertical design
Most new consoles come with a handful of exclusive launch titles in a bid to woo gamers who are on the fence about which machine to buy.
The Xbox One, for instance, hit shelves in 2013 alongside exclusive titles like third-person slash-em-up Ryse: Son of Rome and “exergaming” flop Xbox Fitness.
While a few first-party exclusives might help the Series X fly from the shelves when it launches in time for Christmas 2020, it seems Microsoft would rather its new games straddle multiple console generations.
Booty did seem to suggest that first party games only playable on the Series X would make their way to the console about a year after launch so, sometime in 2022.
Microsoft has designed a brand new controller for the console
Halo: Infinite, the next game in the massively popular Halo series, was already confirmed to run on both the next-gen Xbox and Xbox One.
We don’t know much more about first party titles coming to the Series X, but it’s safe to assume Microsoft has a handful in the works.
Rather than new games, Microsoft’s focus appears to be on backwards compatibility for the new console.
The company has gone to great lengths to ensure its digital library is packed with old 360 titles, as well as a range of classic and indie games.
Microsoft confirmed last month that it would release the Series X in time for “Holidays 2020”, meaning October or November this year.
The new console will apparently run games at 4K resolution – double that of HD – with the possibility of running 8K.
It will also process games faster so as to “eliminate” loading times.
Halo: Infinite and Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga will be among the first games available on the console.
The Series X is out towards the end of 2020
Microsoft unveiled its upcoming consolelast month.
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