Xbox Most Certainly Has Exclusives Now

September 22, 2020 at 8:58pm
By Jason Stettner

In the past Xbox Game Studios has had some games, a growing quantity recently. After the acquisition of Bethesda it really can’t ever be said again that Xbox has no games. That narrative of lacking in the first party department is officially over as there has been quite a staggering growth for the Microsoft gaming division.

For a long time there the exclusive releases or special deals were limited. That really has changed a ton, and suddenly towards the dawn of the next generation. The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are primed for a potentially vast quantity of first party titles.

Whether or not those games are shared with PC or even other platforms, under the banner they help build the ecosystem that Xbox has been building over the last couple years. It started small, and it’s snowballed into a question of really what’s next? I personally don’t think they’re down with acquisitions, and it’ll be neat to see how that works out.

For now, there are twenty-three studios working on various games across genres for delivery on Xbox Game Pass and as full releases. Whether you’re wanting to play on console through Xbox, on PC through Windows 10 or Android through Project xCloud they’ve created a mighty system backed by some of the most iconic franchises of all time.

While we all know the holy trinity of Halo, Gears and Forza its great those are now rounded out by other incredible series. The likes of The Elder Scrolls; Fallout, DOOM, Quake, Wolfenstein and so much more from just Bethesda. These are some major hitters in the industry, and someday you’ll associate those directly with the Xbox brand.

It’s also not just about what these studios can do in the near future, it’s about their potential to work on an existing portfolio of IP and even create new stuff with more opportunities for expansion under this aggressive Xbox growth in gaming. The sharing of the technology, Game Pass to fuel smaller ideas or even larger ones.



There’s so much potential for new games to appear, and that’s exciting for the industry as most won’t miss out on them. It definitely fills the void of limited exclusive games that has been a major poking point for almost the entire Xbox One generation. It’s great that the company was able to see that as a weak spot, and entirely remedy it by getting creative in how they impact the industry.

Their use of subscriptions to drive consumers across various gaming mediums seems to be something that’s working considering the rapid growth to fifteen million Xbox Game Pass subscribers (September 2020) from ten million back in April of the same year. While some may be entry purchases, they’re likely to stay locked as the deal is too good. There will also be EA Play games added, it’s just getting really wild. To place myself back on topic there are going to be a lot of games added to their subscription service on day one.

These big first party games are a huge selling point. As the narrative has been for years that games sell consoles, and platforms. It shouldn’t be an issue now. Looking forward you’ll see games such as The Elder Scrolls VI, Fallout 5, Wolfenstein III and so many others arrive on that platform guaranteed within the subscription.

Then there are other new games already having been teased. There’s Avowed, Fable, Everwild, Hellblade and so much more. Another angle to look at this is from a historic point. There’s a masterful library of games waiting to either be ported, or thrown into the Game Pass offering. This is massive history of games just primed for being brought back. Whether that’s with some lost series, or even more classic entries within those franchises.

The return of say Quake for example. I know Quake Champions is a thing, but what if we see remasters or ports of the older games to prepare for a proper new entry. We’re already seeing older games return with say The Bard’s Tale or the Wasteland older titles being brought into the fold. Niche sure, but it grows what the brand has to offer. Might even be seeing some Double Fine games pop up soon. That’s what it’s all about, being able to play games. A wide selection of games, and a little something for everyone.

You’re going to see that mix of shooters, the biggest western RPGs and even some more smaller indie experiences. They’re going all in, and it’s exciting to see. It’s going to be an era where you really can’t say that the platform lacks games, it’s going to have all of those experiences and of course additional third party ones too. That’s all for now, you can read a review of the insanely glorious Microsoft Flight Simulator below, or the general franchise hub for further coverage of the platform.

Read our Microsoft Flight Simulator Review
View our Xbox Hub