At the start of 2023, there was a lot of talk aboutXbox. It had some big releases planned -Redfall,Hellblade,Forza- but the main conversation starter wasStarfield. It didn’t matter how good any of these other games did, in comparison. Starfield was the first big Xbox exclusive to be on the level ofGod of WarorThe Last of Us, and was supposed to put down a marker for Xbox in its new era of acquired exclusivity. In the end, nothing went to plan, and now all eyes are on Hellblade.
Redfall was never going to be a system seller, but with the Arkane name, it could have underlined that Xbox was the place to be for the hardcore gamers, even asSonybrought in the casual masses. Theless said about what actually happened the better. Hellblade was delayed, hence its position as 2024 green team mascot, andstill lacks a concrete release date. Forza was fine but didn’t set the world alight like Horizon 5, and in the end the biggest winner for Xbox wasHi-Fi Rush, which shadow dropped in late January.
Then we come to Starfield. Oh, Starfield. ‘It’s fine’ was the general consensus, and a lukewarm reception followed by a single nomination atThe Game Awardsis not the barBethesdahas set for itself. This was supposed to be Xbox’s big arrival into the new generation, so much so that the chatter in the run-up was the head to head withSpider-Man 2asSony’s A-lister of the year. Instead, Starfield found itself up againstBaldur’s Gate 3, an accidental console exclusive for Sony after Xbox couldn’t get the game to work, and was the proverbial coughing baby to Larian’s hydrogen bomb.
That single category Starfield was up for at The Game Awards was won by Baldur’s Gate on its way to six wins total, including Game of the Year.
And yet, despite all that, people will tell you Xbox had a good year. They’re not being delusional, either. Spider-Man 2 was Sony’s sole triple-A behemoth, and while I love it personally, it has not landed with the cultural punch of The Last of Us Part 2, God of War Ragnarok, or evenGhost of Tsushima. Meanwhile, Hi-Fi Rush makes up the ground Redfall lost, fans are showing patience for Hellblade, andStarfield has cultivated an army of defenders. With an impressive showcase led byFable, while Sony has taken heat for boththe PS VR2andthe Portal, and is going into 2024 withFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirththe only game of note on its calendar, with the likes of Rise of the Ronin leading the supporting cast.
Squinting a little through rose-tinted glasses at this fact, you could make the case that Xbox did okay in 2023 - especially when youadd in that the Activision-Blizzard deal closed this yeartoo. But just as it was all on Starfield to carry 2023, Hellblade has the responsibility of carrying 2024. It cannot count on another Hi-Fi Rush to bail it out.
Xbox seems to have some goodwill in the tank, buoyed by Game Pass and the promise of big games on the horizon. But it has fumbled throughout 2023, and no matter what it is doing behind the scenes, it needs some games. PlayStation has gotten off to a slow start this gen, but it can still point to some early hits, and most console players experienced Baldur’s Gate 3 with the blue team too. Nintendo is heavily rumoured to be coming out swinging with the Switch 2 next year too. Xbox needs to start doing its talking on the pitch. It has to hope Hellblade can do that talking loudly.
