Xbox Fans Are Angry With The Game Awards, But Not Surprised

This would not be the first timebut Xbox fans are upset in the aftermath of last night’s broadcast of the Game Awards. The problem? While rivals like Sony won award after award, the Xbox brand and Xbox-related games were almost impossible to find.

Ironically, this year’s The Game Awards took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming actually attendedand although a game published on Xbox won an award and lots of upcoming Game Pass titles and features have been announced, Xbox fans felt like their console’s parent company had let them down. The Federal Trade Commission—who hours before the awards filed a lawsuit to prevent Microsoft’s impending merger with Activison Blizzard probably didn’t bother Microsoft’s introversion, but the company’s long-suffering fans are tired of waiting for the publisher to show up.

Read more: Feds suing to block Microsoft’s Activision deal

“No representation since June or so” a popular tweet in response to Xbox’s upcoming Game Pass titles said. “You all hate your fans.”

The sentiment seemed to resonate everywhere. “Very surprised that Xbox is not present at The Game Awards”, Kinda funny host Parris Lilly tweeted“IMO this is a missed opportunity to set the stage for what’s to come in 2023.” Wire cutter editor Arthur Gies also noticed Microsoft Gaming’s wallflower status, Tweeter “The Xbox was the quietest I’ve ever seen at The Game Awards.”

But Microsoft was unable to deliver the inspiring exclusives its fans have been praying for for a while: Bethesda’s massive Xbox-exclusive action role-playing game. star field missed his 2022 due datejust like Arkane First person shooter red fall. We’re at the point where even Microsoft admits Sony and its PlayStation have “better quality” exclusives.

Instead of trying to match this quality, and despite a huge and promising Infinite Halo update and the success of 2022 exclusives like RepentanceXbox seems to be emphasizing Game Pass as a source of revenue. This may be disappointing for die-hard fans who crave some creativity from the brand, but it’s probably the safest thing for Xbox to do during its a mess of an Activision Blizzard merger have fun. The FTC worries that a merger will make Microsoft too much of a gaming Goliath, and specifically mentions star field and red fall in his press release describing why he thinks so.

“Microsoft decided to make several titles from Bethesda, including star field and red fall Microsoft exclusives despite assurances it had given to European antitrust authorities that it had no incentive to withhold games from competing consoles,” the press release reads. “With control of Activision’s successful franchises, Microsoft would have both the means and the motive to harm competition by manipulating Activision’s prices, degrading the quality of Activision’s games, or […] entirely withholding competitors’ content, which harms consumers. »

So as its legal troubles double, Microsoft will likely continue to hide in the shadows. Fans lose either way.