Though 2022 has certainly seen its fair share of excellent new games, with several more still to come, there’s been a general feeling among many that by and large, the year hasn’t been as packed full of major new titles as some past years have been. Particularly where first party releases on Xbox are concerned, the year has looked quite light- and that’s something that Microsoft recognizes.
Speaking recently with Same Brain, Xbox boss Phil Spencer acknowledged that 2022 hasn’t seen nearly enough major first party releases for Xbox consoles, before adding that 2023 is going to be much stronger, especially with the likes of Redfall and Starfield set to launch next year.
“One thing we’ve definitely heard loud and clear is that it’s been too long since we’ve shipped what people would say is a big first party game,” Spencer said. “We can have our excuses on COVID and other things, but in the end I know people invest in our platform and they want to have great games. We’re excited about 2023. We’ve talked about games that are coming, and those games are tracking well. We’re out of what COVID did to the production schedule.
“And I think as an industry- we have fewer games this Holiday than we’ve had in a while when you think about the launches. Call of Duty is coming, God of War is coming, which is great. Nintendo has had a good year. But I’d say in general we’ve been a little light. But I look at 2023, and there’s a great lineup of games coming that I’m excited about. Getting our first real Xbox first party games out of Bethesda, having them ship with Redfall and Starfield will be a lot of fun.”
In addition to the two Bethesda titles, Microsoft also has Forza Motorsport in the pipeline for next year. Several other major games that don’t currently have release dates are also in development, including the likes of Fable, Avowed, Perfect Dark, Contraband, and more.
Where the remainder of this year is concerned, November 15 will see the launch of Obsidian Entertainment’s Pentiment.