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 Go mannequin, which rose together with the Collection X to change into the very best deal in gaming, now costs greater than ever if you’d like the very best options.

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

Certain, Halo is coming to PlayStation 5 and Gears of War is already on the console, however Xbox isn’t going anyplace. It might nonetheless minimize by means of the clamor and show the naysayers improper.

“What they’re trying to do is blow up the normal gaming framework,” Circana’s main online game trade analyst Mat Piscatella instructed Gizmodo over e-mail. “The important thing query is that if gamers shall be prepared to associate with that change.”

When a trickle of dangerous information turns into a flood, it will possibly appear close to unimaginable to see any shiny 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 means of enshittification. Then there’s the current drama from Bloomberg’s report claiming Microsoft has positioned a 30% profit margin mandate throughout its Xbox model, which is method above the trade normal. The report places the Xbox’s current actions into perspective.

Harping on these ache factors is much less like beating a useless horse, and extra like kicking the shins of a poor, hobbled creature who’s pushing itself tougher than anyone else. The Xbox model continues to be alive regardless of the crushingly dour outlook of the fanbase. Xbox might make the case that exclusivity has no place in our trendy gaming panorama. Whereas the vast majority of avid gamers could be high-quality streaming their titles from house, there shall be a devoted subset of avid gamers who would pay by means of the nostril to get the best possible gaming {hardware} there may be with out funneling hundreds of {dollars} right into a gaming PC.

Xbox wants a plan. Higher but, it must raise 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 available on the market, and that knowledgeable what finally grew to become 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 know-how and ran on equal laptop elements. Ultimately, that “DirectX Field” grew to become, merely “Xbox.” Just some years after launching its unique console, the corporate discovered huge success with the Xbox 360. It was a console with a lifespan that lasted almost 11 years, turning into the corporate’s best-selling gadget. Microsoft solely killed off the Xbox 360 store in 2024.

Microsoft’s follow-up, the Xbox One, launched with a heavy deal with multimedia. In 2013, Microsoft emphasised the console as an “all-in-one house leisure system” and saved citing Reside TV as a killer function. The console suffered from quite a few controversies, like that notorious try and require an web connection, restrict gamers’ talents to purchase used video games, and pressure customers to hook up a Kinect. Former Xbox Senior Vice President Don Mattrick told players, “Happily, we have now a product for individuals who aren’t capable of get some type of connectivity. It’s known 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 taking part in Recreation Go titles and trendy video games at 1440p decision. The massive daddy, the Collection X, was essentially 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 frequently neglect concerning the Xbox Collection X is how a lot it was a continuation of Microsoft’s unique pitch method again in 2001. The console is filled with PC guts, even when it doesn’t really feel like all sort of Home windows machine. And but, it’s a strong console for its value because of 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 attention-grabbing—no less than for {hardware} nerds like yours really. In interviews, designers like Xbox’s Director of Mechanical Engineering Jim Wahl talked about how the console’s break up motherboard design allowed it to direct cool air onto all parts in a gentle stream.

The Xbox Collection X was a tall tower of gaming potential, although this console technology 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 are actually on PS5. Newer titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle hit Sony’s console in April this 12 months.

Microsoft doesn’t reveal the overall variety of console shipped or bought. Nonetheless, greatest estimates present the Xbox Collection S and X has shipped round 30 million models complete as of February 2024. To place that quantity in context, the PS5 has shipped round 80 million models 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 12 months 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 had 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 enrich its (now) $550 PS5. Leaked documents from Microsoft’s authorized battle with the Federal Commerce Fee confirmed the corporate had no less than drawn up designs for a mid-generation gadget known as “Brooklin.” That rounded Xbox hasn’t materialized. The closest we ever obtained 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, a fantastic handheld PC however not one thing the console crowd might simply get used to.

Calling the Xbox Ally X handheld an “Xbox” confused gamers who imagined they’d 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 continues to be unfinished. There are some menus on the Xbox app that don’t work properly 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 actual foreign money, not money.”

The subsequent-gen Xbox could have a UI very like the Xbox Ally. Through which case, the hand-held is just 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 developments with at this time’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 attempting to persuade avid gamers that each PC can be an Xbox.

“That shift is one thing they hold attempting 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’ll be able to play Halo on a PlayStation and God of Struggle on a PC, you realize 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 dad or mum firm calls for such excessive revenue margins that studios can’t probably match.

Any next-gen Xbox demands a UI that works. In that method, Valve is already far forward of no matter is going on at Microsoft. Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS software program is simpler to navigate on handhelds, and it might be coming to extra gadgets like a VR headset or a PC-like console. Microsoft “has at all times been chasing Valve,” online game researcher and NYU Stern Faculty 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 might think about 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 12 months, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a sport that harkens again to old-school JRPGs with a French aptitude, grew to become a scorching success regardless of being developed by a small group of simply 30 individuals. A giant purpose Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 blew up was as a result of Xbox promoted it in 2024 and introduced it to Recreation Go in 2025. As Stephen Totilo wrote in his recent Game File newsletter, Microsoft revealed a dizzying array of nice titles, together with RPGs like Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2, shooters reminiscent of Doom: The Dark Ages, and smaller indie titles like South of Midnight and Keeper.

The “Xbox Collection” {hardware} was altogether attention-grabbing, although ultimately the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Collection X had 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 had been successfully already of their dying throes. Video games within the trendy period price greater than ever to develop. Lead instances are longer, and AAA advertising budgets alone can dwarf mid-sized tasks. With rising prices, main first-party publishers can’t think about making a revenue except their video games are on each platform out there.

“For the longest time, the narrative round gaming has been about higher, sooner, larger [hardware], when actually 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 Obligation on Recreation Go, however shortly after making the deal last the Microsoft laid off hundreds of staff. Microsoft has continued firing thousands of employees within the 12 months since. Microsoft killed the long-awaited Excellent Darkish reimagining and axed its developer, reportedly laid off employees from a number of Name of Obligation 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 now have to speak about Recreation Go

At launch, what actually differentiated the PS5 and Xbox consoles was Recreation Go. Microsoft’s gaming subscription mannequin would quickly change into the spine of Xbox’s complete gaming technique, one which eschewed exclusivity in favor of turning into a sort 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 could morph into the “Xbox in every single place” technique, which is why you now see these annoying advertisements attempting to persuade you that “every little thing is an Xbox.”

Recreation Go steadily grew to become costlier through the years, however these value will increase had been insulated because of new options. The massive 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 avid gamers who paid extra play a number of massive titles by streaming them from the cloud. That function was known as a “beta” for years till its most-recent 2025 replace. The opposite massive promoting level for the very best “Final” tier was “day one” video games. Now, to get entry to the newest Name of Obligation and different AAA titles on launch day, you want to spend much more ($30 as an alternative of $20) to get entry.

Microsoft makes most of its cash by promoting companies like Home windows 11, 365, or Azure to companies. Xbox is essentially the most consumer-facing model of its complete product stack. “It’s a little bit of a tragic factor,” van Dreunen stated. “You’re attempting to be the good home on essentially 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 someone who doesn’t comprehend the gaming trade. In any case, Xbox might 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 concerning the field. Which implies Xbox nonetheless wants some form 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 might simply price round $1,000 or much more.

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

Xbox will want one thing massive for 2026

Xbox is completed 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 should buy their sport in a single place and decide up their save whether or not they’re on console or one other gadget. Nintendo continues 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, however it means the corporate thinks of its enterprise when it comes to decade to decade, not 12 months to 12 months. It is going to analyze its success if it will possibly hit 100 million Recreation Go subscribers by 2030, as leaked documents recommended 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 Go 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 means of its different ecosystem entry factors,” Piscatella instructed Gizmodo. “However, once more, the query is that if online game gamers will associate with it.”

“I’m unsure Xbox is aware of what makes Xbox nice,” Fryer stated in a video criticizing the large October Recreation Go 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 gadget they might select.

Microsoft isn’t altering course, and Xbox’s main plans received’t come to fruition for no less than one other 12 months, no less than. With cloud gaming and Recreation Go, {hardware} doesn’t matter almost as a lot. Xbox might be coming to the purpose the place it solely sells {hardware} as a premium choice. Microsoft has lengthy relied on OEMs, or unique tools producers, for its PC enterprise. Piscatella instructed Gizmodo that Xbox might be edging towards a future the place it might create its personal prototypical gadgets, counting on firms like Asus to make the {hardware}. This might be the identical method Microsoft leads with its Surface PCs, and its companions roughly reference its designs.

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

Xbox could be higher off if it might change into extra clear. Xbox President Sarah Bond has been making the rounds to speak concerning the console, however the lack of particular info is making longtime avid gamers antsy. PlayStation has hosted a number of hearth chats with AMD to speak up its future plans, however Xbox can go one step additional. It could possibly begin constructing hype for its next-gen console now. It could possibly speak 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.