[0:00] - How about that return to Xbox?
[0:03] So this year at Xbox Showcase,
[0:05] not only is there some brand-new hardware,
[0:06] as you can see,
[0:07] but there is also a major shift
[0:09] to the strategy when it comes to Xbox,
[0:11] but let's talk hardware first.
[0:13] This is the brand-new Xbox Series X25.
[0:17] Now, that name, as you might expect,
[0:20] is because this is the
25th anniversary of Xbox.
[0:23] To celebrate, they're doing a
full custom limited edition.
[0:25] So this is in the OG transparent green.
[0:29] There's a lot of nice little
detail on the console.
[0:32] So not only can you see through
[0:33] to things like the vapor
chamber, the cooler.
[0:36] So if you look on the back,
[0:36] you can actually see just
how transparent it is.
[0:38] You can see light flying all
the way through the console,
[0:40] especially down here.
[0:41] So this will be launching
in November of this year.
[0:44] So no word yet on price or the exact date
[0:48] or how limited it really will be.
[0:50] But I do know that they
will be selling the console
[0:52] with the controller together,
[0:53] and you'll also be able to
buy the controller itself.
[0:55] The controller's sick,
dude, this is so good,
[0:57] especially with the OG
Xbox logo on the back.
[1:00] But this is a callback to
the original days of Xbox.
[1:04] So the context coming into
Xbox Showcase this year
[1:07] is a real reset of Xbox as a brand.
[1:10] 2025 was a terrible year, right?
[1:12] I mean, between the price hikes,
[1:14] all the sort of turmoil,
[1:15] but now I think there's some
real momentum behind the brand.
[1:18] You know, you've got Asha
Sharma, who's the new CEO.
[1:21] It feels like the existing rules
[1:23] are kind of being broken a little bit,
[1:24] which, I'll be honest, is
probably the right move, right?
[1:26] I think Xbox need a little bit of a reset.
[1:28] - [Asha] How about those exclusives?
[1:29] (crowd cheering)
[1:31] - What an interesting showcase.
[1:34] The big news for me really was
[1:36] the return of the exclusive.
[1:39] So this has been a real
point of contention
[1:41] for the Xbox team for
the last several years,
[1:43] ever since they brought out the idea
[1:45] that everything is an Xbox.
[1:47] So they showed a lot of games at showcase.
[1:49] The vast majority of them
[1:50] are still landing on the PS5, on Steam,
[1:54] even a lot of them are landing
on the Switch and Switch 2.
[1:56] There are, however, two
Xbox console exclusives.
[1:59] So they'll still be landing on PC,
[2:01] they announced today.
[2:02] So Gears of War: E-Day,
[2:04] which everyone assumed was
going to be landing on the PS5.
[2:07] However, that is now going
[2:08] to be console exclusive to the Xbox,
[2:10] as well as Clockwork Revolution,
[2:12] which is a game that is also only going
[2:15] to be launching on Xbox console hardware.
[2:17] This is the right move, in my opinion.
[2:19] I think what we're seeing right now
[2:21] is the return of exclusives
coming back in a big way.
[2:24] We're seeing Sony,
[2:25] where they're pretty much
just ditching the idea
[2:28] of even bringing a lot
of these games to PC.
[2:30] So my expectation is that the big titles,
[2:35] the live service games,
[2:36] the stuff that really rely on multiplayer,
[2:39] these will continue to be everywhere.
[2:40] The incentive to buy a console
[2:42] for a long time has been the exclusive,
[2:45] and I think that that's what Xbox team
[2:46] lost and are bringing back.
[2:47] So, you know, how many
people bought an Xbox
[2:50] to play Halo or Gears or Forza?
[2:53] How many people buy a PlayStation
[2:54] to play The Last of Us,
Wolverine or Spider-Man?
[2:57] So what I will say is
[2:58] this was not across the board,
[3:00] and they did not say,
[3:01] "Oh, this is our plan going forward."
[3:03] So the vast majority of
the games they showed today
[3:06] are still launching on PS5 and Steam,
[3:09] and Switch and everything like that.
[3:10] I think the main thing is,
[3:12] for new games that they
have not already announced
[3:14] or hadn't basically already
completed the PS5 version,
[3:17] I'm gonna assume they're
gonna really sort of
[3:18] take a second look
[3:19] at whether or not they
actually wanna roll out that,
[3:21] because there's a risk, right,
[3:23] and there's definitely a risk.
[3:23] They're gonna sell fewer games
[3:24] if they don't launch on the PS5.
[3:26] And what they did not
talk about at all today,
[3:28] not even one little morsel,
[3:30] was Project Helix, their
next generation of Xbox.
[3:34] So it's funny, I actually have
had some good conversations
[3:37] with the Xbox team
[3:38] while I've been here over
the last couple of days.
[3:39] I really think that they have
[3:42] pretty much the same
sense as everyone else
[3:44] that these are really
unprecedented times
[3:46] when it comes to the RAM Crisis.
[3:47] I think that it's one of those things
[3:49] where I do not envy them
for trying to plan out
[3:52] and launch their next generation,
[3:54] and they're taking their time.
[3:55] And I'll be honest with you, they should.
[3:57] As a content creator,
[3:59] I would love it if they start talking
[4:01] about Project Helix and it's hands-on,
[4:03] and all this kinda stuff.
[4:04] But look, this is not the
time to launch a new console.
[4:07] This is not even the time
[4:07] to really get that serious about it.
[4:09] Now, my understanding is
[4:10] that there are a lot of conversations
[4:12] that are still ongoing as far as
[4:13] what they're gonna do and when.
[4:14] My best understanding of
Project Helix right now
[4:17] is that there will be more
to share later this year,
[4:20] but they wanted to focus
showcase on the games.
[4:22] Completely the correct call.
[4:24] But I think it's gonna
be really interesting
[4:25] because the next generation
is highly, highly uncertain.
[4:28] And while I'm glad that we've
got the Xbox Series X25,
[4:32] I think it's a cool special edition.
[4:34] It's just that: a special edition.
[4:35] It feels like it is a
real shift at the moment.
[4:38] You know, there's new leadership,
[4:40] there's a new strategy
bringing exclusives back,
[4:44] and there's the looming next generation.
[4:46] But what I will say is
that the vibe I get,
[4:50] that Microsoft are serious about Xbox.
[4:52] If you think about it,
Microsoft as a company.
[4:54] What consumer brands do they have
[4:57] that people actually really like?
[4:59] Xbox and...
[5:01] - [Ken] Copilot?
[5:02] - People love Copilot, you're right.
[5:04] Excel perhaps.
[5:06] But, like, for real,
[5:06] this is an important thing for Microsoft,
[5:09] and they've invested so much money
[5:11] in Xbox being successful
[5:13] that they kind of need
to make it successful.
[5:15] And what form it takes over the next year,
[5:18] I think, is gonna be a
really interesting thing.
[5:19] So both Matt Booty and Asha Sharma,
[5:21] the, you know, heads of Xbox,
[5:23] they had a little presentation
[5:24] sort of after the showcase.
[5:26] And, you know, Asha mentioned
[5:28] that this is her, I think,
100th day on the job.
[5:31] And I actually got to speak
with her briefly last night,
[5:32] and it was definitely,
[5:34] the size of the task is not small,
[5:38] but here's the thing:
[5:40] I will say that, almost
exclusively at this point,
[5:43] the last 100 days has been good news.
[5:45] We've seen the price
cut on Xbox Game Pass.
[5:47] We've seen the return of exclusives.
[5:50] There's obviously a great
slate of games they've got
[5:52] between, obviously,
Forza had just launched.
[5:54] You've got Halo, which looks fun.
[5:56] You've got Gears.
[5:57] There's a lot of stuff.
[5:58] Fable, I think, is actually
[5:59] really, really impressive looking.
[6:01] There's no getting around the fact
[6:02] that they're in a deep hole right now.
[6:04] PlayStation have trounced
the Xbox this generation,
[6:07] as they did last generation.
[6:08] The idea of what is a
console versus what is a PC
[6:12] and what that next generation of Xbox is
[6:14] feels very uncertain.
[6:15] Like, what's the right call?
[6:17] I mean, it seems like
they're very committed
[6:18] to making Windows the
core of the next Xbox,
[6:21] which, if they can pull
it off, is a great idea.
[6:23] But will they get Windows
[6:25] to an actually healthy enough spot
[6:27] that you will feel comfortable using it
[6:29] with a controller on your TV?
[6:31] They're making progress,
but they're not there yet.
[6:34] Will they have that full
backwards compatibility
[6:35] with your existing Xbox games?
[6:37] If they ditch the optical drive,
[6:39] which I'm sure they will,
[6:40] how are you gonna keep
your existing library?
[6:42] Like, there's so many questions
[6:43] about how they tackle Project Helix,
[6:45] and presumably we'll be
finding out more soon.
[6:48] But I'm very curious,
[6:49] what do you think about
the return of Xbox?
[6:53] To me, it is the beginning.
[6:56] I think there are a lot of good signs,
[6:57] but I think a lot of
what we've seen so far
[7:00] is almost kind of the low-hanging fruit.
[7:03] You know, bringing back exclusives,
[7:04] cancel your PS5 version of Gears.
[7:06] Cool, whatever. 
That's fine.
[7:08] You know, cutting the price of Game Pass.
[7:09] You need to do that.
[7:10] People are canceling.
[7:11] I think now comes the hard decisions.
[7:13] How do you launch Project Helix?
[7:15] How much is Project Helix?
[7:17] How good is the Windows Xbox experience?
[7:20] And what does that next slate of games
[7:22] really look like to drive
you to actually wanna buy it?
[7:25] I have absolutely no idea
[7:26] the answers to these questions,
[7:27] but if you wanna find out along with me,
[7:29] make sure to subscribe to the channel
[7:30] and ring-a-ling that ding-a-ling button.
[7:32] The console wars are back, baby,
[7:33] just the way it was supposed to be.