Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox might be less of a console and more of a souped-up gaming PC. According to insider Jez Corden, the company’s upcoming system will lean into a ‘curated gaming PC’ experience. Xbox could also be ditching one of its oldest staples: paid online multiplayer.
The two key takeaways from Corden’s sources and analysis are these. First, the next Xbox might ditch he traditional closed console model. Instead, it’s designed to become a powerful PC-like device that promises compatibility with various launchers and store platforms, including Steam and GOG. Along with full native support for your entire Xbox library, powered by ‘AMD’s silicon.’
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Xbox ROG Ally was an obvious testbed for the Steam Game Mode-like Xbox Full Screen Experience. The studio has also been setting up a framework to make sure all games are backward compatible across various devices.
On the service side, Corden says Microsoft also plans to merge the console and PC versions of Game Pass, removing the last big difference between the two. He noted that keeping a paywall ‘wouldn’t make a lick of sense’ for an open, PC-based system, especially when Steam and Epic already let players play online for free.
This move is quite ironic, considering this comes from the same company that introduced said major online paywall in the first place. Make no mistake, though. Even back in 2010, Xbox Live was estimated to have raked in around $600 million from roughly 25 million paying users. If the next-gen Xbox is really going to ditch multiplayer paywall for good, it shouldn’t be treated as pure altruism.
Sure, some will say this is the kind of customer-friendly shift gamers have been begging for, but let’s be real. This is all happening because Microsoft has been falling behind in the hardware race for some time and needs to pivot toward building a stronger paid ecosystem.
Don’t be shocked if that ‘free’ multiplayer comes with another Game Pass price hike or round of tier reshuffling to make up the loss.
