Oh My God, So Many Things Happened Since I Last Posted

This will almost certainly be my biggest post I’ve made since starting this blog, and this is just game industry stuff. I’m not even getting into other things like getting a new car (yay!), or my feelings on the new Gorillaz album (I liked the last one more), or buying the new Galaxy Buds Pro 4 (the noise-cancelling feature freaks me out), because the industry seems to flip-flop between “we are so back” and “it’s never been more over” on a nearly daily basis. Let’s all take a deep breath and get through this together.

This Is (Not) An Xbox COO

Pour one out for our wide boi. Xbox’s now-former COO, Phil “Obscure Game T‑Shirt” Spencer, has retired from Xbox and left the company, assumingly with a burlap sack over his head, being shoved out through one of the service exits alongside Head of “This Is An Xbox” Sarah Bond, following behind him. This is a big deal because Xbox has been losing relevancy for almost the entirety of Phil’s tenure since taking over the position after Don Mattrick kneecapped the Xbox One before it could even get out of the starting block. I’m not going to pretend that steering the Titanic away from icebergs while it’s on fire is an easy task, but Phil suffered a lot of unforced errors: the misuse of Rare, the cancellation of multiple games, the state of Halo, several high‑profile studio closures, an almost complete lack of original games, and the fumbling of both Bethesda and Activision.

You can tell by the amount of controllers that she's a gamer

Outside of a focus on accessibility and a push towards backwards compatibility, Phil has done very little to give me faith in the Xbox brand. Despite being an Xbox diehard, I have purchased more first‑party Sony titles than I have first‑party Xbox titles. Since launching the Series consoles, I have outright bought one Xbox first‑party title, and it was Starfield. I played games like Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, Outer Worlds 2, and Avowed on Game Pass because they gave me little reason to invest full price in any of those games, or even at reduced prices. I used to buy Collector’s Editions of Halo games, but now I couldn’t even be bothered paying for a regular copy. This isn’t just me whining about the quality of Halo or the lack of original games. The larger gaming audience has told Microsoft loud and clear they are not interested in Xbox and are not convinced they can get that confidence back. Sales of both consoles are down, brand recognition is all but erased, and they are doing very little to gain that trust back.

Boy, I sure hope the person behind this campaign is out

There is very little in Xbox’s current lineup that excites me like how their games used to excite me. Halo Campaign Evolved feels like it’s just an excuse to get a Halo game on a PlayStation. Fable looks interesting but is made by a studio that has only exclusively worked on car games, and I’m still not entirely convinced that games like Elder Scrolls VI or State of Decay 3 will even be released. The only game I’m genuinely excited to play is Forza Horizon 6, which is just Forza Horizon 5 in Japan. Anything they announce now, even if it’s my dream game, we won’t be seeing until most of the way through the next generation. Right now, at this moment, Xbox is in a poor position, and a lot of fault can be placed at the feet of Phil Spencer. Something had to change.

It was shockingly easy to find a pretentious photo of Asha Sharma

Enter our new Xbox executive overlord, Asha Sharma, a woman with zero experience in the gaming industry who was previously the head of CoreAI. Not the move I would have made. It’s great to see a woman of colour running a platform holder, but was this really the best choice you could make? I know in the previous paragraph I said Xbox needs a change, but I’m not sure this is it, chief. I wish her all the best, and I want more than anything for Xbox to be successful and put out great, exciting games, but people had little faith in Microsoft turning Xbox around, and this change of leadership has done little to change that outlook for the future of Xbox.

Speaking of the future of Xbox…

I Got The Combination Xbox/PC Console Box

Project Helix is not a bioweapons experiment you find scrawled on a memo in a Resident Evil game. It is the codename for the next Xbox console that can play Xbox… AND PC GAMES?! Whaaaaaaaaat?

In a move that shocked really no one, new Xbox COO Asha “I’m Going To Play Borderlands 2” Sharma announced randomly at GDC that the next Xbox, codenamed Project Helix, will run both Xbox and PC games natively on the console. This is probably the best move Microsoft could have made. If they had just made another Xbox, it would have been all over. PlayStation fans are pretty snugly settled into their console ecosystem, and Nintendo fans would sooner pay $30 for a Game Boy Advance ROM than buy an Xbox console. It’s a smart move by Xbox, as PC has become an ever‑growing market with more and more people forgoing consoles entirely for a PC. However, some of the biggest hurdles to getting into PC gaming could be solved by a dedicated box. You wouldn’t need to worry about installing expensive PC parts or compatible hardware; drivers and updates would (assumingly) be automatically handled; and with the right UI and UX, the complexities of getting PC games running would all be gone.

Not this

But this console will live or die entirely by how they implement PC games into an Xbox. This cannot just be a regular PC with a Windows install on it. It needs to be a custom OS designed specifically for controllers, without any of the bloat from a normal Windows install. If this thing has Microsoft Teams already installed, they have messed up. PC storefronts also need to get on board. Steam already has excellent controller support with their “Big Picture” mode, but places like Epic and Ubisoft are completely lacking. They need to get on board with either a custom storefront or better controller support for their current storefronts.

...or this

Finally, the games just need to work. One of my biggest issues with my Steam Deck is the Proton compatibility layer. When I want to play Batman: Arkham Asylum on my Xbox, all I have to do is download it, press play, and it just works. When I wanted to play Batman: Arkham Asylum on my Steam Deck, I got a blank screen and spent 30 minutes going through different versions of Proton before one of them would actually launch the game. If this is running some version of Windows, it should work, but it needs to be seamless and easy. If this console requires me to keep a keyboard and mouse hooked up, it’s a failure. This cannot be another Xbox ROG Ally situation. With that said, I am still interested in this hybrid console. They are trying something left‑field and different. The PlayStation 6 is probably just going to be another PlayStation, and Nintendo seems to be fine making another Switch, so really this is the only chance we have of a console maker doing something fresh. But Microsoft has a history of messing up when trying something different (see: Windows Phone 7, Xbox One, Zune), so this is definitely a “wait and see” situation.

Highguard Is High‑Gone

Keighley giveth, apathy taketh away. Highguard, the “one more thing” at last year’s Game Awards, is no longer playable as of writing, as the publisher has shut down the servers and dissolved the studio. This is another example in a long line of live‑service games that have met an expedited end, such as Concord, The Day Before, and games that didn’t even make it out the door like the God of War and Last of Us live‑service games that were in development. A lot of people would look at the death of Highguard as a message that the public doesn’t want any more live‑service games, but as I am writing this, Marathon launched to general success, and recently launched games like Arc Raiders and Helldivers 2 are doing just fine. So it is not the general concept that people dislike.

Picking some real winners Geoff

So what is it about games like Arc Raiders and Marathon that Highguard and Concord don’t have? I honestly don’t know. Highguard had all the advantages that most other launching games don’t: the pedigree of former Respawn devs, the publicity of The Game Awards, and 200,000 players on its launch day. Yet it fizzed out and is now gone forever. I played a bit of Highguard during the first few days, and while I won’t say it was captivating, it was at least trying something. It wasn’t just a battle royale or extraction shooter. It was a combination of ideas, from scavenging supplies like a battle royale to base defence similar to Rainbow Six Siege. But all the wild, new ideas in the world won’t mean anything if those games don’t feel good to play, and that’s where I believe Highguard fumbled. All those previously successful games I mentioned earlier have one thing in common: polish. Polish in the controls, polish in the environment design, polish in the gunplay. All of it was worked on for years to ensure it felt complete. Arc Raiders felt like a complete game, whereas Highguard felt like a proof‑of‑concept prototype they were still figuring the kinks out of. More playtesting might have saved Highguard, but in a world where investors are expecting massive and instant returns, that just isn’t possible anymore.

All this effort, gone

A lot of people are concerned about games being immediately killed becoming more prevalent and unsustainable, but to me the core problem is not that games are expected to be immediate hits—it’s that the games that aren’t are not allowed to adjust. Now, Ubisoft is a terrible company run by soulless husks in human‑like skin, but I always have to give them credit for sticking with games even if they aren’t blowing up. I don’t know if you remember the launch of Rainbow Six Siege, but it was not good. It wasn’t living up to its namesake, and many people either played it for a bit and moved on or ignored it completely. But Ubisoft kept at it, working on improvements and adjusting the game to what people were looking for in a tactical shooter, and a few years later it was one of the biggest esports games of the time, giving Counter‑Strike a run for its money. For fuck’s sake, they are still putting out content for Skull and Bones.

This was released in Skull and Bones last month

If Highguard was given a year of tweaking and playtesting, three years from now we might be talking about the Highguard World Championship breaking records on Twitch. Alas, the investors didn’t see a massive return on investment in the first two weeks, so it’s now nothing but a meme.

Success and Acclaim Will Not Save You From the Axe

Between my last post and now, we have had one major studio closure and one round of layoffs that honestly baffles the mind. The first being Bluepoint, a studio known for its excellent ports and collections, who had recently made that Demon’s Souls remake a lot of people like. Then we have the EA layoffs over at Battlefield Studios, the collective group of studios that made literally the highest‑selling game of 2025—the game that sold 7 million copies in three days and saved EA’s flagship shooter franchise. Yeah, that wasn’t good enough, so EA laid off a shit ton of people from their live‑service game that millions of people want more content for.

"Family"

Bluepoint is no longer with us, as Sony, in their stupidity that would make Microsoft jealous, axed the entire studio because they didn’t have anything to work on. They had been working on a God of War live‑service game for some god‑forsaken reason. The team that makes great ports and remakes of mostly single‑player games suddenly making a live‑service game for an already existing series, despite having zero experience. They worked on that for a few years before Concord happened, and Sony killed nearly all of their 12 (yes, 12) currently in‑development live‑service games.

It's time to let go Bloodbourne fans

However, instead of remaking Bloodborne or Ape Escape, or maybe doing an Infamous or Killzone collection, they instead decided that it’s better to kill the studio dead. Now, I am not the biggest Sony fan, but they have over 30 years of games and IP that fans would love to see again; that I would love to see. This is clearly not a problem of a lack of IP to work with, but simply that starting something now would not bear fruit for several years, and as always, the line must go up—so 70 people are out of a job.

Massive success and critical acclaim? You're fired

But the frontrunner for “Most Baffling Decision Award” this year is currently the monsters running Electronic Arts. Battlefield 6 was a massive success that EA has not had outside of its annual sports games for a very long time. I cannot even think of an EA game that had such a positive consensus while selling extremely well. It literally was the highest‑selling game of 2025, beating out Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Monster Hunter Wilds.

Two letters you need to spell 'Corperate Greed'

But you can have a game that has sold millions of copies that fans love, and that still won’t save you from getting laid off. As of writing, we don’t know how many people have lost their jobs, but if it’s more than zero, they have fucked up. The most baffling thing about this is that one of the few criticisms Battlefield 6 has had is a lack of updates and new content—content you need people to make—but EA has already made its money selling to the Saudis, so off they go like bandits into the night. I can’t imagine what they must be thinking right now: “Hey, we just made a shit ton of money off Battlefield 6, but we fired a bunch of people before you can benefit from it.” But also, who cares, because fuck the Saudis.

Sony Put On A Good Show For Once (Again)

In between closing down studios and sneaking dynamic pricing onto their store, Sony had probably their best State of Play since the pandemic. Tons of really cool things were announced—some of them might even come out this year—so let’s have a look.

*saluting emoiji*

Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2

The planets have aligned, the prayers have been answered: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is finally on a system with more than 256MB of RAM. Yes, MGS4, a game that has been trapped on the PlayStation 3 for nearly 20 years, is finally being rereleased alongside the extremely mid Peace Walker in Volume Two of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection. Now, I think it’s a bit weird to only have two main games alongside Ghost Babel when Volume One had three main games alongside four side games, but I am sure MGS4 was a goddamn nightmare just to get running, let alone all the weird shit I assume is going to have to be removed. Still, it would have been nice to see Portable Ops or some of the AC!D games included as well. Man, Volume Three is going to totally fuck.

Yesssssssssss

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse

This was the trailer that finally convinced me, “Oh, Konami is, like, *back* back.” A 2D Castlevania game from some of the team that brought you Dead Cells? Oh yes. Silksong kinda reminded me that Metroidvania games are actually fucking awesome, and seeing Castlevania return to what made me like Castlevania games is so great to see. Between this and the new Bloodstained coming out this year, we are absolutely eating in the Metroidvania space. Keep them coming.

Female lead not properly wearing a jacket? Check

Rev.Noir

If Castlevania convinced me Konami is back, Rev.Noir convinced me that Konami is not fucking around. It takes a lot to launch an entirely new JRPG franchise during a time where even Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest aren’t hitting the numbers they used to. While they didn’t show us a lot, it looks like melodramatic anime nonsense, which is absolutely my shit. Definitely keeping an eye on this one.

Cool to see they're making a game based on a Fortinte character

John Wick

Sure. John Wick seems like a franchise that should have, like, nine different games, but they have been a bit selective in who they give the licence to, and usually it’s either an existing game like Payday 2 and Fortnite, or something low‑stakes like that weird turn‑based game John Wick Hex. But this seems like a full‑fledged AAA John Wick game, so yeah, that sounds good. If they just make Arkham Asylum but John Wick, I’d be fine with that.

Journey to the KFC

Project Windless

“It’s a giant chicken man killing dozens of enemy soldiers with dual swords that can be thrown like a glaive.”

Okay, where do I sign?

The Rest

I’m just gonna lump a bunch of stuff here that I don’t have a lot to say about. Pragmata continues to look cool, although some of the controls for the PC demo soured me on it a little—hopefully they tune that a bit to make me not use the mouse like a D‑Pad. 007: Last Light look great, and I’ll definitely play it after they stop delaying it. Death Stranding 2 on PC will surely be good, and I can’t wait to play that again after a decent sale. I’m interested in seeing Silent Hill: Townfall, since I’ve started to prefer Resident Evil in first person, so seeing what Silent Hill can do with it is intriguing.