5 Years After Launch, the Xbox Collection X Is an Afterthought. So What’s Subsequent?

Five years ago today, the Xbox Collection X sought to reimagine what the time period “Xbox” even was. Again then, the large, black, boxy console promised gamers they may get peak efficiency for couch-based gaming for the low value of $500. In 2025, that console with the optical drive now costs $150 greater than it did in 2020, and it has been eclipsed by the newest gaming-ready PC chips many instances over.

Microsoft’s Recreation Cross mannequin, which rose together with the Collection X to develop into the perfect deal in gaming, now costs greater than ever if you need the perfect options.

All of it looks as if grim tidings, however there’s extra at stake than a model. Xbox is making an attempt to drag the entire games industry business into a brand new identification, the place exclusivity and first-party {hardware} just like the Collection X matter lower than the video games themselves.

Positive, Halo is coming to PlayStation 5 and Gears of War is already on the console, however Xbox isn’t going anyplace. It may nonetheless lower by way of the clamor and show the naysayers unsuitable.

“What they’re trying to do is blow up the standard gaming framework,” Circana’s main online game business analyst Mat Piscatella instructed Gizmodo over e mail. “The important thing query is that if gamers will likely be prepared to go together with that change.”

When a trickle of dangerous information turns into a flood, it could appear close to unimaginable to see any vivid spot of hope. With the transfer towards a subscription-based gaming panorama, we personal much less and develop extra depending on digital platforms. We undergo on the whims of the platform holders, unable to do something however roll our eyes on the inevitable technique of enshittification. Then there’s the latest drama from Bloomberg’s report claiming Microsoft has positioned a 30% profit margin mandate throughout its Xbox model, which is means above the business commonplace. The report places the Xbox’s latest actions into perspective.

Harping on these ache factors is much less like beating a lifeless horse, and extra like kicking the shins of a poor, hobbled creature who’s pushing itself tougher than anyone else. The Xbox model remains to be alive regardless of the crushingly dour outlook of the fanbase. Xbox may make the case that exclusivity has no place in our fashionable gaming panorama. Whereas the vast majority of players could be effective streaming their titles from house, there will likely be a devoted subset of players who would pay by way of the nostril to get the very best gaming {hardware} there may be with out funneling 1000’s of {dollars} right into a gaming PC.

Xbox wants a plan. Higher but, it must elevate the lid on its plans if it needs gamers to get on board with its makes an attempt to fully flip the script on gaming.

How did we get right here?

The Xbox is philosophically distinct from each different console in the marketplace, and that knowledgeable what ultimately turned the Xbox Collection X. The designers behind the unique Xbox console again in 2001 needed to take what was primarily a Home windows PC and plug it into the lounge. The system used Microsoft’s personal DirectX expertise and ran on equal laptop elements. Ultimately, that “DirectX Field” turned, merely “Xbox.” Only a few years after launching its unique console, the corporate discovered large success with the Xbox 360. It was a console with a lifespan that lasted almost 11 years, changing into the corporate’s best-selling system. Microsoft solely killed off the Xbox 360 store in 2024.

Microsoft’s follow-up, the Xbox One, launched with a heavy concentrate on multimedia. In 2013, Microsoft emphasised the console as an “all-in-one house leisure system” and saved mentioning Reside TV as a killer function. The console suffered from quite a few controversies, like that notorious try to require an web connection, restrict gamers’ skills to purchase used video games, and pressure customers to hook up a Kinect. Former Xbox Senior Vice President Don Mattrick told players, “Thankfully, we’ve got a product for individuals who aren’t capable of get some type of connectivity. It’s referred to as Xbox 360.”

After a big C-suite shakeup that noticed the rise of Phil Spencer—now the CEO of Microsoft Gaming—Microsoft launched two consoles on Nov. 10, 2020. The Xbox Series S was a lower-end console constructed for enjoying Recreation Cross titles and fashionable video games at 1440p decision. The large daddy, the Collection X, was probably the most “box-like” Xbox the corporate had ever devised. Microsoft promised it was designed for 4K gaming, packing within the each AI upscaling and ray tracing capabilities to make video games play and look their greatest.

The factor we regularly overlook in regards to the Xbox Collection X is how a lot it was a continuation of Microsoft’s unique pitch means again in 2001. The console is stuffed with PC guts, even when it doesn’t really feel like several form of Home windows machine. And but, it’s a strong console for its value due to its customized 8-core, 3.8GHz AMD processor constructed on what was then the still-relatively new Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 microarchitecture. The console promised double the FLOPS (floating level operations per second) in comparison with the Xbox One. It got here with 16GB of quick GDDR6 RAM for shorting loading instances and a full 1TB SSD to carry the rising measurement of next-gen video games. The storage was greater than the 825GB SSD within the unique (and most up-to-date) PS5. The Xbox Collection X internals are particularly fascinating—a minimum of for {hardware} nerds like yours really. In interviews, designers like Xbox’s Director of Mechanical Engineering Jim Wahl talked about how the console’s cut up motherboard design allowed it to direct cool air onto all parts in a gradual stream.

The Xbox Collection X was a tall tower of gaming potential, although this console era lacked lots of the big-name titles that may get gamers to hurry out for the newest {hardware}. Halo Infinite didn’t arrive till late 2021. The video games which have come out since 2020 haven’t caught round on Xbox’s personal console, both. Titles like Forza Horizon 5 at the moment are on PS5. More moderen titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle hit Sony’s console in April this yr.

Microsoft doesn’t reveal the whole variety of console shipped or offered. Nonetheless, greatest estimates present the Xbox Collection S and X has shipped round 30 million items complete as of February 2024. To place that quantity in context, the PS5 has shipped round 80 million items worldwide as of November 2025, and the unique Swap has shipped over 154 million consoles as of September 2025, although Nintendo launched its system in 2017. Xbox console income has declined precipitously over the previous yr in comparison with PlayStation 5. After value hikes, the PS5 really noticed a bump in complete gross sales. In Microsoft’s latest quarterly earnings report, Xbox {hardware} gross sales have been down 22% year-over-year.

The place’s the mid-cycle Xbox?

There was no signal of a mid-cycle refresh console, like Sony did with its PlayStation 5 Pro to enhance its (now) $550 PS5. Leaked documents from Microsoft’s authorized battle with the Federal Commerce Fee confirmed the corporate had a minimum of drawn up designs for a mid-generation system referred to as “Brooklin.” That rounded Xbox hasn’t materialized. The closest we ever acquired was a brand new disc drive-less model and a Galaxy Black Series X with redesigned internals and 2TB of storage (that console now prices $800). The primary actual {hardware} in 5 years past one other controller colorway is the $1,000 Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, an incredible handheld PC however not one thing the console crowd may simply get used to.

Calling the Xbox Ally X handheld an “Xbox” confused gamers who imagined they might obtain a console-like expertise. Individuals who labored on the unique Xbox, like Seamus “father of Xbox” Blackley, said, “Is it really only a branded laptop computer with joysticks?” The hand held’s UI remains to be unfinished. There are some menus on the Xbox app that don’t work effectively with a controller. There are different main points with the Xbox Ally X going to sleep when in sport that may trigger it to not restart. One of many unique founders of Xbox Recreation Studios, Laura Fryer, is a constant critic of Xbox’s newest strikes. In a recent video, she said the Xbox Ally forgets the basics of UX—or person expertise—the place “time is the true foreign money, not money.”

The following-gen Xbox could have a UI very similar to the Xbox Ally. Wherein case, the hand-held is simply a beta for what comes subsequent. The Asus-made handheld was by no means going to be an actual Xbox. It’s merely a continuation of tendencies with at present’s handheld PC gaming gadgets. Brian Crecente, president of online game consulting firm Pad and Pixel, stated that Microsoft’s advertising surrounding the hand-held solely led to extra confusion, particularly when it saved making an attempt to persuade players that each PC can also be an Xbox.

“That shift is one thing they maintain making an attempt to do, and it retains blowing up of their face,” Crecente, who was additionally the previous editor-in-chief of Kotaku (now, sister site to Gizmodo once again) and a cofounder of Polygon, instructed Gizmodo. He’s been witness to Xbox’s many successes and foibles.

“The panorama of gaming is on the verge of seismic change,” Crecente stated. “When you possibly can play Halo on a PlayStation and God of Warfare on a PC, you already know issues have modified,” Crecente stated. The one query is whether or not Xbox is appropriate to refocus on being an uber writer, particularly when its guardian firm calls for such excessive revenue margins that studios can’t presumably match.

Any next-gen Xbox demands a UI that works. In that means, Valve is already far forward of no matter is occurring at Microsoft. Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS software program is simpler to navigate on handhelds, and it could possibly be coming to extra gadgets like a VR headset or a PC-like console. Microsoft “has all the time been chasing Valve,” online game researcher and NYU Stern College of Enterprise professor Joost van Dreunen instructed Gizmodo. It’s a smaller, extra agile firm run by ex-Microsoft programmer Gabe Newell. Steam—which most builders think is a monopoly—makes a lot cash, you could possibly take into account it a yacht factory for the Valve CEO. It’s not more likely to promote out to Microsoft or anyone else any time quickly.

Xbox publishing karma is all over

All this hubbub round {hardware} ignores what Xbox has been really specializing in: the video games. Earlier this yr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a sport that harkens again to old-school JRPGs with a French aptitude, turned a scorching success regardless of being developed by a small workforce of simply 30 folks. An enormous purpose Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 blew up was as a result of Xbox promoted it in 2024 and introduced it to Recreation Cross in 2025. As Stephen Totilo wrote in his recent Game File newsletter, Microsoft printed a dizzying array of nice titles, together with RPGs like Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2, shooters equivalent to Doom: The Dark Ages, and smaller indie titles like South of Midnight and Keeper.

The “Xbox Collection” {hardware} was altogether fascinating, although ultimately the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Collection X have been primarily tied for efficiency. Nintendo was off doing Nintendo issues, making financial institution on its cheaper $300 Nintendo Switch dockable handheld. Even 5 years in the past, the console wars have been successfully already of their loss of life throes. Video games within the fashionable period price greater than ever to develop. Lead instances are longer, and AAA advertising budgets alone can dwarf mid-sized initiatives. With rising prices, main first-party publishers can’t think about making a revenue until their video games are on each platform obtainable.

“For the longest time, the narrative round gaming has been about higher, quicker, larger [hardware], when in actual fact it’s the video games,” Joost van Dreunen stated.

It was round this time two years in the past that Microsoft accomplished its $68.7 billion buyout of what was then one of many largest publishers on the scene, Activision Blizzard. The acquisition promised to place Name of Responsibility on Recreation Cross, however shortly after making the deal last the Microsoft laid off hundreds of staff. Microsoft has continued firing thousands of employees within the yr since. Microsoft killed the long-awaited Good Darkish reimagining and axed its developer, reportedly laid off employees from a number of Name of Responsibility co-developers Raven Software program and Sledgehammer Video games, canceled a brand new MMORPG from the developer of Elder Scrolls On-line, and harm quite a few different small indie builders.

It’s unimaginable to say the place the needle falls on Xbox’s karma for 2025. It introduced us a number of video games from small and massive studios alike, and simply as simply dismantled many extra studios and fired the employees creating these video games.

We’ve got to speak about Recreation Cross

At launch, what actually differentiated the PS5 and Xbox consoles was Recreation Cross. Microsoft’s gaming subscription mannequin would quickly develop into the spine of Xbox’s complete gaming technique, one which eschewed exclusivity in favor of changing into a form of “Netflix of video games.” This included crossplay options to allow you to purchase video games on Xbox and play them on PC and even your cellphone. Over time, this might morph into the “Xbox in all places” technique, which is why you now see these annoying adverts making an attempt to persuade you that “every part is an Xbox.”

Recreation Cross steadily turned costlier through the years, however these value will increase have been insulated due to new options. The large promoting level for the subscription is entry to a large number of nice video games from Xbox previous and current. Moreover, Xbox Cloud Gaming would let players who paid extra play a number of large titles by streaming them from the cloud. That function was referred to as a “beta” for years till its most-recent 2025 replace. The opposite large promoting level for the best “Final” tier was “day one” video games. Now, to get entry to the newest Name of Responsibility and different AAA titles on launch day, you might want to spend much more ($30 as an alternative of $20) to get entry.

Microsoft makes most of its cash by promoting providers like Home windows 11, 365, or Azure to companies. Xbox is probably the most consumer-facing model of its complete product stack. “It’s a little bit of a tragic factor,” van Dreunen stated. “You’re making an attempt to be the good home on probably the most boring block.”

Xbox is the one piece that doesn’t gel with the remainder of Microsoft’s enterprise. That’s why the reported 30% margins would solely make sense from anyone who doesn’t comprehend the gaming business. In spite of everything, Xbox could possibly be a brand new strategy to shove Home windows in entrance of much more gamers and struggle again towards the ever-encroaching Valve.

It’s all in regards to the field. Which suggests Xbox nonetheless wants some kind of {hardware} to make a case for itself. Based on leaks, the next-gen Xbox, dubbed Project Magnus, can have a strong customized AMD chip that dwarfs what’s going into the next-gen PlayStation console. That has {hardware} aficionados speculating the system may simply price round $1,000 or much more.

This could be a “enterprise class” console for gamers who merely need the perfect, based on van Dreunen. Everybody else could make due on different gadgets, and never simply your good TVs.

Xbox will want one thing large for 2026

Xbox is finished with exclusives. It’s made that completely clear. However whereas Xbox has been extra verbose on the matter, PlayStation is making related strikes by sticking its once-exclusive video games on PC. The next-gen PlayStation may emphasize similar cross-play features as Xbox has, the place gamers can purchase their sport in a single place and decide up their save whether or not they’re on console or one other system. Nintendo remains to be the one one selling exclusivity each in first- and third-party titles. Contemplating the staggering rate of Switch 2 gross sales, it’s not doing half dangerous sticking with what works.

Van Dreunen stated that whereas different gaming firms like Take-Two Interactive can delay video games like GTA VI on a whim, as a result of that’s their complete enterprise, Xbox isn’t constructed for that. Xbox as a model makes up such a small a part of Microsoft, but it surely means the corporate thinks of its enterprise when it comes to decade to decade, not yr to yr. It should analyze its success if it could hit 100 million Recreation Cross subscribers by 2030, as leaked documents instructed was the corporate’s hopes. In fact, if it was getting anyplace near that quantity, Xbox would have stated one thing by now. Xbox has not relayed something official about Recreation Cross subscriber numbers since February 2024, when the quantity sat at 34 million.

“It received’t actually matter what number of Xbox-branded console gadgets they’ll promote sooner or later in the event that they’re capable of generate gamers and engagement by way of its different ecosystem entry factors,” Piscatella instructed Gizmodo. “However, once more, the query is that if online game gamers will go together with it.”

“I’m unsure Xbox is aware of what makes Xbox nice,” Fryer stated in a video criticizing the large October Recreation Cross value hike. Fryer stated that the Xbox console wasn’t about promoting {hardware}, however about making a “closed loop” the place the corporate can create each a buyer and developer relationship. That Xbox “life-style,” as Fryer put it, can’t exist when gamers are taking their video games to no matter system they might select.

Microsoft isn’t altering course, and Xbox’s main plans received’t come to fruition for a minimum of one other yr, a minimum of. With cloud gaming and Recreation Cross, {hardware} doesn’t matter almost as a lot. Xbox could possibly be coming to the purpose the place it solely sells {hardware} as a premium possibility. Microsoft has lengthy relied on OEMs, or unique tools producers, for its PC enterprise. Piscatella instructed Gizmodo that Xbox could possibly be edging towards a future the place it could create its personal prototypical gadgets, counting on firms like Asus to make the {hardware}. This could be the identical means Microsoft leads with its Surface PCs, and its companions kind of reference its designs.

In prior years, gamers have been all too able to decry the state of exclusivity. {Hardware}-specific video games stranded poor gamers on single-console ecosystems. It saved players from appreciating the true breadth of what sort of artwork was on provide. No, players as a demographic won’t ever be joyful, particularly not with change.

Xbox could be higher off if it may develop into extra clear. Xbox President Sarah Bond has been making the rounds to speak in regards to the console, however the lack of particular data is making longtime players antsy. PlayStation has hosted a number of fireplace chats with AMD to speak up its future plans, however Xbox can go one step additional. It could actually begin constructing hype for its next-gen console now. It could actually discuss up what varieties of advantages gamers will get for sticking with Xbox {hardware}—if not unique video games, then unique capabilities that the Collection X by no means had and by no means will.