The "Return" of Xbox

[00:00] - How about that return to Xbox?

[00:03] So this year at Xbox Showcase,

[00:05] not only is there some brand-new hardware,

[00:06] as you can see,

[00:07] but there is also a major shift

[00:09] to the strategy when it comes to Xbox,

[00:11] but let's talk hardware first.

[00:13] This is the brand-new Xbox Series X25.

[00:17] Now, that name, as you might expect,

[00:20] is because this is the

[00:23] To celebrate, they're doing a

[00:25] So this is in the OG transparent green.

[00:29] There's a lot of nice little

[00:32] So not only can you see through

[00:33] to things like the vapor

[00:36] So if you look on the back,

[00:36] you can actually see just

[00:38] You can see light flying all

[00:40] especially down here.

[00:41] So this will be launching

[00:44] So no word yet on price or the exact date

[00:48] or how limited it really will be.

[00:50] But I do know that they

[00:52] with the controller together,

[00:53] and you'll also be able to

[00:55] The controller's sick,

[00:57] especially with the OG

[01:00] But this is a callback to

[01:04] So the context coming into

[01:07] is a real reset of Xbox as a brand.

[01:10] 2025 was a terrible year, right?

[01:12] I mean, between the price hikes,

[01:14] all the sort of turmoil,

[01:15] but now I think there's some

[01:18] You know, you've got Asha

[01:21] It feels like the existing rules

[01:23] are kind of being broken a little bit,

[01:24] which, I'll be honest, is

[01:26] I think Xbox need a little bit of a reset.

[01:28] - [Asha] How about those exclusives?

[01:29] (crowd cheering)

[01:31] - What an interesting showcase.

[01:34] The big news for me really was

[01:36] the return of the exclusive.

[01:39] So this has been a real

[01:41] for the Xbox team for

[01:43] ever since they brought out the idea

[01:45] that everything is an Xbox.

[01:47] So they showed a lot of games at showcase.

[01:49] The vast majority of them

[01:50] are still landing on the PS5, on Steam,

[01:54] even a lot of them are landing

[01:56] There are, however, two

[01:59] So they'll still be landing on PC,

[02:01] they announced today.

[02:02] So Gears of War: E-Day,

[02:04] which everyone assumed was

[02:07] However, that is now going

[02:08] to be console exclusive to the Xbox,

[02:10] as well as Clockwork Revolution,

[02:12] which is a game that is also only going

[02:15] to be launching on Xbox console hardware.

[02:17] This is the right move, in my opinion.

[02:19] I think what we're seeing right now

[02:21] is the return of exclusives

[02:24] We're seeing Sony,

[02:25] where they're pretty much

[02:28] of even bringing a lot

[02:30] So my expectation is that the big titles,

[02:35] the live service games,

[02:36] the stuff that really rely on multiplayer,

[02:39] these will continue to be everywhere.

[02:40] The incentive to buy a console

[02:42] for a long time has been the exclusive,

[02:45] and I think that that's what Xbox team

[02:46] lost and are bringing back.

[02:47] So, you know, how many

[02:50] to play Halo or Gears or Forza?

[02:53] How many people buy a PlayStation

[02:54] to play The Last of Us,

[02:57] So what I will say is

[02:58] this was not across the board,

[03:00] and they did not say,

[03:01] "Oh, this is our plan going forward."

[03:03] So the vast majority of

[03:06] are still launching on PS5 and Steam,

[03:09] and Switch and everything like that.

[03:10] I think the main thing is,

[03:12] for new games that they

[03:14] or hadn't basically already

[03:17] I'm gonna assume they're

[03:18] take a second look

[03:19] at whether or not they

[03:21] because there's a risk, right,

[03:23] and there's definitely a risk.

[03:23] They're gonna sell fewer games

[03:24] if they don't launch on the PS5.

[03:26] And what they did not

[03:28] not even one little morsel,

[03:30] was Project Helix, their

[03:34] So it's funny, I actually have

[03:37] with the Xbox team

[03:38] while I've been here over

[03:39] I really think that they have

[03:42] pretty much the same

[03:44] that these are really

[03:46] when it comes to the RAM Crisis.

[03:47] I think that it's one of those things

[03:49] where I do not envy them

[03:52] and launch their next generation,

[03:54] and they're taking their time.

[03:55] And I'll be honest with you, they should.

[03:57] As a content creator,

[03:59] I would love it if they start talking

[04:01] about Project Helix and it's hands-on,

[04:03] and all this kinda stuff.

[04:04] But look, this is not the

[04:07] This is not even the time

[04:07] to really get that serious about it.

[04:09] Now, my understanding is

[04:10] that there are a lot of conversations

[04:12] that are still ongoing as far as

[04:13] what they're gonna do and when.

[04:14] My best understanding of

[04:17] is that there will be more

[04:20] but they wanted to focus

[04:22] Completely the correct call.

[04:24] But I think it's gonna

[04:25] because the next generation

[04:28] And while I'm glad that we've

[04:32] I think it's a cool special edition.

[04:34] It's just that: a special edition.

[04:35] It feels like it is a

[04:38] You know, there's new leadership,

[04:40] there's a new strategy

[04:44] and there's the looming next generation.

[04:46] But what I will say is

[04:50] that Microsoft are serious about Xbox.

[04:52] If you think about it,

[04:54] What consumer brands do they have

[04:57] that people actually really like?

[04:59] Xbox and...

[05:01] - [Ken] Copilot?

[05:02] - People love Copilot, you're right.

[05:04] Excel perhaps.

[05:06] But, like, for real,

[05:06] this is an important thing for Microsoft,

[05:09] and they've invested so much money

[05:11] in Xbox being successful

[05:13] that they kind of need

[05:15] And what form it takes over the next year,

[05:18] I think, is gonna be a

[05:19] So both Matt Booty and Asha Sharma,

[05:21] the, you know, heads of Xbox,

[05:23] they had a little presentation

[05:24] sort of after the showcase.

[05:26] And, you know, Asha mentioned

[05:28] that this is her, I think,

[05:31] And I actually got to speak

[05:32] and it was definitely,

[05:34] the size of the task is not small,

[05:38] but here's the thing:

[05:40] I will say that, almost

[05:43] the last 100 days has been good news.

[05:45] We've seen the price

[05:47] We've seen the return of exclusives.

[05:50] There's obviously a great

[05:52] between, obviously,

[05:54] You've got Halo, which looks fun.

[05:56] You've got Gears.

[05:57] There's a lot of stuff.

[05:58] Fable, I think, is actually

[05:59] really, really impressive looking.

[06:01] There's no getting around the fact

[06:02] that they're in a deep hole right now.

[06:04] PlayStation have trounced

[06:07] as they did last generation.

[06:08] The idea of what is a

[06:12] and what that next generation of Xbox is

[06:14] feels very uncertain.

[06:15] Like, what's the right call?

[06:17] I mean, it seems like

[06:18] to making Windows the

[06:21] which, if they can pull

[06:23] But will they get Windows

[06:25] to an actually healthy enough spot

[06:27] that you will feel comfortable using it

[06:29] with a controller on your TV?

[06:31] They're making progress,

[06:34] Will they have that full

[06:35] with your existing Xbox games?

[06:37] If they ditch the optical drive,

[06:39] which I'm sure they will,

[06:40] how are you gonna keep

[06:42] Like, there's so many questions

[06:43] about how they tackle Project Helix,

[06:45] and presumably we'll be

[06:48] But I'm very curious,

[06:49] what do you think about

[06:53] To me, it is the beginning.

[06:56] I think there are a lot of good signs,

[06:57] but I think a lot of

[07:00] is almost kind of the low-hanging fruit.

[07:03] You know, bringing back exclusives,

[07:04] cancel your PS5 version of Gears.

[07:06] Cool, whatever.

[07:08] You know, cutting the price of Game Pass.

[07:09] You need to do that.

[07:10] People are canceling.

[07:11] I think now comes the hard decisions.

[07:13] How do you launch Project Helix?

[07:15] How much is Project Helix?

[07:17] How good is the Windows Xbox experience?

[07:20] And what does that next slate of games

[07:22] really look like to drive

[07:25] I have absolutely no idea

[07:26] the answers to these questions,

[07:27] but if you wanna find out along with me,

[07:29] make sure to subscribe to the channel

[07:30] and ring-a-ling that ding-a-ling button.

[07:32] The console wars are back, baby,

[07:33] just the way it was supposed to be.