In a recent interview with Axios, Matt Booty, the head of Xbox Game Studios at Microsoft, announced that the company’s internal game development studio has ceased creating new games for the Xbox One console. This decision comes as Microsoft shifts its focus towards the next-generation Xbox Series X/S consoles, also known as Gen 9.
Transitioning to Gen 9
Microsoft’s move towards Gen 9 consoles implies that the Xbox One hardware will no longer receive new game releases from their in-house studio. However, it’s important to note that Microsoft will continue to support the Xbox One console and existing games, such as the popular title “Minecraft,” for previous generations of consoles.
Leveraging Xbox Cloud Gaming
To ensure continued gaming experiences for Xbox One users, Microsoft has embraced Xbox Cloud Gaming. Through this technology, games like “Microsoft Flight Simulator” are accessible to Xbox One users. Despite this shift, the recent Xbox Games Showcase event did not feature games exclusively designed for the Xbox One.
According to Matt Booty, Microsoft will rely on Xbox Cloud Gaming to provide the latest games to Xbox One users, solidifying their commitment to supporting the platform. Booty stated, “That’s how we maintain support (for Xbox One).”
Focus on Xbox Series S/X Consoles
Microsoft’s game developers have now redirected their attention towards the Xbox Series S/X consoles. While there have been claims that some developers are urging Microsoft to discontinue Xbox Series S compatibility for the latest Xbox games, the company remains steadfast in their commitment to both consoles.
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The Xbox Series S, priced at $299, was launched as a console capable of playing games at a resolution of 1440p with a maximum frame rate of 120fps. However, some games only reached a resolution of 1080p without the higher frame rates available on the more powerful Xbox Series X.
Power and Memory Differences
The Xbox Series X boasts greater raw GPU power and features 16GB of RAM, surpassing the capabilities of the Xbox Series S, which is equipped with 10GB of RAM. These differences in memory capacity have presented challenges for some developers.
To address these constraints, Microsoft is actively working on improving Xbox graphics performance and allocating more memory to developers on the Xbox Series S. While these obstacles remain, Matt Booty assures that Microsoft’s Xbox game studio is capable of delivering optimal performance in their latest games designed for the Xbox Series S.
Black Variant and Increased Storage Capacity
During the Xbox Games Showcase event, Microsoft also unveiled a black variant of the Xbox Series S console. This new variant addresses concerns raised by gamers regarding the original Xbox Series S’s limited storage capacity of 512GB, which was deemed insufficient for storing large games.
The newly launched black variant of the Xbox Series S offers an increased storage capacity of 1TB, providing gamers with a more suitable option for storing their expanding library of games.
In conclusion, Microsoft has halted the production of new games for the Xbox One console, focusing their efforts on the next-gen Xbox Series X/S consoles. Despite this shift, Microsoft remains committed to supporting Xbox One users through Xbox Cloud Gaming. Furthermore, improvements in graphics performance and memory allocation are being pursued to optimize the gaming experience on the Xbox Series S. Gamers’ concerns about storage capacity have also been addressed with the introduction of a black variant of the Xbox Series S console with a storage capacity of 1TB.
