The Xbox team has had a weird past few generations. The Xbox Series X/S era is loved by many fans, but its strategy isn’t resonating as well as it could. Amid a major leadership change at the company, lots of news is trickling out about the future of Xbox.

However, over on X, fans have spotted specific wording that could indicate a major strategy shift in the coming months. While we expect Xbox to address this over the summer at its traditional “E3” showcase, there are many implications.

Xbox Looks Set To Return To Console Exclusives

Fans Have Thoughts

Based on multiple reports from fans, the Game Pass dashboard is now using the phrase “Xbox exclusives” in its phrasing. Here’s the full rundown: “Day one releases – Be the first to play new games like Forza Horizon 6 as well as Xbox exclusives.”

Some fans are already rallying behind the wording, with one noting: “Hopefully it will be fulfilled in some way and we will have exclusives again as Sony and Nintendo do.” Another explains: “I genuinely hope it happens. They need to sell their console and exclusives are the way to do it. I am generally okay with it coming to PC, but it needs a 6-month window before it goes to PC (minus Call of Duty, that’s day one on all platforms).”

“Would be great to see some level of exclusivity once again. I’ve got a feeling they will save that announcement for the June showcase event as well,” another chimes in. While exclusivity is a hot-button topic for some, at the end of the day it’s always a business decision, and megafans who only have Xbox consoles will be the biggest supporters.

Some have suggested that similar wording was used in the Call of Duty franchise before, and that “Xbox exclusive” means the game is made exclusively by Xbox. However, news about Microsoft moving back to an exclusive-heavy strategy has been swirling for weeks, so this could just be the first public hint.

It’s A New Dawn At Xbox

And New Leadership

We could see this shift as early as later this year, once various pre-existing agreements have been honored, just like one of their biggest competitors. Sony seems to be winding down its PC era, going back to providing first-party exclusives for the PS5. While we can’t see Microsoft nixing the PC market entirely, they could easily cut back on co-releases of Switch 2 and PS5.

It’s clear that there’s a lot going on at Xbox from the top down. With a new leadership change, anything can happen, but fans are hoping for the best and a potential price cut for Xbox Game Pass.

Brand

Xbox

Original Release Date

November 10, 2020

Original MSRP (USD)

Series X priced at US$499 and the Series S priced at US$299

Weight

9.8 lb