New Games
While the company was killing it in the message and hardware department, game releases saw some really high points, as well as some noticeable lows. Things didn’t really pick up for Microsoft and the Xbox One until late in the year when Forza Horizon 3 released (which ended up being the highest rated Xbox exclusive of the year), followed by the well-received Gears of War 4. The other major exclusives of the year, Quantum Break and ReCore, didn’t fare as well with players. To be fair, Quantum Break was a solid experience on the actual console, but it was unfortunately riddled with issues on the PC, which cost it dearly when it came to reviews.
Much like Sony did back in 2015, Microsoft relied on a solid third-party lineup that included some intelligent timed exclusivity. Inside was easily one of the best indie experiences of the year, and Dead Rising 4 has proven to be a fun, zombie-slaying romp. Major multiplatform titles such as Battlefield 1, Overwatch, Dark Souls III, and Final Fantasy XV helped to fill in a lot of the holes in the lineup, as a number of exclusives — including Crackdown 3 and Scalebound — were delayed to 2017.
One thing we’re still interested in seeing is the effect of Play Anywhere on exclusives moving forward. While it was announced in June, the first major first-party title to be available on PC was Forza Horizon 3. Every Xbox exclusive is supposed to follow suit going forward, and to some eyes it seems Microsoft may be shooting itself in the foot by allowing the company’s biggest games to release on more powerful hardware at the same time as on the Xbox One. However, it seems to be working in the company’s favor. Sales of the console continue to rise, and Microsoft profits from the software sales on either platform. It’s also helping developers reach a larger audience. What effects this will have on the console space in the long run remains to be seen.
