According to information disclosed, some external editors are reconsidering their support for Xbox consoles due to declining sales in Europe. Chris Dring, director of GamesIndustry.biz, shared information gathered at GDC, indicating industry concerns about the future of Xbox as a hardware manufacturer. Information collected by VGC.
Dring highlighted the stagnation of Xbox sales in Europe, recording a continuous decline over the past year, with a sharper decrease in the current year. By expressing the views of major publishers, Dring referred to a statement from a major company questioning the value of supporting Xbox, given the downward trend in the market.
Furthermore, there are indications that retailers in Europe are reducing their Xbox-related stock, including hardware and games. Third-party publishers are reassessing their efforts to develop versions of their games for Xbox Series S and X consoles, considering the dominance of the PC and PS5 markets.
The fact that Microsoft has acknowledged being behind PlayStation and Nintendo in terms of console sales further demonstrates the challenges Xbox faces in a competitive market. Take-Two’s data revealed a significant lead of PS5 over Xbox Series X|S in global sales.
In response to these obstacles, Microsoft announced plans to expand its offering of original games to other platforms, including PlayStation and Switch, titles such as Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded.
The perspective of Xbox exclusives being transferred to other platforms, as suggested by Xbox boss Phil Spencer, has raised concerns about the future of Xbox as a hardware manufacturer. Dring emphasized the potential consequences of losing creators’ and publishers’ trust in the Xbox ecosystem, which poses a significant risk to its market position.
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