Xboxtethering itself to Windows could be the worst thing it’s ever done. Rumor has been circulating for a while of Microsoft’s diminishing focus on the home console game, and recent events seem to confirm it. Now content tofocus on its “Play Anywhere” concept, with Game Pass available to stream on a wide variety of devices including PC, mobile phones, andeven other game consoles like the Steam Deck, Microsoft seems to be moving out of hardware production.
It’s a sensible business decision, in some ways:the Xbox Series X/S has greatly undersold in our current console generation, dwarfed by the PS5 and Switch’s sales figures. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with the console line - it’s just not doing well, so Microsoft has sensibly turned its attentions elsewhere. But its approach to doing so is a little problematic, in no small part due to how Microsoft intends on integrating its other major product line - the Windows operating system - into its future platforms.
Xbox Will Be Using Windows As A “Backbone” With Xbox Moving Forward
Future Xbox Platforms Will All Be Windows-Based
Microsoft recently announced a new partnershipwith chip manufacturer AMD, which means that it’s not totally ceasing its manufacture of consoles, but it is outsourcing some of its efforts. Along with that announcement, though, Microsoft also revealed that it has bigger plans for Xbox: it’ll no longer be a line of consoles, but a multi-device platform for purchasing and playing games. And across all of Microsoft’s own platforms,it’ll run on Windows.
This begins with the Xbox ROG Ally, the upcoming handheld gaming PC, and the first physical product of the Microsoft-AMD partnership. Like the previous Asus ROG Ally, this handheld will run entirely on Windows 11, albeit on a simplified version that launches directly into the Xbox app instead of the desktop or start menu. That will make the new handheld a pretty flexible device - likely not limited to a single platform, like the Steam Deck’s SteamOS is, the ROG Ally lets you download all manner of Windows-compatible apps and games.
Windows Has Been Hit Or Miss, Which Could Be A Problem Eventually
Another Windows Vista Could Kill Xbox’s Future Console Efforts
But that comes with its drawbacks. Every few years, Windows comes out with a “new and improved” version of its hardware system, and more often than not,all the changes are terrible, frustrating, and poorly received. It probably began with Windows Vista, released in 2007, which caused controversy at the time for its poor performance, lack of driver support, and overzealous security features that made it incompatible with all manner of software.
Other Windows operating systems have been fine, despite their flaws, butWindows has had quite a few clunkers in the years since. Windows 8 was widely criticized for its tile-based start menu design, which was designed for touch-screen systems, but worked poorly with a mouse and keyboard. It also had a tendency to slow down your computer every time you opened it. Even Windows 11, the current iteration, has major issues: it’s only compatible with a select few types of hardware, and its performance has taken a dip.
Many users have also expressed their worries about its security features, which they say report an uncomfortable amount of data back to Microsoft - the company recently had to roll back a planned Copilot program called Recall, which would take screenshots of your monitor every few seconds to prevent you from losing data, after widespread controversy over security concerns. And speaking of Copilot, the amount of AI bloat on recent Windows machines is frustrating and, at least on my end, both unwanted and unnecessary.
The Xbox ROG Ally will run on Windows 11, too, which isn’t the worst system in the world. With hardware produced in collaboration with Microsoft, it’ll probably run just fine, and as long as users can disable Copilot and other unwelcome features like they can on home PCs, security and bloat aren’t too much of a concern. That said, by tethering itself to Windows,Xbox is one Windows Vista-level event away from total extinction.
If whatever follows Windows 11 is a real disaster, which is not outside the realm of possibility, it’ll inevitably be on that generation of Xbox for cross-promotional purposes.That could make a real clunker of a console, with poor performance and security issues across the board.
Windows doesn’t have a much better track record when it comes to custom operating systems for its portable devices, either. When the first line of Surface tablets was released, they ran on a sort of restricted version of Windows 10. Users could only download apps directly from the Windows store, and only use Edge as their web browser. Something like that wouldn’t be out of place on a handheld gaming PC, but it wouldn’t fare much better in terms of performance and flexibility.
Game Pass Subscribers Will Enjoy It, But People Who Prefer Physical Media Probably Won’t
Windows-Based Handhelds Could Be A Big Hit For Steaming, But Not Much Else
But physical media enjoyers would be out of luck. It’s a bad time to prefer physical media already -many game consoles and PCs today are releasing without disc drives, so your only option is to purchase and download games from a physical storefront. The Xbox ROG Ally, and any future Windows-based consoles, will probably be more of the same, without the ability to play physical games at all. In and of itself, that won’t be the death knell for Xbox’s future consoles, but it could contribute to their downfall.
I’m here for Xbox focusing more on publishing games and making them available on multiple platforms. I’m a big fan of Play Anywhere. But I’m not sure they’re going about planning their future in exactly the right way. Poor Windows updates could do a lot of damage to a Microsoft handheld, and the greater focus on cloud streaming is certain to turn away those who prefer physical media. Suffice it to say I’m a little worried about the future ofXboxat present, and none of the recent news out of Microsoft has been enough to assuage me.
