Microsoft added five game developers to its branch of first-party game studios. However, this is just a façade by the company that did little more than talk about all the games that its platform can play at E3 this year. Why isn’t this a good thing? Because it has been five years and Microsoft has not released a single game that has been a console seller. And this still holds true. Being an open platform is great and all, and I applaud the company for welcoming in more talented developers into the fold, but without any true exclusives, one must wonder whether or not they know when they expect to see results from the companies they partnered with.

Nonetheless, Microsoft is going is to be in a prime place to overtake Sony again…next generation. Rumors have been rampant about a new Xbox coming within the next two years. This means that the five new companies they have acquired will more than likely skip the rest of this console generation and focus more on the new console being developed. That console has been codenamed, Project Scarlet. Some reports suggest that the console will have all digital content instead of physical discs, harping on the industry belief that traditional discs will be phased out in the next few years. Regardless, the new hardware needs new games if they want to compete with Sony and Nintendo. I am in the camp that Microsoft should have been acquiring new developers since the Xbox 360, similar to how Sony has developed new studios over the last decade. The only way that I can foresee Microsoft coming out on top is if they do not try what they did with their original release with the Xbox One. 

Xbox One was supposed to have a 24-hour check-in to use Xbox Live, a DRM paywall that blocks consumers from sharing their games with another person, an always-on Kinect camera that tracts and records you and could not be sold without the console, and numerous other problems that even Sony had to jump at the chance to make fun of them at their own conference. None of these ever made it to the actual launch of the console, but it still went on sale at $500 compared to the PlayStation 4’s $399. It has yet to even creep up on Sony’s console sales. If they want to keep away from the miserable launch they suffered back in 2013, they will need to remember what Sony did. That includes a low price point, keeping flexibility in policies, and bringing new games from different companies. It appears they already have one component in the works, hopefully, they continue on this trend.

What do you think about Microsoft already creating a new console? Sound off in the comments below or contact me on social media. I can be found on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Medium.